Residents of a Los Angeles neighborhood are certain that they are being watched. And Jennifer Bedolla knows who it is: the pack of coyotes that she often catches lounging in her Mar Vista yard and who leave the carcasses of neighborhood pets around her home. In previous years, the occasional coyote would pass through the area at dusk.
But this year is different as the pack grows bolder, with coyotes trailing after people as they walk their dogs and lunging at pets and children. “They’ve become more and more aggressive,” Bedolla said. “They’re just not afraid of humans.
They’re just right on your back, running into you and not running away.” The official response from the city of Los Angeles is that residents can clear brush from around their homes, bang pots and pans to scare away coyotes and overall coexist with the wild animals, according to an information campaign directed at the neighborhood. Frustrated residents in the community just west of Culver City think L.
A. officials do not appreciate their situation. The usual methods don’t work for them, they say.
Animal experts advise anyone who comes across a coyote to wave their arms, shout and make themselves appear as big as possible, but these coyotes are not skittish around their human neighbors. Every day, among the hillsides the coyote yips and cries grow into a wild cacophony. Bedolla said a coyote lunged at her 11-year-old son while he played soccer in his backyard as several other coyotes watched.
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