San Jose Mercury News
Almaden Coyote Traps rejected
S.J. Residents who feel terrorized by animals stalking pets, kids asked council to lift ban
October 6, 2004
Rodney Foo, Staff Writer
No Trapping allowed:
The San Jose City Council on Tuesday voted against allowing leg-hold traps to be set at the Villas of Almaden, a gated community under siege by coyotes.
An emergency measure to permit the trapping of five coyotes that have invaded a San Jose gated community was rejected Tuesday by the San Jose City Council, flabbergasting residents who say they’ve been terrorized by the marauding animals.
Because the situation at Villas of Almaden had been deemed dangerous by the Santa Clara County Vector Control District, Councilwoman Pat Dando and other officials sought to lift the city’s ban against trapping to allow federal, state or county workers to trap and euthanize animals that threaten the public’s safety.
Eight ”yes” votes from the 11 council members were required to change the ordinance. But after an hour of testimony and debate, the proposal got only seven votes. Four members — Linda LeZotte, Forrest Williams, Nora Campos and Chuck Reed — voted ”no,” expressing philosophical doubts over killing and questioning whether there were alternatives to trapping.
”I just can’t support an action that would take a life,” Williams said.
Noting that the Villas also had a similar invasion of coyotes about two years ago, LeZotte suggested that the community look at long-term solutions like an education program to stop the supplemental feeding of other animals that are prey for coyotes.
”This is a people-created problem, not a coyote problem,” said Mary Paglieri of the Little Blue Society, a non-profit group that was hired by the city to evaluate coyotes at the Villas.
Dando, however, said residents of the Villas, a 192-home community at Meridian Avenue and Coleman Road in her district, were instituting a long range program but they needed immediate help of installing traps.
For little more than a year, a new pack of coyotes has set up residence inside the community, prowling for fawns and pets. Residents have reported coyotes attacking a leashed dog, stalking grandparents who were out with their granddaughter, and entering open garages.
”We don’t feel safe to let our little grandchildren out to do their little exploring,” said Yvonne James, who has called the Villas home for 22 years. ”I’m not angry with the council, but I don’t know what we could have done. We have an education program. In the past, it’s always been in our homeowners meetings, ‘Don’t feed your animals outside. Don’t leave food outside. Don’t let your cats out.’ ”
”It’s a lack of understanding,” Villas resident Bernard Axlegrad said about the council’s decision.
Had the measure passed, padded-jaw leg hold traps would have been set inside the Villas and at an empty city lot on Corte de Rosa, where another band of coyotes have been reported ”waiting at front-door steps for people when they come in and out with their pets,” said Mike Phillips, a county vector control wildlife specialist.
Dando and city and county wildlife officials say there is little to do now except to eradicate food sources and hiding places for animals at the Villas.
The councilwoman said she fears that if the coyotes keep killing pets and confronting people — a situation that vector control officials say is a precursor to an attack — the city will be slapped with a lawsuit one day.
”I think it could be a great liability and exposure” given vector control’s warnings, Dando said. ”It could be a serious problem, financially expensive.”
COYOTE
Canis latrans
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Description:
Tawny to grayish fur, lighter underside. Erect, pointed ears. Black-tipped tail usually straight out or down. Twenty to 50 pounds; 11/2 to 2 feet tall; 41 to 53 inches in length.
Primarily nocturnal but occasionally active during daylight.
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Habitat:
Almost anywhere, including open brush, scrub, shrub and herbaceous areas and forests, as long as drinking water is available.
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Food:
Omnivorous. Prey includes small mammals, such as rabbits and mice, as well as sheep and chicken. Coyotes also eat vegetables and carrion. They hunt alone, in pairs or in small packs.
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Breeding:
Coyotes mate January to March; gestation takes about two months. Litters include one to 11 pups, which are weaned at five to seven weeks and leave parents at six to nine months. Breeding pairs remain together for years.
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Predators:
Golden eagles, great horned owls and mountain lions.
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Interaction with humans:
Coyotes are tolerant of human activities and adjust rapidly to changes in their environment. Widespread efforts to control or reduce coyote numbers have been largely unsuccessful.
Source: Ohio Division of Wildlife