Coyotes in Encino

Coyotes provoke a lot of hostility around here. But there isn’t much that can be done about them.

One group – mostly pet owners – feels very intensely about this. They write blogs and letters to the editor and submit motions to Encino Neighborhood Council because many have had to deal with the agony of losing a pet - violently. The other group sympathizes with the coyotes as a part of nature who – they say - leave humans alone and generally mind their own business and why do home owners leave so many scraps around for them anyway?

The City’s Animal Control officers try to steer a middle course. On rare occasions they will trap and remove an aggressive animal. On the other hand, they point out that coyotes are territorial and even if they remove one, another will replace it. Then there’s the budget crisis – according to polls, most City residents want to cut back on services. Coyotes are a metaphor for a lot of things, aren’t they?

In my view, coyotes are a key part of our ecosystem, keeping the cat population – especially feral cats – under control. The cats in their turn help the coyotes keep the rats and mice under control – but unfortunately they also take out much of the vulnerable bird population as well. In other words, it’s all inter-connected and we should be careful what we wish for.

The best local resource is Encino Neighborhood Watch’s website: here.

Photo credit: Marya (Emdot)/Wikipedia