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Tracking LA’s Urban Coyotes: They’re Not Just Passing Through

One of the young pups of C-144, a female coyote that lives in the Westake area of Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service.
One of the young pups of C-144, a female coyote that lives in the Westake area of Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service.

The National Park Service is tracking two urban coyotes and have found they aren’t just passing through – they’ve adapted to life in the heart of Los Angeles, negotiating highways and street traffic and utilizing their urban environments to survive and even raise pups. The two coyotes, named C-144 and C-145,  have been outfitted with GPS tracking collars since May 2015, giving the park service a new look at how the urban coyote survives.

According to the researchers, 77% of coyotes in western LA County in the past lived in natural areas and 10% in intensely developed areas. Not so for these two critters. The trackers found these two canids spending 50-50% of their time in “developed” or “altered” landscapes including vacant lots, hillsides and urban yards.

C-144, a two year old female who lives in the densely developed Westlake area just west of downtown, has raised five pups and crossed the 101 Freeway multiple times. Her collar relays data points eight times over each 24 hour period so they don’t track her in ‘live time’ but see her general path 0f movement.

The male coyote being tracked, C-145, lives in the Silver Lake area and is believed to be between 4-8 years old. He hasn’t crossed any freeways but spends much of his time in the hillsides of Silver Lake.

The National Park Service is hoping to collar four more urban coyotes this fall for further study of their habits and habitats. Let’s hope they come to the greater Hancock Park area and tag one of the coyotes roaming our streets and yards – Buzz readers are reporting almost daily sightings of the critter(s) who live in our area.

Larchmont Buzz: Coyote Sightings in Wilshire and Larchmont Areas Continue

KTLA News: New Study Aims to Gain Insight into LA’s Most Urban Coyotes

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Julie Grist
Julie Grist
Julie co-founded the Larchmont Buzz with fellow buzzer Mary Hawley in 2011 and served as Editor, Publisher and writer for the hive for many years until the sale of the Buzz in August 2015. She is still circling the hive as an occasional writer.

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3 COMMENTS

  1. I think this is an interesting project, but it will tell The City what its citizens already know: Coyotes are here, they are bold and they are menacing pets and people. What will it take to finally do something about it: The loss of a toddler innocently running ahead of its parents while out for a walk or in the family yard? It makes me shudder to think about it!

    Let’s fact it: We’ve known since spring that coyotes are all over our neighborhood and several others. (Two friends in the Baldwin Park / The Village Greens areas have heard countless tales of dog injuries and deaths nearby… and in The Village Greens they have spotted a bobcat!!!) But The City has been very slow to act. They don’t seem to understand that this is not a typical year. It’s dry out there. Wild animal water and feeding sources have dried up. So the coyotes and bobcats are broadening their search. Can we blame them? No. Can we resolve the issue without killing them. Yes. Let’s do it!

    • I totally agree with you! If they can put a GPS collar to track them down then why they don’t take them back to their habitat? I live in Hancock Park and it’s being a great concern cause they can be seen even during they time. This guys are not afraid of people and they seem to be very confident. I’ve been seeing the same coyote over the same block pretty much every week since mid September and I do not feel safe walking my dogs anymore!. I think this is an interesting project but they have to take more measures, to me it’s like an accident ready to happen. I love animals and I believe it’s on us to return them to their habitat and provide them with resources to survive there.

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