Altadena may not have a coyote problem, but some people seem to be encouraging them.
That was the message from Ellen Walton, an enforcement officer with the county Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures, who gave a short presentation about coyote control during public comments at the Altadena Town Council Tuesday night.
(Yes, counterintuitively, enforcing problem coyotes is the responsibility of Weights and Measures.)
Walton said that there are coyotes ... and there are Problem Coyotes. Part of the problem for enforcement is: are the coyotes behaving normally, or are they problems -- do they keep returning to the same place?
Now that the pups are four or five months old, Walton said, "food needs have gone up for Mama ... when they're showing up every Wednesday for trash day, then we have a problem."
If there is a problem with a coyote that will not leave your yard, or is stalking you, or doesn't want to run and hide, that may be a problem coyote that will have to be dealt with.
Walton said that residents can take certain measures to keep from being an attractive target for coyotes -- keeping pets indoors, putting trash out the morning of pickup rather than the night before, etc. But she said some people are creating coyote problems for themselves and their neighbors.
"Stop feeding them and giving them something to drink," Walton said. "Someone is feeding them on Chaney Trail. Someone on Mendocino says she's feeding the coyotes because she feels sorry for them."
In many places, feeding coyotes is illegal.
Weights & Measures coyote website it here:
http://acwm.lacounty.gov/scripts/coyo.htm
The state Dept. of Fish and Game has a pamphlet on coyote control at
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/keepmewild/docs/coyotebrochure.pdf
The website is http://www.dfg.ca.gov/keepmewild/coyote.html
The local number to call for coyote threats is (626) 575-5462.
