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.

Thanks to the Press-Enterprise for passing along a warning from officials about a particular blooming plant showing up in burn areas:

The Poodle-dog bush, also known as Turricula parryi, can cause itching rashes and irritation. The San Bernardino County Fire Department issued an advisory this week warning people not to touch or smell it.

• Turricula parryi at Calflora.org
• Photos at CalPhotos
• Turricula parryi at USDA

Photo © Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary’s College.

Update: there’s a thread over on SoCalTrailRiders about exploring the Chiquita Ridge. One of the commenters mentions getting rashes from certain shrubs, and another links to this page. Someone posted a picture of the results of a run-in with one of the poodle dog bushes. Ouch!