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Possible Injured Coyote Call

Animal Services Center Officer Enriquez responded to a call last week of a possible injured coyote that was spotted a few times behind a residential slope. When the officer arrived, the coyote was still in the area and was seen limping. The resident who made the report said he and his neighbors had been feeding the coyote for a few weeks. Officer Enriquez advised them to stop feeding him because he would keep returning knowing a food source is available. Despite his injury, the coyote was still mobile and able to run away when hazed without a problem. Officer Enriquez educated the residents on how to properly haze the coyote.   

Feeding coyotes (or other wild animals) teaches them to come to humans for food, which is a bad idea. Don't attract wild animals by leaving pet food or water outside. If you compost, use enclosed bins and never include meat or fish scraps. Regularly rake areas around bird feeders and keep trash in high-quality containers with tight-fitting lids. For good measure, don't place the cans outside until the morning of collection.

Remember to keep your pets inside. Although small rodents comprise a large portion of their diet, coyotes may prey upon cats and small dogs. You can protect your pets by not letting them outdoors unattended, especially at night. Cats should be kept indoors for protection against a whole host of threats including cars, dogs, diseases and other sources of harm, which also includes coyotes.

While coyotes are native to Southern California and a natural part of our environment, they have been extremely successful in adapting to urban and suburban environments and now feel more comfortable coming into yards and taking advantage of our leftover pet food and fruit from the trees.  Coyotes do have a natural fear of humans – and a technique called “hazing” can help reinforce this natural fear and deter them from neighborhoods and yards. Hazing is a method that makes use of deterrents to move an animal out of an area or discourage an undesirable behavior or activity.  

Using a variety of different hazing tools is critical as coyotes can lose their fear of individual items, sounds and actions. 
Here are some methods of hazing used by Mission Viejo Animal Services:

  • Yelling and waving your arms while approaching the coyote—appearing big
  • Noisemakers such as a loud voice, whistles, air horns, bells, soda cans filled with pennies or dead batteries, and pots and pans banged together
  • Projectiles including sticks, small rocks, cans, tennis or rubber balls

Other methods include hoses, water guns or spray bottles with vinegar water, pepper spray, bear repellant and walking sticks

The simplest method of hazing a coyote involves being loud and large. Stand tall, wave your arms and yell at the coyote, approaching if necessary, until it runs away. If a coyote has not been hazed before, it may not immediately run away when you yell at it. If this happens, you may need to walk towards the coyote and increase the intensity of your hazing. The coyote may run away but then stop after a distance and look back at you. It is important to continue to haze the coyote until it completely leaves the area. You may need to use different tactics such as noisemakers, stomping your feet or spraying the coyote with a hose to get it to leave. After you have successfully hazed a coyote, it may return again. In that case, continue to haze the coyote as was done previously.  It often only takes one or two times to haze a coyote away permanently. 

For more information and additional tips on hazing, visit cmvas.org or call 949-470-3045.  
 

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