NEIGHBORHOOD COYOTE PROGRAM

As interactions increase between residents and coyotes, the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG) is committed to ensuring there are dedicated staff and resources available to address safety issues caused by coyotes. The SGVCOG also provides a comprehensive and integrated regional approach to coyote management and serves as the central organization responsible for providing public outreach services and developing a comprehensive reporting mechanism on behalf of the Cities of Alhambra, Arcadia, Azusa, Covina, Glendora, Irwindale, Montebello, Rosemead, and San Marino.

This regional effort stems from the collaborative work of the SGVCOG's Coyote Management Task Force. The Coyote Management Task Force, with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the County of Los Angeles, the University of California, and other external stakeholders, developed the Regional Coyote Management Framework (RCMF) and the Coyote Management Implementation Plan (CMIP).

The Neighborhood Coyote Program encourages residents to report coyote sightings to give us and the City a better understanding of what is happening in the neighborhood and how to monitor coyote behavior. Reports can be as simple as spotting a coyote walking in the street or a coyote entering a resident's yard. Reports may be submitted by using any of the methods listed below:

Educational Line Number: (626) 278-8039

Educational Line Email: coyotes@sgvcog.org

Educational Line Hours: M - Th, 7am-6pm

Report Coyote Sightings Here

Monthly Coyote Reports

PROGRAM DETAILS

The Neighborhood Coyote Program serves as an avenue to address, educate, and report coyote interactions as well as safety issues caused by coyotes within the San Gabriel Valley. Through education and resourcing, we want to ensure the safety of residents and pets. The Neighborhood Coyote Program provides various methods to report coyote encounters as well as tips and information to promote coyote safety. The Neighborhood Coyote Program does NOT make field visits or trap coyotes. Please feel free to contact us if you would like an educational presentation for your neighbors, schools, organizations or groups. Be sure to follow us on our social media sites:

COYOTE 101

Coyotes are wild animals and play a vital role in the ecosystem. Think of them as nature's pest control. However, coyotes have become more prevalent in the beautiful neighborhoods of the San Gabriel Valley, and it is our responsibility to manage our urban environments to limit and control our interactions with coyotes.

Coyotes are sometimes mistaken for domestic dogs due to their similarities. Coyotes do not grow to be too large and only weight an average of about 25lbs. You may identify them by their upright ears, long snout and long bushy tail. When spotting a coyote we recommend giving it space and leaving it alone, unless the coyote is entering your property or getting close to your property line. At that point, we recommend hazing the coyote away.

General Coyote Information

DO NOT FEED OR ATTEMPT TO DOMESTICATE COYOTES

Coyotes are wild animals and to ensure they are kept wild, it is imperative we do not nurture them. Note: It is ILLEGAL in the County of Los Angeles to feed coyotes and other wildlife in urban and suburban areas.

REMOVE ATTRACTANTS

Food, water, and shelter are an oasis for coyote activity. Attractants can be described as but are not limited to pet food, unsecured compost or trash, fallen fruit from trees in private yards or in parks, artificial lakes, swimming pools, pet water dishes, sheds, decks, crawl spaces, sumps, unattended pets, and feral cats.

SUPERVISE PETS AND SMALL CHILDREN

Coyotes natural diets consist of small mammals, so it is imperative to accompany any being that may be similar in size and make-up. Keep pets and small children in close proximity in densely coyote populated areas as the coyote may not attribute your loved one as belonging to you. Keep pet close by using leashes that are less than 6ft long.

KEEP COYOTES WARY

If a coyote approaches you or comes in your yard......be as big, mean and loud as you can. If you are walking with a small child or animal, pick them up and remove yourself, the child and the animal from the situation slowly and carefully while maintaining eye contact. If you are in immediate danger or have been attacked call 911 immediately!

Coyote Attractants

Coyotes are wild animals and play a vital role in the ecosystem. Think of them as nature's pest control. Coyotes natural diets consist of small mammals and they eat large numbers of rodents and rabbits, Coyotes also eat fruit, vegetation, insects, and carrion. They help keep ecosystems vital, healthy and clean. Coyotes are naturally fearful of humans but can habituate to our presence and the reliable food sources that we provide.

What are attractants?

Attractants are resources that may lure or encourage coyotes to come to particular areas. Attractants may include but are not limited to:

Pet food
Unsecured compost or trash fallen fruit from trees
Artificial lakes
Swimming pools
Pet water dishes
Unsecured sheds
Decks
Crawl spaces
Sumps
Unattended pets

Elimination Recommendations:

Keep pet food and water dishes inside the home or in a secure area; Feed pets in a secure area
All trash should be contained in trash containers and stored indoors with secure lids. Trash should not be placed on the curb until the morning of pickup. Encourage your community to utilize wildlife-proof trash containers on school grounds, in parks, and in open space areas
Cover artificial lakes and pools securely
Seal-up openings under porches, decks, and sheds with a welded wire that is buried at least 18 inches below the ground
Trim vegetation and mow tall grass; remove or thin brush and rubbage piles so as to eliminate cover for coyotes and their prey.

Feral cats
Bird feeders
Rodent attractants

Use our Yard Audit to make sure you do not have any attractants in your yard that are welcoming coyotes.

Hazing Coyotes

Hazing is a method of scaring a coyote away from you, your yard, or your neighborhood. Coyotes are members of the dog family, and just as we train our dogs to adopt good behavior, we can reinforce a coyote’s natural instinct to avoid people without harming them.

There are various tools to assist in hazing coyotes. Hazing is subject to but not limited to:

Making loud noises
Throwing rocks in the animal’s direction
Spraying it with a hose
Rapidly open an umbrella in its direction
Use of an air-horn

Coyote Hazing Tools

Coyote Shaker
Place a handful of pennies in an old juice or soda can. Cover the opening of the can with tape. Cut a piece of foil and tape it around the can. The shaker scares the approaching coyote through aggressive hand motion, loud noise and reflective light.

Can Clanger
Tie several empty tin cans together with string. Clanging the cans together and throwing it at the coyote should deter the coyote from coming into inhabited areas.

Coyote Rollers

Coyote rollers have been effective in some situations. Installing these rolling metal tubes at the top of a fence denies coyotes the “foothold” to pull themselves up and over a fence, deterring them from repeating the effort.

DO NOT haze if:

You think the coyote is sick or injured. Call your local animal control for sick or immobile coyotes.
It’s March − July, and you are in a park or open space and believe you could be near a coyote den, or if you think that coyote pups could be present. Keep pets close by and calmly leave the area. Note: A coyote(s) may follow briefly or “escort” to determine if there is a threat to pups. After a certain distance, they will stop on their own.
The coyote is at a comfortable distance from you.

Find more detailed information on Coyote Hazing here.

Appropriate Coyote Behaviors

Coyotes may be sometimes spotted throughout the daytime hours but that is perfectly normal. Unlike the common misconception that coyotes are nocturnal animals. They sometimes express other behaviors that may seem shocking or even confusing to us. Find a list of normal coyote behaviors below:

Active in the daytime and nighttime
Most active at dusk and dawn
Watching you and your dog in plain view or from a camouflaged position (like dogs, coyotes are curious)
Sitting on a hill in plain view
Relaxing or playing in a field or other grassy area
Walking and not paying attention to you
Following you and your dog with curiosity from a comfortable distance
Hunting gophers in fields and meadows
“Escorting” your dog away from den/territory, food or pups during pup rearing season (spring & summer)
Bluff charging your dog in an attempt to move your dog away from pups, during pup rearing season (spring & summer)
Standing his or her ground unfazed by your attempts to scare him/her away, during pup rearing season (spring & summer)
Waiting at stoplights to cross busy streets
Dashing across a trail
More than one coyote relaxing together or greeting each other
Hearing coyotes howling and yipping (they are greeting, communicating and defining territories)
When hazed, trots away, then stops and looks back (keep hazing until the coyote leaves)

Neighborhood Coyote Program Infomational Materials

Wildlife Framework

In additional to the Coyote Management Plan, the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG) created the Wildlife Management Framework (WMF) to provide guidance for coexisting with wildlife in the region. The recommended actions in this WMF are designed to increase communities’ knowledge and understanding of how wild animals behave and to make clear how such behavior can be managed or reduced to eliminate human conflicts with wildlife. Common types of wildlife observed in the San Gabriel Valley vary from apex predators and tertiary consumers, such as coyotes, black bears, mountain lions, and bobcats, to other secondary and primary consumers, including deer, opossums, raccoons, and skunks.

Wildlife Management Plan