End Pavement

The City of Redlands Police Department website has a report on a coyote captured Saturday after stalking a child:

A young, diseased coyote was captured Saturday afternoon, May 10, in a Redlands neighborhood, one day after it was scared off as it reportedly stalked a small child.

Animal Control Supervisor Bill Miller used a tranquilizer dart to shoot the young female coyote, which was infected with mange, a parasitic skin infection most commonly found in dogs and other canines. He later confirmed it was the same animal seen stalking a 2-year-old child late Friday, May 9, in the area near San Mateo Street and Magnolia Avenue.

The coyote was scared off by the child’s grandfather and a neighbor, who got between the animal and the child and yelled to frighten it away.

It’s likely there are other, healthy coyotes in the area, so be on the lookout if you’re around there. Actually, pretty much anywhere in the IE, it seems like.

Not to be alarmist, of course: it’s just good to remember we’re not the only inhabitants of the region, no matter how much concrete and asphalt there is.

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More coyote attacks have been reported on children in the Inland Empire, including one on Tuesday in Lake Arrowhead. The LA Times has the info in “Fish and Game urges caution around coyotes after recent attacks”

San Bernardino County sheriff’s investigators said Melissa Rowley was taking pictures of her daughter and three other children in front of their home about 11:45 a.m.

When she went inside to put away the camera, a coyote ran up, grabbed Rowley’s 2-year-old daughter by the head and tried to drag her down the driveway.

When Rowley rushed the animal, it dropped the girl, who was airlifted to Loma Linda Medical Center and treated for cuts on her mouth and puncture wounds on her head and neck. Sheriff’s spokeswoman Cindy Beavers said the girl was expected to fully recover.

Unfortunately, the fate of these coyotes isn’t a happy one –

“In the past nine months, five children have been bitten in that area,” Morse said. “We have gone in there and killed 23 coyotes since December. We want to eliminate as many as possible because they represent a serious threat to safety. They are attacking children right next to their parents.”

Morse said hunters working for Fish and Game spotted a coyote near the area where the Lake Arrowhead attack occurred, but it wasn’t safe to shoot it.

Coyotes usually are trapped in snares and shot.

Two attacks, even if they are scary and sad, do not mean everybody needs to panic. But as always, be safe, keeping a sharp eye on your children and pets in danger areas.

From the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin:

A mountain lion was captured about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 1400 block of Beaver Way, said La Verne Police Lt. Gary Mason.

“We found a mountain lion sitting on the freeway wall,” Mason said.

“It was sitting up there, kicking back.”

From what it sounds like, I wish I could have seen a picture. :)

They had to chase and tranquilize him, but got him released afterwards.

A mountain lion in the Beaver Way neighborhood was unusual, Mason said.

“This was down right on the freeway - that was the only odd thing,” he said. “Normally, we just shoo them into the mountains.”

Update: Unfortunately, the story wasn’t quite accurate — according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the mountain lion died:

Authorities said a La Verne resident in the 1400 block of Beaver Way called about 12:30 a.m., saying the animal was sitting on a wall next to the 210 Freeway. Police contacted the California Department of Fish and Game officials, who later attempted to tranquilize the animal to transport and release him into the wilderness.

But the big cat, a young male between 9 and 14 months old, did not survive the ordeal, officials said.

“The lion died in the darting and transporting process,” said Fish and Game spokesman Harry Morse. “There is a loss factor. In this case the mountain lion did not make it through the capture.”

That’s really sad. Thanks to LA Now for pointing to the update.

Update 2: A bit more on the story, including a picture of the cat, from LA Now:

A neighbor called police, who then called the Department of Fish and Game. The animal, which was shot with a tranquilizer dart, died as it was being transported back into the hills.

“Everyone did their best,” [Ed] Dominguez said. “They really tried to save him.”

PE.com reporter Richard Brooks has the story on a series of attacks by Coyotes on children in a Chino Hills park: “After attacks, hunt on for coyotes”.

Two coyotes are dead and officers are hunting others after closing a Chino Hills park where children have been bitten or threatened on at least seven occasions since last July.

On Friday, a coyote bit and tried to drag off a 2-year-old girl. The next evening, a coyote “made a beeline” for another small child in the same park, but the father kicked at the animal and scared it away, said state Fish and Game Assistant Chief Mike McBride.

In the past nine months, four children have been bitten and one child was attacked twice, he said.

Although it’s confusing for officials why the concentration of incidents, they’re guessing the coyotes have gotten used to being fed (inadvertently or otherwise) in the area.

The old rules still apply, whether in parks, campgrounds, or on the trail: clean up after yourself. It’s not just for the sake of cleanliness — you’re keeping things safer for folks in the future.

The Press-Enterprise had an article a couple of days ago describing current efforts to identify and preserve wildlife corridors across Southern California. A new report has been issued about various linkages missing from the overall network of routes.

“Essentially, if one of these linkages is lost, it reduces the ecological integrity of the entire network,” said Kristeen Penrod, conservation director for South Coast Wildlands.

In 2000, land managers, conservancy groups and academic and government scientists from such agencies as the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service and state parks gathered at the San Diego Zoo. There, they identified 232 wildlife linkages in California, 69 of them in Southern California.

Some of those same scientists narrowed the critical list down to the 15 linkages released in the latest report, “South Coast Missing Linkages: a Wildland Network for the South Coast Ecoregion.”

A PDF of the report is available for download as well.

I’m finally getting around to posting photos from the February 3rd cycling excursion that ended up rather badly. You can read about that in the February 2007 archive. If you’d like to know more about the beautiful San Timoteo Canyon and its history, check out Images of America: San Timoteo Canyon Road from Arcadia Publishing. The canyon runs mostly between Redlands and Moreno Valley in Southern California.

Part of the flood control section of the river, with a multi-use trail on the side, looking east.

The trail next to the river, with the Sunset Drive hills to the left/north.

Buffalo Meadows Ranch’s cool sign.

At the intersection of San Timoteo and Redlands Boulevard, which actually goes to Moreno Valley.

Also at that intersection, with the arrows pointing to my starting point and current target.

Just in case you need a domesticated pack animal of the camel family found in the Andes, valued for its soft woolly fleece. Of course, every time I see a llama, a voice in my head yells, “¡Cuidado! ¡Las Llamas!”

Typical view in the rural parts of the canyon — it was a gorgeous afternoon, with very little traffic once I got past the Redlands Blvd turnoff.

Some scouts created a display on a wall they built (IIRC), including some historical tidbits about the area. The one above describes the “Old Salt Road” that ran through the canyon in the 1800s.

The historical, one-room San Timoteo Canyon Schoolhouse, at 31985 San Timoteo Canyon Road.

Not just a portrait of the cyclist as a young man — also a harbinger, thanks to lengthening shadows.

You’re cycling along, minding your own business in a rural landscape, when all of a sudden a featureless wall and radio tower appear out of nowhere. Spooky. Never did figure out what was going on here. A religious cult was my first guess. ;D

They were working on widening the road near its eastern end, probably due to all the development, so I went off-road for a spell and enjoyed several trains for company.

Waving to the engineers always solicits a return wave. Sometimes I think trainspotting would be a fun diversion.

Ah yes, the wild golfer in its natural environment. I don’t think golfcartspotting would be nearly as interesting.

The road ends finally at the 10 Freeway. I’ll be taking a left on the frontage road to head back to Redlands. Note longer cyclist shadow.

This little guy and the darkening sky behind provided a last moment of beauty.

Finally! A convenience store meal. Heavy on the carbs and fluids. It was sunset by this time.

The setting sun and its dramatic exit as I hurried towards home.

The next photo on my camera was almost exactly 4 hours later, sitting in the emergency room with my arm in a sling.