Aggressive Coyotes on OVLC Preserves
We have received multiple reports of coyotes acting extremely aggressive toward users in the vicinity of the Old Baldwin Road Trailhead and the lower Ventura River Preserve trails. In both incidents, hikers had large dogs with them and the coyotes aggressively and persistently threatened them.
Please use caution and be alert to your surroundings when hiking anywhere on OVLC preserves. Coyotes are currently denning (April—June) and they will fiercely defend their dens. Remember this is a nature preserve and while coyotes are typically wary of humans this pair is acting particularly aggressive and likely has a den near the trailhead.
Ventura County Animal Animal Control and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife have been alerted to this situation.
For you and your dog’s safety, it is a best practice to please leash your dog and keep them close to you when visiting the preserves. Also, please do not feed wildlife.
If you do encounter a coyote that’s acting aggressively:
•Do not turn your back or try to run away
•Stand tall, appear as big as possible and make noise
•Keep eye contact with the coyote
•Stay calm and back away slowly
While not recommended during denning season, if all else fails, a hazing approach can be taken to scare off the coyote. Hazing entails yelling, waiving your arms, making other noises like using whistles or bells, using pepper spray if handy, and throwing rocks or sticks at the coyote with the intent to scare it away, not to harm it.
Coyote attacks on humans are rare but they happen occasionally. In human attack incidents, it often turns out that the offending coyote was being fed by people. In other instances, people were bitten while trying to rescue their free-roaming pet from a coyote attack. Less often, people are bitten by cornered coyotes, or even more rarely, rabid coyotes. If you happen to encounter an aggressive coyote on our preserves, please report it to info@ovlc.org.
