By Barbara Ferris, Los Feliz Square member

Coyotes are making the news these days. This summer, after a park patron was nipped on the foot by a coyote, the California Department of Fish and Game "removed" eight coyotes from Griffith Park. Coyotes made national news when a pair of them attacked a woman who was hiking alone in a wilderness preserve in Nova Scotia, Canada. Sad to say, she died the next day.

Coyote sightings are common in our neighborhood. Should we be worried? Are our pets in danger? Are our children at risk?

The first thing an urban wildlife expert will stress is that coyote attacks on humans are rare. Normally, coyotes avoid direct human contact. The second thing experts will say is that the naturally human-shy coyote inevitably turns aggressive when humans hand-feed them. When people purposely feed coyotes, the coyotes come to see all humans as a food source. It's a bad thing when a coyote looses its natural fear of humans - bad for the coyote and the humans.

The "removal" of eight coyotes in Griffith Park was the direct result of people hand-feeding coyotes. Wildlife experts have a grim saying that applies here: "A fed coyote is a dead coyote."

Once a coyote, or a coyote family-group, loses the fear of humans, that behavior becomes fixed and cannot be undone. It is not feasible to trap and relocate coyotes that exhibit this behavior. Relocation is not an option because artificially relocating animals has been found to be bad for the animal (they become disoriented and often die soon after) and relocation disturbs the balance of the ecosystem where the animal is placed.

The simple fact is that coyotes, like all animals, are attracted to an area for one reason: the abundance of food. Coyotes are scavengers and opportunists. They eat anything they can find: fallen fruit, garbage, mice, opossums, cats, and occasionally a pet dog.

So, what do we need to do to assure that our homes and properties do not become coyote magnets? One place to start is the City of Los Angeles Department of Animal Services website. The website has a very good wildlife section that gives specific recommendation for various wildlife issues. http://www.laanimalservices.com/aboutani_wildlife.htm

The coyote link http://www.laanimalservices.com/wildlife_coyotes.htm is informative and offers suggestions on what to do if you have a coyote encounter. It also tells you how to make your home and yard less attractive to coyotes and the creatures they prey on.

Especially interesting is the "DETERRENTS & SCARE TACTICS" section. After reading this advice, I started picking up the fallen fruit from our orange tree, it simply never occurred to me before that it might attract unwanted creatures into the back yard! Now, I know better.

NEIGHBOR-TO-NEIGHBOR TIP: Calling 311 (the LA City help line) is the fastest way to get help if you have a wild animal emergency on your property (sick or injured wild animals, etc.). The number is easier to remember and you'll get a faster response.