Officials are warning people to not feed coyotes in or near the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve following an increase in coyote activity and several recent human encounters.
Flyers have been posted in the area and community messages sent out by the California Department Fish and Wildlife via social media to spread the word.
“Recently, we have reason to believe that potentially there are people feeding coyotes in the nearby neighborhood or even on the wetlands edge,” said Melissa Borde, environmental scientist and reserve manager for CDFW. “What we’re looking for is the community support to educate others about not feeding wildlife.”
Officials believe the animals are being fed because they are “habituating” to humans and starting to approach without fear.
“Naturally, coyotes are fearful of humans,” Borde said. “The wildlife conflict incidents are increasing, we noticed, from the urban environment.”
The 1,300-acre coastal estuary is an important open space and coastal wetland with an estimated 800 species living there, including coyotes – they play an important role in helping keep the rodent population under control.
Coyotes are “opportunistic feeders,” feeding on anything from rodents to fruit, garbage and pet food.
“Historically, we had found meats out in the areas and we immediately did outreach,” Borde said. In an area off Graham and Bolsa Chica streets, there was evidence of someone who had put leftover meat in the lot. In a neighborhood near the wetlands, someone left behind steak.
“The one thing that I want to highlight is that the coyotes can be unpredictable and in some cases cause human injury,” she said.
Many attacks are directly related to food sourcing or human feeding.
“We don’t want that, we want visitors to feel safe when they’re here. We also want to protect the wildlife. So prevention is key. Even though humans sometimes think they’re doing good for wildlife, they are actually causing more harm,” Borde said about trying to provide food for the animals. “They become habituated and it can be more dangerous for pets and humans.”
She also warns people to not leave pet food or water outside at home.
“If they’re able to access these things, or if we’re feeding them, it changes their natural behavior,” she said, adding that a “problematic coyote that has become habituated to humans cannot be trapped and released somewhere else because you’re not fixing the problem. You’re just moving it to another neighborhood.”
In some cases, a coyote may have to be killed if it becomes a safety risk to humans.
It is illegal to feed the wildlife, and is considered harassment of animals, Borde said.
“You’re basically altering or disrupting their natural behavior. Naturally, they should be out hunting, foraging – they are part of our ecosystem they need to be eating natural rodents, whatever it be, not human food, not pet food,” she said. “And then it can also cause them to eventually be a human safety risk.”
Last week, there was a human interaction where the coyote wasn’t aggressive, but it wasn’t fearful, either, Borde said.
“That is a sign that they are being fed and it’s near the urban area. It’s right near the neighborhood at the edge of the property where we’re seeing them on the east side of the ecological reserve,” she said.
A month ago, there were seven reports in three days about coyotes approaching humans.
The coyotes recently encountering humans are standing nearby, within 5-to-10 feet, just staring at the people, likely waiting for food, according to reports.
“Hazing is absolutely critical in that situation,” Borde said. “You want to make yourself big, make sounds, clap your hands. Whatever you need to do for human safety that makes that coyote very uncomfortable.”
It’s also important, Borde added, to report encounters so officials can track interactions or acts of aggression.
