Run-Ins Show Size of Coyote Domain

Edna Utley’s home is tucked away on a cul-de-sac, behind an elementary school, a church and a busy apartment building in Fullerton. In short, it’s the last place she’d expect to see a coyote.

But Utley said she has spotted a lanky, dog-like creature on Brookdale Place, and blames it for killing and eating six cats. The feline remains--including their heads and intestines--have been found in a neighbor’s yard, she said.

This week, Utley, 68, began passing out homemade “Coyote Alerts”--fliers to warn neighbors who may mistakenly believe coyotes are nonexistent in urban areas. Utley wants residents to take extra care with their toddlers and pets.

“People have a funny attitude,” Utley said. “They don’t do anything until a tragedy happens, and I want to avert a tragedy.”

Contrary to popular belief, coyotes do not require open space or wild areas to survive, Orange County Animal Control Lt. Marie Hulett said. While Hulett couldn’t confirm the death of the cats, she stressed that coyotes can and do survive just about anywhere in Orange County.

Hulett said she receives at least a dozen phone calls every day from people reporting coyote sightings far from rural areas.

Simple precautions such as bringing pets and pet food into the house at night, storing trash in sealed containers and watching that babies are not left alone outside will make a neighborhood unattractive to coyotes, Hulett said.

“Everybody always says, ‘I never knew there were coyotes in my neighborhood,’ ” Hulett said. “It’s just a fact of life here in Orange County. There are coyotes in Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, anywhere you can think of.”

Coyotes will eat cats, raccoons, opossums and even small dogs but they rarely attack humans, she said. The last human attack in Orange County occurred about two years ago, and involved a little girl.

“It was nearly dark and the little toddler, who was alone outside, had to get a couple of stitches,” she said.

Domestic dogs pose a greater threat to the public than coyotes, Hulett said, adding that canines are responsible for thousands of attacks on people each year.

“As long as you use common sense, coyotes will not attack humans,” Hulett said. “They’re not bad guys. They’re just trying to make a living like any other creatures, including us.”

In Villa Park, where residents have long complained about coyotes straying into neighborhoods, traps are set to capture the animals. Hulett said the county’s animal control department does not have a similar policy.

Some people Utley approached this week as she passed out fliers were divided on the issue. Only a few advocated killing the animals, which is illegal for the general public.

“I am an animal rights person, and I believe coyotes have the right to live,” said Utley’s neighbor, Terene Cap-Day.

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Controlling Coyotes

* Keep pets and pet food indoors.

* Store garbage in tightly closed containers.

* Do not provide food or water for coyotes or other wild animals.

* Clear brush and dense weeds from your property so coyotes will not use them as shelter.

* Never leave small children unattended.

* Seal any holes leading into or under your home.

* Stay away from a coyote if you see one.

Source: Orange County Animal Control; Researched by MIMI KO CRUZ / For The Times