Four recent incidents involving children being injured by coyotes in a Southern California urban edge community prompted the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to issue a warning Wednesday.
Since May, four children were either bitten or scratched by the animals in Irvine, CDFW stated in a news release.
Now parents in the Portola Springs neighborhood of the affluent Orange County city are on alert and fear for their children's safety with what they said is more aggressive behavior by the coyotes.
Portola Springs is nestled next to open space, a place where the coyotes live and occasionally a place where they cross over and enter into the urban development.
Resident Chih Wong said he's taken to walking with a stick when he's with his young sons, it's something he felt would help keep the animals at bay.
"About 10 days ago we saw another coyote just resting on the grass of one of our community pools, and just ignoring people, he just sit there for a while," he said.
The coyotes were getting more and more comfortable around people, according to Wong.
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The recent coyote incidents underscore why communities should eliminate food sources that may attract wildlife, Capt. Rebecca Hartman from the CDFW said. When coyotes eat food left out, they can become a public safety threat, she added.
"We're afraid to come outside," Linda Detorres said, another resident of the neighborhood. "It's like we're nervous constantly. Are they hiding in the bushes? We feel bad they were here first but we can't have them attacking people, especially the children.
Coyotes are very active during warm summer months and are almost always searching for food, according to fish and wildlife experts.
Coyotes usually fear humans, but if they begin to associate humans with food, they can lose their natural fear and become bold and aggressive, CDFW said.
State fish and wildlife experts were trying to teach residents how to keep the coyotes at bay explaining that if food was left outside or if trash cans were left uncovered the resident would be labeled a "feeder' in the coyote's eye.
"It could also be those individuals who think they're doing right by throwing out food to them intentionally because they're thinking if they go after that food than they're not going to go after their pets," Lt. Kent Smirl said, from the CDFW.
The community is going to start a wildlife watch program. Authorities said they wanted everyone who lived there to be alert and would meet with the residents July 22.
