Community Corner

Coyotes Chased Joggers Near Rancho Laguna Park

It's unhealthy for coyotes not to be afraid of people.

It might be time for Lamorinda’s coyote population to remember that humans are dangerous. It’s when canis latrans gets too comfortable with homo sapiens that things turn ugly; first for the people and their pets, and then for the coyotes.

Lamorinda Weekly has an excellent article about two joggers and their dogs, who were pursued by a pack of 10 coyotes last month in Rancho Laguna Park in Moraga. The women and their pets got away unscathed. The same might not be true for the coyotes. 

It's when coyotes grow aggressive that wildlife officials call in the trappers. The article quotes a scientific paper that investigated what happens when humans leave coyotes alone. It’s not good.

"Our observations indicate that in the absence of harassment by residents, coyotes can lose their fear of people and come to associate humans with this safe, resource-rich environment. In such situations, some coyotes have begun to act aggressively toward humans, chasing joggers and bicyclists, confronting people walking their dogs, and stalking small children."

The Lamorinda Weekly article is quick to point out that only one coyote attack on a human has ever been recorded in Northern California.


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