Young coyotes are on the move as experts say it’s dispersal season. The situation is prompting the Redwood City community to take extra precautions.
City officials have posted warning signs along the Bay Trail due to an increase in coyote sightings.
Every person NBC Bay Area spoke with Wednesday along the Bay Trail in the Redwood Shores neighborhood said they’ve had at least one encounter with a coyote in the past weeks.
“As soon as we started to move away it, he came back towards us. So, I tried to scare him away, wave my hands, yell at him and he’d go away a few minutes. And then, as I start to move on, he’d start coming, like he was following us,” Redwood City resident Scott Cline said.
It’s those reports and images, including one sent to NBC Bay Area by a resident that has prompted the city to put out warning signs.
The city is everyone to avoid walking along the trails, especially if those who have small children or walking their pets during dawn, dusk and night hours.
But coyote expert Rebecca Dmytryk with wildlife services said that’s not the solution. She said instead every city should start by having its own canid response team.
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“They need a system to take reports from the public and map it out. So, we can see where the hotspots are and we can do investigations there, and we can go 'OK, somebody is feeding purposely or here’s a cat feral feeding station. We need to get that under control,'" she said.
Redwood City shared tips on how to scare off a coyote.
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But Dmytryk to avoid a coyote from following you after you’ve hazed it, you need to make sure you follow through and don’t stop until it's long gone.
“A large garbage bag. You open it up, you fill it up with a bit of air and you snap it in the air. It’s this billowy thing that really scares the heck out of coyotes and it's so simple to have with you,” she said.
