We are having a dramatic increase in coyote attacks, particularly in the neighborhoods in the wildland interface. The coyotes are becoming increasing bold particularly at sunset and early morning hours. Please follow the attached link to the “Living in Yorba Linda” blog site for specific ideas on how to protect your animals. http://www.landofgraciousliving.com/
In the past, we have had requests to exterminate the coyotes. We have been advised by professionals that attempts at extermination of the coyotes only serves to increase their birth rate as they sense their declining numbers. So the best we can do is to learn to protect our pets. There have not been reported attacks on small children, but vigilance in the interface areas is recommended.
Please do NOT take measures in your own hands to exterminate the coyotes. It is illegal and dangerous.
City of Yorba Linda City Councilwoman Jan Horton
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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the update Jan
i agree we can learn to live with the coyotes.
Don’t forget they do control squirel and rabbit populations
on monday night,9.9.09, at about 10:00 pm, my dog (17 lb) was attacked in my backyard. the yard has been secure so that the dog would not be able to escape and we never had a coyote problem for the past at least 10-15 years, at least not in the yards.
my dog was saved initially (and first round) due to his feisty nature, and (second round) by my husband. but he had teeth marks and one deeper wound in his neck. he was lucky and i was stunned that a coyote was able to get in a backyard in a residential area.
i did let animal control know about this and was told that someone would come. i stayed at home the entire day just to realize no one was going to call or come. seems that if this is becoming an increasing problem, the issue should be advertised more fiercely about the problem (i knew nothing of it) and that animal control could at least inform the callers if they could/or not come.
i would so appreciate if the advertisement be more fierce and if there’s more awareness to this increasing problem.
thanks so much.
On 9-9-09 around 645am we found a cat had been killed and attacked by 2 coyotes and had chased my cats up a tree… i was hoping that something could be done about this. They are not scared of people at all. Something needs to be done to scare them.
Hi my name is Michelle Doan, I go to UCSC and I’m working on this coyote problem as my topic for a field investigative essay, I need to interview some people who have possibly spotted coyotes near their homes or anyone who would have more information on the situition. Please email me at doamina_27@yahoo.com, this would really help my paper out a whole lot. Thank you!
on 12-28-09 i was walking out the front of my house , are house is located near the catwalk by glenview elemenyery school the coyots use this as ther highway to all the niehborhoods and to hunt . i saw two of them and they didnot seem to be that affriaid of me , we had alresdy lost a cat to one last year and i literaly pulled our new cat out of a coyotes mouth about 6 months ago that is a whole other story . if you have a question call me at 714 386 0362 thank you
On Jan 6th,2010 we lost both our dogs due to a coyote that jumped our 6 ft full enclosed yard. We are miles for any open habitat. Two weeks before the neighbor across the street had their dog attached in the early evening. We have noticed they walk along the block walls looking in the yards as they go by. We have a wood fence on our property so we felt they were unable to shop, instead it was just a quick jump over the fence. Most the people in our neighborhood that have block walls are not allowing any young children in their backyards after 5pm. I guess we have to keep our children locked up inside the house now…as some people say we just have to live with it. Not until a young child is actually harmed will anything ever be done, but its the people who say we just have to live with it I hope its not their child that is lost. It only takes 1 child to devistate a family and neighborhood.
To my previous post it was actully around 6pm on Jan 5th
I just saw 3 coyotes in the open field last friday in Irvine boulevard , Irvine right where is this militar abandoned buildings, they used to have a polo play area there and I was driving and I saw one watching rabbits. Later I came back with my friend from foothil ranch and we saw 2 other in differents areas but in the same field.
Today was one of the worst days of my life. My husband and I awoke and looked for our 19 pound miniature pincer and then suddenly panicked. He tore outside and came back in tears. Our beloved family member was old, 11, blind, and very friendly. We found him in a state that only coyotes could leave an animal. We live close to Village Center Drive in Yorba Linda.
We don’t want this tragedy and senseless loss happening to others. Please make sure to keep your animals in at night. The coyotes are roaming our neighborhoods and strike in the middle of the night.
My neighbor was recently walking his Irish setter in the late afternoon on a walkway between Dominguez Ranch and Yorba Ranch boulevards when 3 coyotes came out of the shrubbery and faced them. He turned and ran home with his dog. This has become an unsafe residential area!
oh yeah what is the so called “yorba linda city council” going to do about?
We are seeing more and more coyotes in our yard than pror to the fire. The city should have some resposibility to the people of Yorba Linda regarding the safety of being in our our yards or trails.. It’s sad to think that only something will be done when someone gets hurt or killed by one of these wild animals.
June 2, 2010. Around 6am, My husband went for a run to the park veteran’s park /memorail and a coyote hidden by the beisball field (veteran’s park) started falling him.. eventually, the coyote started running after my husband.. he was amazed that the coyote was not scared and followed him all the way to the house in Orange and Valleyview.
I live near Lakeview and YL Blvd. At about 3pm a coyote grabbed my rabbit out of my front yard in front of neighbors and their small kids. The same coyote is huge and has been spotted on our street four times. That night I secured my rabbit hutch very well to make sure bunny #2 would not die. When I turned around to go inside the same coyote was staring at me and watching while I secured the hutch. It was pretty creepy. I chased him down the street, but they are so fast I lost sight of it. The bunny slept inside that night. Today I went to the hutch and found that the coyote chewed through the bunjy cord, succeeded at moving the heavy hutch a foot from the wall and was able to open the top (which is VERY heavy) and snatch the rabbit. I’m bummed. They are getting too bold and they have been known to kill toddlers. Something needs to be done about this and I will try to kill that coyote myself.
Rebecca, I am sorry to hear about your pet rabbits. You are correct, the coyotes are becoming more aggressive and comfortable around humans. At the Java with Jan I hosted last friday, Orange County Animal Control came and did a presentation on how to deal with the coyotes. I have added a new post to this web site to help everyone know what to do to protect our pets and community from the coyotes. Apparently, this is the season when the newly born pups are learning to hunt. We will continue to see pet attacks and will need to be extra cautious for our vulnerable pets. To view the newest post, go to: http://www.horton4yl.com/community-news/java-with-jan-coyote-discussion/
We will continue to have these attacks until all food sources are eliminated. Residents need to step up and make major changes! People continue to leave rabbits in the yard–not to mention the wild rabbits, small dogs outside unattended, cats outside, cat, dog and rabbit food left outside, overly full trash cans with lids that are propped open, grease from BBQ’s on the ground, dirty BBQ’s….these are all HUGE attractants to coyotes. We have lived here in YL for 25 years and have been aware of the coyote problem the entire time….this is not a new problem or threat by any means, but it is becoming more prevalent since their hunting grounds are being taken away by development and fire. We have seen them at 8:00 in the morning walking up the sidewalk while kids are walking to school, at 10:00 in the morning in our backyard, and we have witnessed them “walking fences” at 4:00 in the afternoon. We have also seen one jump to the top of an 8 ft. fence like it was nothing, balance there looking in the yard while its pack waited about 30 feet way, jump down and do the same thing to the next house, and so on down the line. We have heard them howling right outside our bedroom window in the middle of the night. We live by Rose Drive School, so we’re not in an extremely rural area. They will travel for MILES hunting prey, and are very smart and aggressive, so we need to be proactive by educating ourselves about coyotes, and more aggressive with the steps we take to protect our family and pets. That includes discussions with neighbors about small outdoor pets, IMO. No matter what YOU do, if your neighbor lets their cats/rabbits roam,small dogs in the yard by themselves, etc., etc., coyotes will be in your neighborhood on a regular basis.
I totally agree with you… If people would not leave their pets outside this would not be a problem.. someone left her small dog outside not once but twice & both dogs were taken by cototes..If the Realtors that Buy & Sell homes in Yorba Linda give each person through Escrow A warning letter about how to live with & among wildlife here, it will help with all the sadness when someones pet is taken away! Also I’ve notice an increase in rabbits in our area… never a problem before this year.. I’m thinking it could be from the killing of the coyotes in the area…Just a thought!
To the Yorba Linda (edited);
We have been living here together with the coyotes for years. We developed homes on the land they have inhabited for centuries. Pull your head out and be responsible with your pets ! It’s your responsibility. The fact is that there is still some country left and the coyotes are a part of it. If you don’t like it, move to a city with no hills and wildlife ! Don’t you even think of harming even one coyote. The new residents from who knows where have already eliminated the roosters from the Rockin T Ranch because tey didn’t like the noise. Give me a break !
Don,
I agree with you about the roosters being removed, that is ridiculous, but you don’t need to start calling anyone a moron. Coyotes aren’t just harmful to animals, they are harmful to humans (particularly toddlers) as well. Coyotes are disgusting animals, and that’s just it, they’re animals, we are humans….so if we decide to build here, we should have the right and we should have the right to control these filthy, no good coyotes.