“I am deeply concerned about the taking of the coyotes, and the complete lack of public process and concern for community interests that proceeded the killings,” Mayor Joe Krovoza told the Vanguard in a statement.
John McNerney, the City’s Wildlife Resource Specialist, said that the county collectively contracts with the US Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services to take care of wildlife trapping and removal service. All municipalities contract collectively for these services.
Mr. McNerney expressed concern with the way this was handled.
“I think what is most frustrating and most concerning is the unilateral way this was handled,” he said. “The fact that I [as the City’s Wildlife Manager] was not brought into any of the decision making leading up to the removal of these animals is very concerning for the city.”
“We would have preferred to have been in dialogue with the USDA trapper prior to the decision to remove the animals,” he added.
When they are called for services, for the most part, he said, “It’s a lethal removal. Relocate trapping or relocating animals is pretty difficult. In many cases it is forbidden by state law.”
Mr. McNerney was never contacted by the county or the USDA Wildlife Service’s office about the proposed management action. There was no involvement of the city or city employees in this action.
“Had they the courtesy to notify me of their intentions, I would have requested and facilitated a discussion with all parties to find a solution that allowed the coyotes to remain,” Mr. McNerney said.
The Davis Enterprise, on July 12, reported that it was a request by the Wildhorse Golf Club that led to the action.
“We were requested and an agreement was signed because there had been a pattern and concern about aggression toward joggers that had pets, as well as pets in the area,” Carol Bannerman, a spokeswoman for the USDA Wildlife Services and Animal Care told the Enterprise.
The Enterprise also reported that Wes Leith, superintendent of the golf course, “contacted the county about the coyotes after he received numerous complaints from nearby residents.”
“The Wild Horse Golf Course management had contacted the county with some concerns from adjacent residents about the coyotes,” John McNerney said.
However, Mr. McNerney was very familiar with the coyotes, having personally been observing this situation for a number of months up in the Wildhorse Ag Buffer. What he saw was normal behavior on the part of the coyotes.
“I was less than concerned about the coyotes being up there especially in the transition area and golf course because it’s well suited for coyotes on the urban edge,” he said. There is a nice buffer between the ag fields and the urban population of Davis. “If anywhere in Davis was a good place to support the coyote population it would have been out there.”
Other areas might have been of greater concern with a proximity to residential areas. At the same time, he was excited to see the coyotes out there as a top predator in the ecosystem.
“Just having top predators in those ag buffers out there is desirable because it helps to balance and maintain a healthy ecosystem,” he said. “If you remove top predators you can get an imbalance of some of the other species, for example, ground squirrels.”
Residents in the community are outraged by what they are calling the senseless killing of the coyote family.
Gene Trapp has been professionally involved with wildlife for most of his life. He asks, “Why is it that so many people are terrified of any form of wildlife, and the first thought they have is to kill it?”
“It is important that people recognize that coyotes are part of our ecosystem, and that they have intrinsic and ecological value,” he wrote. “They keep rodents in check, and also predate on other small carnivores (skunks, raccoons, foxes, feral cats) which helps songbird and ground nesting bird populations survive. While we need to have some guidelines in our relationship with coyotes, they are highly unlikely to attack people.”
Cayce Wallace has been a longtime advocate for animals in this community.
“I am shocked and deeply saddened by the killing of these coyotes,” she wrote. “Since there was no emergency the local agencies should have worked together and maybe someone would have learned that killing does not work.”
“I have been watching these coyotes and checking in on them, amazed at how beautiful they are and how fortunate we are to have them here and now you trapped them and shot them. This is not a coyote problem, it is a people problem,” Ms. Wallace added.
“According to the UC IMP statewide integrated pest management program, there have been roughly 160 reported coyote bites to people in the entire state of California since the 1970’s,” she continued. “I am shocked that Davis can’t figure out how to live with nature. Coyotes are a vital and natural component of the ecosystem in Yolo County.”
The city, Mr. McNerney said, does not have a specific policy that addresses nuisance wildlife.
“The unofficial policy that I work with is trying to do conflict resolution as a primary step,” he said. He said if he gets a call, he will try to work with the residents to find ways to prevent the animal from causing problems. “First and foremost is to try to find a solution to reduce or eliminate the conflict before needing to go further.”
If the animal is acting aggressively, coming into contact with people, or showing signs of disease, “then the city would act to trap or remove that animal through lethal means if it was decided it was a clear and present danger to public safety.”
But that is a last resort and the city does not go to the county or the USDA trappers unless there is a clear problem.
“Davis nurtures its rural-urban interface to support exactly the habitat the coyotes enjoyed. Scores of coyotes live around Davis and this can’t be precedent for other actions anywhere — near our borders or otherwise,” Mayor Joe Krovoza told the Vanguard.
“A new family will move in, and we must be prepared to welcome them. There is no reason to view these animals as a threat; they were bringing great joy to many. Public education is needed, not unilateral actions,” he added.
The city council will address their preferred process, going forward, during an emergency special meeting tonight at 9:30 pm.
“This will, in effect, be a Time Certain action during our regular July 17 meeting,” Mayor Krovoza said. “We will take public comment on the action then, hear from our wildlife specialist, and we have invited the County and USDA Wildlife Services and Animal Care to attend and address us.”
The Vanguard has confirmed today with Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner John Young that the previous information indicating that the USDA Wildlife Services authorized the Yolo County Agriculture Department to perform lethal removal of the coyote family was incorrect. The county agency was not involved.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
Sounds like there needs to be some sort of communication between the city and county and the USDA Wildlife Service, which seems to have been lacking…
I know at times the ground squirrel population gets completely out of control, and coyotes would be a natural predator to keep ground squirrel populations down…
I am hopeful people will attend tonight’s meeting to better support a future coexistence plan between people and coyotes. A little education and a strong plan can make the difference in these matters. We have to stop with the knee jerk reaction to kill wildlife. There have been the killings of coyotes in Davis for years on the North Davis Farms one by one without notice from the public or the city, however I thought these coyotes were safe choosing to rear their pups in the Wildhorse buffer area and they had been staying north of 102. We must do better than trapping and shooting them. I am pleased that so many the residents of Davis are equally shocked as I was to see that had been killed.
Boycott the WildHorse Golf Club operation. They obviously knew to go straight to the US removal service, before any local authorities found out about it.
Recently there was a major news article about the US authorities, and it was not complementary. Someone in Wild Horse probably saw it and contacted them.
The City can refuse to hold meeting up there anymore. The last one I went to was last August, for the water project.
While playing golf at Wildhorse a few years back my friend and I noticed a coyote stalking a mother who was pushing a stroller and walking a small dog. The mother had no idea she was being watched so we grabbed our five irons and chased the coyote off. Would the coyote have been aggressive, we didn’t know and didn’t want to leave it to fate.
Right, Mike Harrington, put the golf course out of business. That will really solve the problem. You are confusing. Do you support Davis businesses or not?
The golf course did nothing wrong. They had a problem as the local residents local residents and joggers had voiced concerns so they called in a gov’t agency that took the action they deemed necessary.
Great to hear from you Ryan. I dont support businesses that unnecessarily kill wildlife around our community. Remember the Ramos buthery of the burrowing owls years ago, and the city litigation against them for it? I am sure there are ideas and solutions for scaring/teaching coyotes to stay away from joggers, but no one tried anything besides killing the animals. It’s sad, really. There really should be a boycott until the gold facility apologizes, and puts into place a program that will avoid killing animals as the first and only option.
The City and community groups should halt any further public use of that facility.
“Ramos butchery”
Michael, the golf course didn’t kill the coyotes, the USDA Wildlife Services made the determination. I feel that’s where your accusations should be aimed. The golf course had been continually told about the coyotes that neghbors and joggers felt threatened by. What if they had said nothing and someone got hurt? I can’t imagine the lawsuit that the golf course might have faced.
The golf course called an appropriate government agency in response to citizen complaints. How is that wrong? The problem lies with the USDA Wildlife Service not working with or referring the call to the local government office.
Maybe the City should just close the path or at least warn people not to bring tiny dogs on a walk there? That would be better than a campaign to try to bankrupt the golf course, which would do nothing except give us another business closing.
Shrillness is getting to be expected – a constant state – from you.
I can’t really consider it “unnecessary killing” if the coyotes were stalking joggers, small children and people walking dogs. Perhaps what needs to change is the law prohibiting relocation. Does anyone know what the reasoning is behind that law? As for the squirrel population, while they can be a nuisance they don’t really present any threat to safety. In order for the coyotes to be controlling the squirrel population, they’d have to be running through neighborhoods and back yards. I think most people would prefer the squirrels.
The Enterprise corrected itself. The county had nothing to do with it. The trapper was not from the county.
Has a coyote every killed a human? Is that really a threat?
http://tchester.org/sgm/lists/coyote_attacks.html
“Over 300 people have been killed by domestic dogs in the U.S. between 1979 and the late 1990s (Humane Society of the U.S., reported in Tracking and the Art of Seeing, Paul Rezendes, second edition, 1999, p. 194). This means that your family dog or your neighbor’s dog is ten times more likely to kill you than a mountain lion and hundreds of time more likely than a coyote attacks.”
[quote]While playing golf at Wildhorse a few years back my friend and I noticed a coyote stalking a mother who was pushing a stroller and walking a small dog. The mother had no idea she was being watched so we grabbed our five irons and chased the coyote off. Would the coyote have been aggressive, we didn’t know and didn’t want to leave it to fate.[/quote]
Thanks for sharing your story. But I have to wonder was the coyote attracted to the people because it wanted to go after the people/babies in the stroller, or was the coyote after the smell of food the people might have been carrying? Have people been feeding the coyotes?
I’m not saying it was necessarily a bad thing to get rid of some coyotes if they were getting aggressive – but you have to determine what “getting aggressive” means and the reasons why. Because coyotes are natural predators of ground squirrels, whose populations can get completely out of control. Ground squirrels dig holes everywhere, that people and animals can fall into, and ground squirrels carry all sorts of diseases.
If anyone remembers, the ground squirrel population became so rampant at UCD, they took to putting out slow acting poison to control the out of control numbers, which caused a public relations nightmare. On the Sac State campus, my son watched a squirrel scamper up the pants leg of a girl, who absolutely was in a panic. Squirrels, if left unchecked, can be a real nuisance, and in their own way just as, if not more dangerous than coyotes.
I agree that the USDA Wildlife Service may have been absolutely correct in their assessment in what they ultimately did. But why not communicate with the city and county – basic education is never a bad thing? If people are feeding the coyotes or bringing food on their persons in the vicinity of coyotes, that could be an ongoing problem…
I completely agree with comments posted by Cayce. However, I have far more anger and am completely outraged about the trapping and killing of what I assume was a mother coyote and her four young without ANY consultation with our City’s wildlife biologist. In general, we as a Community cherish the urban wildlife that we are surrounded by. If there is a problem a vigilante action like this is completely unacceptable.
Our City has embraces Urban Wildlife and we have a full time Wildlife Biologist who does an excellent job. Clearly by his comments to the Vanguard and to the Enterprise he is upset by this tragedy as well. What needs to come of this is that our City Council needs to demand an investigation to identify any an all agencies and parties who were involved in this action. There needs to be a “cease and desist” legal action put into place to prevent another such occurrence while there is an investigation. We need to be included in any wildlife issues not only within the our City but at least into our sphere of influence area as well since it all affects us as a community.
Many people move to Davis because of the rural environment around us and the urban wildlife is a part of this and the vast majority of us consider this an amenity, not a liability. The reality is that we as residents who are encroaching in on the living area of these animals and we need to have a level of understanding and tolerance to co-exist. It is not too much to ask of us as residents to respect these wild creatures who are simply trying to survive within proximity of our residences.
We need to find out who is responsible for these tragic killings and create a line of communication between the USDA (and any other agencies including the County) and our City’s Wildlife Biologist to be included in the decision making on nay wildlife concerns. We should also make clear that legal action will be a consequence for any other “vigilante” killings of our local wildlife. A tragedy like this must never happen again. The City must be consulted in all urban wildlife issues within or around our City.
I am glad to hear that the Council will be addressing this issue tonight at 9:30pm. I hope that the Community emails and testifies their concerns about these coyote killings within our City. Some thought for the Council to consider are the following:
1) The City Council to make to take action to communicate to any and all agencies involved in wildlife within or near our City that our City Biologist is to be brought into the discussion when there is a wildlife issue or before any animals are targeted for “lethal removal” by USDA or any other agencies.
2) Council needs to move forward on a City of Davis Urban Wildlife Program which has been proposed for years would include guidelines on how to deal with wildlife which may be causing a nuisance situation and assistance from the City for advice. But it would also include proactive positive information like how to make and where to locate Owl boxes or bat boxes as part of rodent and mosquito control.
3) The Council should ask the Wildhorse Golf course to pay the bill for the killings since they authorized the killings, not the City so our taxpayer money should not be used to fund this tragedy.
The bottom line is the USDA had NO business acting on their own without consulting the City of Davis on the killing of these Coyotes particularly within the City of Davis.
[i]Perhaps what needs to change is the law prohibiting relocation.[/i]
This should be the entire argument here. Without a change to this law, this situation will continue to repeat itself.
I will make one comment though related to the transference of human emotions and victim-ology in response to the killing of wildlife. As much as this bothered me, wild animals live tragic and violent lives. What about the birds and other small animals killed by coyotes? Keeping it in context… it is still tragic that they were killed; but their lives should not be measured against the lives of humans or their pets. In fact, their extermination might very well have been the most humane choice to prevent their suffering from the alternative.
“Over 300 people have been killed by domestic dogs in the U.S. between 1979 and the late 1990s (Humane Society of the U.S., reported in Tracking and the Art of Seeing, Paul Rezendes, second edition, 1999, p. 194). This means that your family dog or your neighbor’s dog is ten times more likely to kill you than a mountain lion and hundreds of time more likely than a coyote attacks.”
What would you rather come face to face with, your (neighbor’s dog) or (mountain lion, coyote)?
ERM, I run that trail everyday. I’ve never noticed anyone leaving food out for the coyotes. I’m sure that day the coyote was stalking the ladie’s small dog, but she was also walking alone with her baby in a stroller and had no idea she had a coyote on her trail.
Civil discourse…”The Enterprise corrected itself. The county had nothing to do with it. The trapper was not from the county.”
LOL, I like how you left out that the trapper was a USDA employee.
civil discourse wrote:
> Over 300 people have been killed by domestic dogs
> in the U.S. between 1979 and the late 1990s
> This means that your family dog or your neighbor’s
> dog is ten times more likely to kill you than a
> mountain lion and hundreds of time more likely
> than a coyote attacks.
This does NOT mean that “your family dog or your neighbor’s dog is ten times more likely to kill you than a mountain lion and hundreds of time more likely than a coyote attacks”. It just means that there are a lot more dogs around people than coyotes and mountain lions.
Using the logic of civil discourse bicycles are more dangerous than land mines since far more kids in the U.S. have died on bikes in the past 10 years than have been killed by land mines.
Eileen: You tell ’em. I had a strong vote on the CIty Council, supported by Sheryl Freeman, to create an inventory of species, for an Urban Wildlife Program. I left the CC in 2004, so dont know what happened after that.
Someone should send a Freedom of Information Act request to the USDA for their report, and who called it in.
Take care of the people and animals within our sphere of influence.
THis also means we are stewards of the precious water that falls on our city and percolates into the aquifers. We need to do our best with our current resource before running off to take river water that the downstream animals and plants need to survive. Unncessarily sucking large quantities of Sacramento River water is an environmental crime, and we will take that approach as this water project continues to be considered by the City.
[quote]2/17/97. Lauren Bridges, a 40 pound, 4-year-old girl, was attacked by a 40 pound female coyote when she left her vacation rental on Saddle Road in South Lake Tahoe, CA. The coyote knocked her to the ground and began biting her face, the only part not covered by ski clothes. Her father heard her screams and pulled the coyote off his daughter as it continued ripping at her face with its teeth. Lauren required 22 stitches for 16 wounds to the girl’s face, neck and scalp, out of a total of over 30 puncture wounds. One of the puncture wounds came within a centimeter of her jugular vein. The father was not bitten, and the coyote was killed moments later by a police officer.
In the previous month at South Lake Tahoe, Supervisor John Upton reported that a man was bitten by a coyote, other skiers were chased by coyotes, and children walking to school were followed by coyotes. Apparently, people had been feeding coyotes in the area,[b] accustoming the coyotes to people.[/b][/quote]
It would seem that allowing a pack of coyotes to live in a heavily people populated area is accepting risk that episodes like the previous will occur.
[i]Unncessarily sucking large quantities of Sacramento River water is an environmental crime, and we will take that approach as this water project continues to be considered by the City.[/i]
So, continuing to pollute the Delta from our pumped mineral-heavy underground water is not any environmental crime?
SouthofDavis….LOL…I loved your bicycle/land mines analogy. Who ever knew bicycles are more dangerous than land mines?
if you think the outcry over humans killing coyotes is bad just wait until you hear the outcry over the killing of a human by a coyote.
[quote]We should also make clear that legal action will be a consequence for any other “vigilante” killings of our local wildlife.
The bottom line is the USDA had NO business acting on their own without consulting the City of Davis on the killing of these Coyotes particularly within the City of Davis. [/quote]
Legal action on what legal basis?
USDA is federal, no? Federal trumps state and local law, correct?
I think you can certainly talk to the USDA, and ask nicely that in the future would they please consult with city/county before taking drastic steps to exterminate wildlife, but ultimately I suspect the USDA has the final say when it comes to dominion over animals. Unless you know something I don’t?
[quote]ERM, I run that trail everyday. I’ve never noticed anyone leaving food out for the coyotes. I’m sure that day the coyote was stalking the ladie’s small dog, but she was also walking alone with her baby in a stroller and had no idea she had a coyote on her trail. [/quote]
What you don’t know is if the people w the stroller were carrying food. Dogs/coyotes have an extremely strong sense of smell can can ferret out food even if packed in a paper/plastic bag. If the mother had food anywhere on her person, or somewhere on the stroller, the coyote could have been stalking the food. This is what bears do…
[quote]We need to do our best with our current resource before running off to take river water that the downstream animals and plants need to survive. Unncessarily sucking large quantities of Sacramento River water is an environmental crime, and we will take that approach as this water project continues to be considered by the City.[/quote]
So just use only our wells? No member of the WAC agrees w that position, nor does the state…
[quote]Apparently, people had been feeding coyotes in the area, accustoming the coyotes to people.[/quote]
Thanks for the article Jeff. The last sentence was the key…
“if you think the outcry over humans killing coyotes is bad just wait until you hear the outcry over the killing of a human by a coyote.”
The question is who is in the best position to make the call: you, the city’s wild life director, or the USDA?
“USDA is federal, no? Federal trumps state and local law, correct?”
One can still file actions in federal court, the problem is that if the city contracted with the county who hired the USDA, it gives them jurisdiction. I don’t know if having jurisdiction gives them the automatic right to exercise their discretion and whether that discretion can be questioned.
Only in Davis does the killing of five coyotes justify a special meeting of the City Council. Davis citizens are mostly ignorant of the number of coyotes killed by local ranchers every year because coyotes kill calves. Fortunately coyotes are prolific breeders and will repopulate the area soon. Coyotes are survivors. They will most likely inhabit this planet long after humans are gone!
ERM is correct when she points out that food is probably the reason coyotes are wandering closer and closer to people using the Wildhorse Golf Course. Garbage is the number one reason Coyotes get overpopulated.
In areas like South Lake Tahoe they have laws about when garbage is put out for pick up and how it is isolated from the local bears and coyotes, whose habitat has been invaded by humans. Those laws are regularly broken by all the “flatlanders” who tend to populate the area and know very little about living with wildlife.
Perhaps the Wildhorse folks need to take a close look at how garbage generated by golfers on the course is handled instead of resorting to extermination by the feds.
I remember living at Badjer Pass Ski Resort in Yosemite National Park in the ’70s and watching a Park Service ranger walk up to my friend George, a coyote, and shoot him with a shotgun because the association between people and food had become so strong in George’s mind that people eventually came to equal food. George had developed the unfortunate habit of chasing folks on snow saucers and nipping at them.The Park Service became concerned that he had become rabid so they killed him.
What the authorities did not see was that every night George would make his rounds, right after the last ski bus left the resort. He would follow each chair lift line and eat all the hamburger wrappers littered there by careless skiers. Then he would run along in front of my Tucker Sno cat,as I groomed the slopes, using the vehicles far reaching roof mounted flood lights to pick off the mice, who were out harvesting other skier garbage.
The point here is that, if we really want to live with the wildlife here in Davis, we are gonna have to stop feeding them. All wild life need three things to survive, water, cover, and food. Take away any one of those three and they will go else where. If we don’t want coyotes on the Wildhorse Golf links, remove all sources of food and they will leave.
Also, joggers around the course need to know that coyotes are not wolves. They do not run in packs. Only in extraordinary circumstances have they ever attacked people, usually when rabid.When inhabiting an area shared with wildlife be aware of your surroundings. If being approached by a coyote is a problem, make yourself as big as possible. Raise your hands over your head, yell at the dog, even walk toward him. The coyote will leave. VIVA EL COYOTE !
Defund and destroy U.S.Federal Wildlife Services. They use your tax dollars to torture and kill our animals–over 100,000 a year. They kill pet dogs and cats–they kill endangered species like eagles and wolves. They poison children. Defund and destroy them–end the federal War on Wildlife.
Dr. Raven
Defund and destroy U.S.Federal Wildlife Services. They use your tax dollars to torture and kill our animals–over 100,000 a year. They kill pet dogs and cats–they kill endangered species like eagles and wolves. They poison children. Defund and destroy them–end the federal War on Wildlife.
Dr. Raven
Maybe some of the squirrels from UC Davis can be relocated to the area north of the golf course. This would help solve a couple of problems.
Roger: good, practical points. I dont live in WH, so I have no idea what goes on up there. But whatever it was, or is, things can be better for all concerned if there is discussion about the problems, and solutions. Instead, we apparantely have someone from the gold course staff calling in the guys with the guns and traps, and the pups and Mom were killed without any discussion.
Good post Roger. I agree. It is another example of handouts – even incidental handouts from careless garbage handling – corrupting animals’ natural survival instincts. It is possible that once an animal is corrupted this way, they would starve being forced back to their natural food chain reliance having lost some of those survival skills.
So, to correct this problem we either have to create a new in-the-wild coyote feeding entitlement program, let them suffer starvation, or ???
“Maybe some of the squirrels from UC Davis can be relocated to the area north of the golf course. This would help solve a couple of problems.”
We don’t need a squirrel relocation from UCDAVIS to Wildhorse. The golf course is infested with ground squirrels, believe me, I live there. I know it and so do the coyotes.
“Using the logic of civil discourse bicycles are more dangerous than land mines since far more kids in the U.S. have died on bikes in the past 10 years than have been killed by land mines. “
It wasn’t my logic. It was a quote from the website above it. Go back and read it.
But it sounds like you are more likely to be killed while riding a bike than by landmines in the US. So what? Apparently you are more likely to be killed by a domesticated dog than by a coyote as well.
And more likely to be struck by lightening than killed by a shark. In our world you have to weigh threats to your survival. Clearly the coyote threat is not that big in the US. Along with the landmine threat as you point out.
It is an interesting point that rusty49 has raised. If the Wildhorse golf Course is infested with round squirrels, then killing these coyotes was one of the most counter-production actions they could have taken. Since squirrels and other rodents make up a good part of a coyotes diet, the golf course has just invited the mass production of more ground squirrels. It does raise the question of how they golf course is dealing with the squirrel problem. Would it be poison? More “lethyl removal”? Either of these alternatives are not a good way to go if you have a natural predator who is happy to do the job for you without poisoning the environment or using weapons near a residential area.
Roger brings up a sad but with a the relevant message about education of the public to not voluntarily feed ,nor leave food trash to be accessible which would encourage the wildlife to come closer to the residences.
This also raises the point that we really need an Urban Wildlife Program really for a number of reasons. It could provide educational information of “do’s” and “ don’ts” so folks are not unintentionally creating a problem for the wildlife by feeding them, and also provide advice on how to handle wildlife problems without jumping to “lethyl removal”. I think it would help to reduce what could be an unnecessary fear of these animals if the wildlife behavior is better understood rather then be misinterpreted as Elaine pointed out could have been the case of coyotes coming near a mother with children.
civil discourse wrote:
> It wasn’t my logic. It was a quote from the
> website above it. Go back and read it.
Since you took the time to post it here I assumed you agreed with the quote, didn’t you?
I’m personally opposed to the recent coyote killings, but I understand why people get nervous when they are around. There seems to be a lot more coyotes in the populated areas of the Tahoe Basin than there used to be and we often spot them when walking at night. They don’t bother me at all, but my wife is not happy to see them.
The part of the quote that really rubbed me the wrong way was:
“This means that your family dog or your neighbor’s dog is ten times more likely to kill you than a mountain lion”
I like to keep things “civil” and try and avoid “spin” (unlike the show on Fox that claims to be the “no spin” zone) and a quote that says my eight year old lab or my neighbor’s ten year old golden is “TEN TIMES” more likely to kill me than the BIG mountain lion I came face to face with years ago mountain biking in the Santa Cruz mountains is a joke (even if it is “statistically accurate”)…
Then Eileen wrote:
> It is an interesting point that rusty49 has raised. If the Wildhorse golf
> Course is infested with round squirrels, then killing these coyotes was one
> of the most counter-production actions they could have taken.
> Since squirrels and other rodents make up a good part of a coyotes diet,
> the golf course has just invited the mass production of more ground squirrels
When I am training for longer races I will literally run around the entire city of Davis (including the trail around Wildhorse). You can’t run from Covell to Pole Line without seeing at least a couple dozen ground squirrels. Over the years I have seen people working in what seems to be an outdoor squirrel playground in the NE corner of Wildhorse (just before you make the turn and head west to Pole Line). I was guessing that the squirrel lovers made some kind of deal with the developer. Does anyone know anything about squirrel playground/coyote buffet area?
SouthofDavis, I run that path almost everyday with my dog. There are times when as many as 20-25 ground squirrels will go across the path in front of me during my run. That section you’re referring to is actually a burrowing owl habitat but the squirrels seem to share it with them. A few weeks ago during my run I saw two coyotes on the path about 50 yards ahead. Having my 25 lb. dog with me I didn’t want to take any chances so I turned around and headed back out. I can definately see how someone walking alone or with a child or small animal could be frightened.
Listening to the comments last night from some of the wildlife experts, it seems that education is in order to the residents of Wildhorse and other urban-rural boundary residents to teach them about coyote behavior and educate about when coyotes may or may not be dangerous.
[quote]dmg: One can still file actions in federal court, the problem is that if the city contracted with the county who hired the USDA, it gives them jurisdiction. I don’t know if having jurisdiction gives them the automatic right to exercise their discretion and whether that discretion can be questioned.[/quote]
Yes, the discussion last night about a city contract was quite interesting and illuminating. I had no idea there was a contract between the city and the USDA that gave the USDA the right to remove animals. Well the contract is no more, so the entire matter can be reevaluated.
[quote]Listening to the comments last night from some of the wildlife experts, it seems that education is in order to the residents of Wildhorse and other urban-rural boundary residents to teach them about coyote behavior and educate about when coyotes may or may not be dangerous.[/quote]
Yes, I agree that education is essential. I was walking through the olive grove in West Davis one evening, when the corn stalks on either side were high. There is a huge number of ground squirrels there. A coyote stood and watched me from about 20 feet away in front of the corn stalks. It was a bit unnerving, bc I did not have my dog with me (she died about 2 years ago). However, the coyote did not make any moves toward me, and I just continued walking. The coyote was clearly keeping an eye on me, to see if I was a threat. I’m sure it was there to feed on the ground squirrels, which was a good thing.
[quote]rusty49: We don’t need a squirrel relocation from UCDAVIS to Wildhorse. The golf course is infested with ground squirrels, believe me, I live there. I know it and so do the coyotes. [/quote]
Eileen Samitz is correct when she notes that killing those coyotes will only make the ground squirrel problem WORSE…
ERM, I was against the killing of the coyotes, especially a mother and pups. All I did is point out the FACT that I could see how people could get frightened by the presence of coyotes on a secluded path especially when they’re out there alone. Would a hungry coyote attack, who knows for sure. I wouldn’t want my daughter walking my grandchild out there alone and faced with that situation. I for one would rather stay away from that confrontation. I know one thing for sure, those ground squirrels aren’t going to to attack.
As someone who works in wildlife rehab and environmental history, it is extremely unlikely that a coyote would bother a human–man, mother or mothher anc child. It seems a lot of predator education and teaching people in your community how fto live with wildlife is desperately needed. Feel free to contact us, we can help with public education. We have helped with human/wildlife coexsitence and non-lethal solutions for over 22 years.
Dr. Catherine Feher-Elston
predatordefense.org
catherine@predatordefense.org
Sorry about the typos–mother and child…coexistence…
We have educational links to help people learn to live with wildlife–
predatordefense.org
Dr. Catherine
[quote]ERM, I was against the killing of the coyotes, especially a mother and pups. All I did is point out the FACT that I could see how people could get frightened by the presence of coyotes on a secluded path especially when they’re out there alone. Would a hungry coyote attack, who knows for sure. I wouldn’t want my daughter walking my grandchild out there alone and faced with that situation. I for one would rather stay away from that confrontation. I know one thing for sure, those ground squirrels aren’t going to to attack.[/quote]
I don’t disagree w your point about being unnerved, especially if you had a small child w you. But your other point about “staying away from confrontation” is the key. According to the wildlife expert last night, there are effective harassment techniques that can be used with wildlife (coyotes, bears) to discourage them from interacting with humans and keeping a safe distance. However, I would say that if there is a food source at the golf course, be it garbage, pet food, or ground squirrels, that is the problem that needs to be addressed first and foremost.
SouthofDavis wrote:
“The part of the quote that really rubbed me the wrong way was:
“This means that your family dog or your neighbor’s dog is ten times more likely to kill you than a mountain lion”
I like to keep things “civil” and try and avoid “spin” (unlike the show on Fox that claims to be the “no spin” zone) and a quote that says my eight year old lab or my neighbor’s ten year old golden is “TEN TIMES” more likely to kill me than the BIG mountain lion I came face to face with years ago mountain biking in the Santa Cruz mountains is a joke (even if it is “statistically accurate”)… “
I also like to avoid spin. For instance taking a quote and then completely rewording it to make it sound ridiculous.
Whether or not the “statistic” is useful to you in your life, from a policy and decision-making perspective, the greater harm is domestic dogs according to a reference I posted here for discussion sake (perhaps a better argument would be to question the reference itself).
This means in your daily life that you should worry more about coming across an aggressive domestic dog than an aggressive coyote. Understanding the likelihood of being hurt helps overcome the fear of being hurt. So, I think such statements are useful.
Knowing statistics like these help people overcome fear of swimming in the ocean, for instance, knowing the probability of being bitten by a shark is actually quite low.
I was saddened by the report of the extermination of the coyotes. Personally, I like the idea of living with Coyotes and educating the population for how to do so in harmony.
However, I suspect that I am a bit more evolved in this practice having been a conservative living with so wild Davis liberals for 35 years. 😉
Seriously though, my family has rented a vacation house in the Tuscon area specifically because it offers the best chance to see coyotes, bobcats and other types of wildlife. People living there generall don’t have small pets that they leave outdoors. They keep an eye on their surroundings when walking around the areas. Their trash is locked up. Their pets are fed in enclosed areas.
We humans are the smart ones, right? We should be able to be educated and trained to do the things necessary to prevent dangerous corruption of coyotes’ survival instints and hunting skills. Don’t we have some UC brains that can help develop a program that allows coyotes to exist around the periphery of our urban area? I think that would be a very cool thing. Maybe this is another opportunity for Davis to be recognized as a leader in some municiple management approach.
[quote]Seriously though, my family has rented a vacation house in the Tuscon area specifically because it offers the best chance to see coyotes, bobcats and other types of wildlife. People living there generall don’t have small pets that they leave outdoors. They keep an eye on their surroundings when walking around the areas. Their trash is locked up. Their pets are fed in enclosed areas.
We humans are the smart ones, right? We should be able to be educated and trained to do the things necessary to prevent dangerous corruption of coyotes’ survival instints and hunting skills. Don’t we have some UC brains that can help develop a program that allows coyotes to exist around the periphery of our urban area? I think that would be a very cool thing. Maybe this is another opportunity for Davis to be recognized as a leader in some municiple management approach.[/quote]
Well said!
damn golfers and yuppy soccer moms calling in the heavy guns if they so much hear a gopher sneeze