Coyotes roam, live among us; neighbors are on alert
Maz Joonam Jobrani has been carrying a bullhorn on walks with his mini golden doodle ever since encountering coyotes in his Wilton Place neighborhood.
At first he thought it was a dog. “I was going to let my dog say hi,” he said.
When he realized the skittish creature was not a domesticated pet, “I yanked my dog into my arms and walked backwards.”
COYOTE on the 100 North block of Ridgewood Place. Photo by Dana Barker
And he roared, loudly, which probably saved them, he said.
Sprinting all the way home didn’t help, he realized later. The worst thing you can do is run from a coyote. Besides instinctively pursing prey, “They can outrun you and your dog.”
That was a year ago, but he’s been carrying the bullhorn ever since, just in case.
Mike Armbruster was walking his whoodle (a poodle/wheaten terrier) on Wilton Drive when a coyote crossed the street and followed the pair even after he made his chest and shoulders big and yelled loudly. “It was pretty creepy,” he recalled. Luckily, they made it home safely.
Ramon Gonzalez has witnessed so many coyotes in the neighborhood he’s written a chronology of sightings, and he’s found some surprises.
“It was previously my understanding that coyotes are generally nocturnal, so it was both interesting and concerning to see them wandering around at all hours, including in the middle of the day,” Gonzalez noted.
His chronology starts in June 2025, with a neighbor who was putting out his trash when an alpha male from across the street charged at him. He screamed and yelled, but the coyote “came after him like a shot.” He ran to his front door, barely getting inside.
Gonzalez encountered his first coyote two days later, prompting him to join the Ridgewood Place WhatsApp group, where sightings continued to be posted until late 2025. The area then drew quiet—until recently.
Gonzalez believes that packs lived in dens in culverts under the Wilshire Country Club and were uprooted during a recent major remodel of the golf course.
Fires last year created “a perfect storm to draw them this far south” from the hills, he said.
The juveniles are harmless, Gonzalez notes, but you don’t want to encounter the alpha male and female, who are fiercely protective of their pups.
An alpha male weighs 45 pounds, but, being “very, very territorial,” will pounce on a husky/German shepherd mix twice its size, as in one reported incident.
No one has been hurt, though there are several reports of missing small animals, anecdotal stories of small pets taken, accounts of an animal’s bloody footprints on Ridgewood, and yelps heard in the night.
Neighbors have turned to carrying bear and pepper spray. Gonzalez is armed with a baseball bat. An elderly neighbor carries a walking cane with a hidden blade in the handle.
According to reports, when a coyote charged at one neighbor she picked up her small dog and ran to a neighbor’s porch and made it safely inside.
Another woman was walking on Lucerne Boulevard when a coyote approached; she jumped into a nearby car, apologizing to the driver, “I’m being followed by a pack of coyotes.”
Coyotes strolling past homes and lounging on lawns are commonly captured on the Ring app.
I reached out to L.A. Animal Services’ media contact, Agnes Sibal-von Debschitz, who suggested residents read online resources at laanimalservices.com/wildlife.
Neighbors can also attend and ask questions at monthly Wildlife Webinars held the third Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. The next one will be held Tue., July 21. A link will be provided closer to the meeting at laanimalservicescom/wildlife.
A spokesman for City Council District 13 said, “Issues involving wildlife, including coyotes who have lost their natural fear of humans, aggressive behavior, or concerns regarding the feeding of wildlife, are handled by Los Angeles Animal Services, 888-452-7381, and Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control, 562-940-6898.
State and local laws prohibit harming coyotes and encourage coexistence. Feeding them is outlawed to prevent coyotes from losing their fear of humans.
They are part of the ecosystem, eating rodents, helping remove carrion, and proliferating our flora by distributing seeds of plants.
In fact, coyote attacks on humans are extremely rare and usually happen as a result of someone feeding them.
What you want is for them to fear us, not sniff around driveways and wander about completely unafraid, as Armbruster, with the whoodle, has witnessed.
Leaving cat food outdoors is also definitely not recommended. Armbruster has seen coyotes feasting on cat food left outdoors by his neighbors.
Instead, if you encounter a coyote, you should “haze” them, which involves shouting, throwing objects and other activities that will hopefully scare them away.
And maybe carry a bullhorn.
Some tips to stay safe if a coyote approaches
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there and a lot of misunderstanding of the nature of the coyote,” L.A. City Wildlife Officer Vanessa Rodriguez told us. “Wildlife should be afraid of us,” she added. She’s worked in L.A. Animal Services the past 20 years. Here are some tips she shared to help keep you and your family safe.
Carry “hazing” devices—whistles, bells, airhorns, even pop-up umbrellas will scare coyotes.
Shout with low, loud voices; not high pitched, if you see one.
Put coins in soda cans and place around large yards to shake and throw.
Switch it up. Change your hazing devices as coyotes can get acclimated to sounds.
Don’t run. As predators and curious animals, they will chase you.
Don’t use pepper spray. It will only make them aggressive.
Do not leave food outside, including bird seed, squirrel food, and cat food. You are training the coyote to expect food from humans.
Do not leave fruit on the ground. It’s another tasty food source for them. Wildlife experts agree bites and conflicts are directly related to someone in the neighborhood feeding them.
Category: Real Estate
