Community Corner

Wildlife Officials Monitor Coyote Interactions

There have been no other reports this year of Lamorinda coyote problems other than media articles about Jan. 31 encounter on a trail above Rancho Laguna Park, Moraga.

Following up on media articles about a coyote pack on a Moraga trail, state wildlife officials say they have not had formal reports of coyote problems in Lamorinda this year.

Generally, at this time of year, the state gets zero to 1 report a month of a coyote problem in the wilderness/suburban interface that is Lamorinda. That rises to about 1 to 2 a month in the spring as coyote moms have pups and are protective of their dens, said Nicole Kozicki, fish and game warden for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. (As of Jan. 1, the old Department of Fish and Game changed its formal name to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.)

On Jan 31 two women were jogging with their dogs on the Canyon Loop Trail above Rancho Laguna Park, Moraga, when they were wary a pack of 10 coyotes following them, according to a feature in the Lamorinda Weekly. The women ran back to the park and, once they passed the cow fence into the park, the coyotes stopped following.

Kozicki said the department documented the Moraga case, but received no formal complaint. The department classifies coyote reports into

  • Public safety issues, with threats to humans and accounts of coyotes coming after people unprovoked or hanging around a park or public area and showing no fear of humans, and
  • Depredation issues, where a coyote threatens or kills a dog or cat.

Depredation issues are the responsibility of the homeowner. When the department documents a public safety issue or a pattern of public safety issues, it sometimes hires trappers to trap and remove a coyote, Kozicki said.

To report a coyote encounter, call the Department of Fish and Wildlife's Wildlife Management Branch in Napa, (707) 944-5500.


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