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Politics & Government

Animal Services Officer Advises PPCC on Wildlife

Discussion focuses on safeguarding people and pets from potentially dangerous coyotes, bobcats and mountain lions that are native to the Palisades.

As habitats for natural predators increasingly shrink as a result of human population growth, residents of hillside communities such as the Palisades where these animals have roamed for millennia must accept the likelihood of crossing paths with a coyote or wild cat.

An officer from the Los Angeles Animal Services Department spoke to the Pacific Palisades Community Council on Thursday about how to avoid a possibly threatening confrontation with area wildlife.

"The wildlife is coming closer and closer to the city boundaries nowadays," said Officer Armando Navarrete, who leads the city's Small Animal Rescue Team. "They have no fear because they're looking for food and for a place to live." 

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Deterring predators from entering areas of human domain is the only viable option, Navarrete told the PPCC.

Navarrete also pointed out a shift in the behavior of naturally nocturnal animals including skunks and possums that have become increasingly daytime foragers due to the easy source of food that a trash bin or even fruit that has fallen to the ground from a backyard tree provide.

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"We can't really trap them, we can't relocate them," he said. "There's so much of it that it would be a never-ending process. So we try to encourage people to deter them from coming into the area."

Small animals such as domestic cats, small dogs and rabbits "fall prey to coyotes very easily because it doesn't take a lot of coyotes to hunt down a cat or a rabbit, it just takes usually one," Navarrete said. "Cats are the number one victims of coyotes because they're easy prey."

He suggested keeping cats indoors and also stressed that dog owners should always keep small dogs on a leash that is no more than six feet long.

"I know that people like the retractable [leashes] so they can let their dog roam around, but that can get you in a lot of trouble," Navarrete said. "It's dangerous for you because if you try to reel your dog in while something's chasing it, ... that's when people can get attacked and can get bitten."

PPCC member Jack Allen mentioned an incident in which his wife was attacked by a coyote while walking the family's dog.

"She picked the beagle up and put it in her arms, and the coyote attacked her," Allen said.

Despite potentially dangerous incidents, PPCC member Jim Rea and others at the community council meeting encouraged respect for wildlife.

"These coyotes were here long before we were," Rea said. "They're entitled to be here as well."

The city has maintained a program to deal with wildlife issues for seven years, according to Navarrete. Animal Services will soon transfer an officer to join the department's lone wildlife specialist.

Navarrete suggested residents email him at armando.navarrete@lacity.org if they have questions or want to report a predator sighting or incident.

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