Be Aware: Coyote Roaming the Area is Bold

Many residents have reported seeing a coyote roaming the streets of the area over the last two weeks, and in almost every case, he is reported to be bold and not back off.

It is illegal to trap a wild coyote and the city will not stake out a coyote. Animal Control officer Hoang Dinh visited Windsor Village in February 2015  and gave an interview and tips about dealing with coyotes in a Buzz story.  The best thing we can do is make our yards inhospitable to the coyote population, don’t leave food outside, keep crawl spaces under homes inaccessible, and clean out low brush and burrow-like spaces for the animals to hide.

Last year a number of residents in the area hired an independent firm to try to capture the coyote(s) via traps. After several months of trap baiting the efforts were ended without any success.

Windsor Square residents are reporting to have seen the coyote during the afternoon hours when streets are busy with walkers and traffic. Windsor Village neighbors seem to run into the animal earlier, around 7 am. Some of the reports we’ve seen include:

From Windsor Village (Plymouth & 8th)  on May 1st: “I just wanted to let you know that this morning around 7am a coyote was behind my husband as he was walking in the building after walking our dogs.   The dogs started to bark at it but it did not seem to back off until my husband started to yell at it. We thought you should be aware.”

From Windsor Square: “A couple weeks ago I was walking at dusk with my daughter and small dog. I heard a dog following us. It was no dog but a big coyote. He got very close to us and I was screaming to scare it away. It was at Windsor and 2nd and it was very dark there. He followed for nearly a block.”

From Brookside, April 28: “FYI our coyote friend is back at the brook area.  He chased me for about half a block.  Didn’t get scared away when I yelled at him and charged him.  Was able to warn a woman who had her dog away from the area before he got to her.”

From Windsor Square on April 29:  “Just ran into a coyote walking near 4th & Arden. It was walking westbound towards Rossmore. Just a heads up – keep your dogs on a leash or inside.”

From Windsor Square: “At 8pm on Wednesday 4/29/2015 on the 5th block at Lucerne, my neighbor had a run in with a coyote.  It approached her and her two dogs from behind, within reach.  After yelling at it, she hustled back home and the coyote began to run after them.  She turned around and scared it again.  Animal services is being notified.  Please share with the community.”

From Windsor Village: “My son saw the coyote inside our front yard around 11:00 a.m. this morning. We don’t know how long it had been in our front yard, but because a tall hedge surround the entire yard it could not be seen from the outside. It calmly exited the yard went across the street and headed west on Francis Ave. towards the park.

From Windsor Square: These images are from April 20th at 8:38pm on the corner of Van Ness & Beverly. I was stopped at the traffic light.  It waited for the light to change, crossed and attempted to attack dogs in courtyard just south of Beverly. Neighbors and I chased it away. Two recent attacks near Melrose east of Highland last week.

Larchmont Buzz: Animal Control Officer – Coyote Clues