East Bay Regional Park District issued a coyote advisory Tuesday, reminding people that coyote parents are active and protective of den sites from spring through fall, when new pups are born.
The district said it’s normal for coyotes to run away from humans, though some have become used to human presence and will continue their activities while being watched.
Park visitors are encouraged to keep coyote safety precautions in mind.
The district said people should avoid hiking alone so they can have help in case of emergency. Adults are reminded to keep their children and pets close, with dogs on leashes. Visitors are advised to walk, jog, or ride and stay on trails.
Feeding coyotes is inadvisable. If a coyote is sighted, the public is advised not to approach or engage with the animal but to walk away calmly and leave the area quickly, avoiding running.
If approached by a coyote, encourage it to move away to help it retain a natural fear of humans. Park visitors should act as big and loud as possible; shout in a deep, loud, and aggressive voice, and wave their arms.
Maintaining eye contact is important, which park officials say can make coyotes uncomfortable and timid.
If the coyote continues to approach, visitors should not run or turn their backs on it but continue to exaggerate the above gestures while backing away slowly.
The district asks people to help protect all wildlife and their environment. Never feed, approach, or pet wild animals. For emergencies, contact 911 or the East Bay Regional Park District Public Safety line (510) 881-1833, 24 hours a day.
10 comments
Will they be posting appropriate signage ? ? ? ?
https://tinyurl.com/48vhh77w
Ought to be a bounty on every one of those things. All they do is destroy domestic livestock, pets and cause havoc.
I see coyotes all the time up in the hills behind where I live, plus I have two outdoor cats and guess what, the coyotes don’t do anything to me or my cats. And it’s been 8 years this has been going on. Our wildlife deserve to live too!
@ Pooh, don’t be naive. Coyotes kill cats all the time. I’ve seen them do it. If your yard is fenced it won’t help, coyotes can climb & jump them easily.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUgr0WHOBRQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDpElfkI9Zw
People do more of that than coyotes do. You want a bounty on them?
Wild animals were there first and our ever-expanding population encroaches more and more on their territory. What would you do if suddenly another family encroached on your living space and limited your ability to move around while gaining easy access to your food supply? Reacting to us doing that is all the animals we call wildlife are doing.
However they do keep the rodent population in check. We’d be overrun by them if the coyotes weren’t around.
The only reason coyotes go after cats etc is because they are starving. Feeding stations are needed throughout our county. We keep taking their land and hampering their ability to find food. Why have we turned a blind eye to these and all the critters in our county. I have fox’s, coyotes, racoons, opossums and an occasional skunk that come to my backyard every night looking for food. They are all skinny and hungry. It’s shameful.
Starving? They aren’t starving, they run thru the suburbs at night because little dogs and cats are easy pickings! There are lots of water sources too. I lived in Clayton for 30 years and left for work at 5 AM five days a week, I saw plenty of coyotes dragging dead cats down the street and occasionally foxes did it too. Feeding stations for coyotes? WTH are you smoking? You don’t feed wild animals.
Watch out for the ones chasing roadrunners! ….and the ones dropping Acme safes from cliffs on roadrunners either! ..and if Wile Coyote runs by a road runner carrying dynamite watch out if it’s going “Beep Beep” too! 🙂
Domo, didn’t you read the sign?
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