by Mark McDermott
The City of Manhattan Beach is prepared to trap and euthanize coyotes who act strongly within city limitations. The City Council Tuesday night modified its Coyote Management and Response Plan to license the hiring of a trapper.
The action was authorized in a unanimous vote. Before trapping begins, nevertheless, staff will perform an ecological analysis of its effect, which is needed by state law, and approximated to cost about $50,000.
The council in February had actually directed staff to begin the analysis in order to include a selective trapping program to the coyote strategy.
George Gabriel, assistant to the city supervisor, informed the council that while the existing strategy allows the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to trap coyotes who assault a human, extra trapping abilities will enable the City to pursue coyotes who are participating in uncommonly aggressive habits, such as assaulting animals.
“It’s not a program that is meant to trap at first instance or trap at all cost,” Gabriel said. “It’s meant to do it on a selective basis, and doing so in a manner that is trying to account for a coyote that is more aggressive in nature, versus a coyote that is engaging in normal behavior — normal behavior meaning bouncing around in foliage, and so forth.”
Under the brand-new strategy, the Manhattan Beach Police Department’s animal control department will examine reports of aggressive coyote habits prior to the trapper is hired.
Councilperson Joe Franklin asked MBPD Chief Rachel Johnson what the limit would be to identify when a coyote is possibly unsafe.
“Let’s say a coyote decides to take up residence in your backyard or behind your wall and it’s in close proximity to a home… So the homeowner discovers it, and then you come out,” Franklin said. “Is that a basis, the fact that it’s so close to a home, maybe even in the yard, to warrant trapping?”
“We’re going to need to investigate the full import of why that coyote is there, but the fact alone that a coyote is in someone’s backyard doesn’t give us enough information to decide if trapping is appropriate or not,” Johnson said. “If there are food sources there, whether that’s a bird feeder that attracts squirrels, which a coyote could feed on, a water source for the coyote, pet food that’s left unattended, or pets that reside in that home — all those things may be reasons why that coyote is in that backyard. And so those are normal coyote behaviors, not that it’s become habituated to humans. It’s seeking food and water in that backyard. So we need to do an investigation to determine what the reasons were that the coyote was in that backyard and determine if the coyote has become so habituated to humans that it is no longer fearing them.”
Coyotes have actually ended up being an increasing issue amongst citizens following a big uptick in sightings and events. Last year, 70 sightings were reported in the city, after just 84 sightings integrated over the previous 6 years. Three predations on animals were verified in 2015, in addition to 18 unofficial reports of attacks on animals. Only one verified and 13 unofficial predations on animals happened over the previous 6 years.
A wildlife professional worked with by the City in 2015 recommended that trapping can be detrimental because it has unintended influence on coyote pack characteristics — typically, an older leader of a pack, which has actually stopped recreating, will be targeted, and its death can result in increased populations as younger more reproductively active coyotes fill deep space. But as sightings continued to increase, the Council chose to begin utilizing selective trapping.
Councilperson David Lesser, while in assistance of the ecological research study, was not persuaded trapping was the right method.
“Namely there’s a reason why there are more coyotes here — It’s because there’s food and there are hiding spaces for them,” Lesser said. “The way that needs to be combated is in partnership with our public. There needs to be a more robust outreach than I think has been done so far. Even though I give staff huge credit for what they’ve done so far, I think more needs to be done.”
The remainder of the council completely supported selective trapping.
“We’re not saying that we’re going to trap and euthanize every coyote spotted,” said Councilperson Amy Howorth.
“We need to keep trapping in our back pocket, and frankly, not be afraid to use it,” said Councilperson Steve Napolitano.
Gabriel asked citizens to report all coyote sightings.
We motivate the general public to report [sightings] to Animal Control and to use the City’s ‘Reach’ app for coyote sightings, also,” Gabriel said.
Manhattan Beach Police Department Animal Control can be reached at (310) 802-5160 to learn more and to report a sighting. If a coyote is posturing an impending hazard to life, call 911. ER
