Belvedere copes with coyote sightings, attacks

Recent sightings and pet attacks have prompted a full-scale effort to scare off coyotes in Belvedere.

City staff said they have received multiple reports of coyote sightings, interactions and pet injuries in the last month. The city has met with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Marin Humane — most recently this week — in order to strategize a response.

So far, the city has distributed hazing kits, or audible deterrents, to residents to scare away coyotes during sightings. But as the sightings and attacks persist, the city is attempting to log all contacts and interactions to advocate for more extreme measures.

“We are currently exploring the option of our police department using some sort of tagging system to tag and identify coyotes that might prove to be a sufficient threat,” said Mayor Sally Wilkinson. “It’s an issue that we take very seriously. We prioritize our human beings and pets so we are looking to find long-term solutions.”

Coyotes weigh about 40 pounds, the size of a medium dog. They typically pose little threat to humans, but there are documented reports of attacks on children and animals.

Wilkinson said the reports in Belvedere recently have ranged simple sightings to attacks on cats and dogs that result in abduction or death.

Resident Kristin Kemnitzer said her family’s 9-year-old cat, Maeby, was abducted from their fenced yard at about 7:15 p.m. Oct. 25 and killed by a coyote.

The attack happened during dinner and was audible to their 4- and 6-year-old children, she said.

“In some ways the city’s hands are tied for what it can do. We still think it’s important the city and police department listen to residents and provide as much safety and training as they can,” she said.

The attack followed sightings by Kemnitzer and her husband Adam McNeile, as well as almost nightly barking and rustling heard since they moved to their house in August. They said they are concerned about having their young children unattended in their backyard following the incident.

“It’s devastating when you lose a pet that’s a member of your family. We’re really heartbroken,” McNeile said.

Ken Paglia, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said that as of Oct. 24 the agency is aware of two coyote reports in Belvedere.

“I would want people in Marin, Belvedere and Tiburon to recognize how challenging of an issue it is. We want people to reach out and we want to share what the community can do to help themselves,” he said.

Coyotes are common in Marin. Paglia said it is not feasible to eliminate them from urbanized areas –– either by relocation or killing –– simply because they were sighted.

“We’re not going to indiscriminately eliminate wildlife just for acting how we assume wildlife would act,” he said.

The threshold has to do with public safety, he said, and said if there is a documented instance of a coyote being aggressive toward a human then “every option is on the table.”

The state can take DNA samples from a bite or injury to assist in identifying a coyote, he said, which could lead to the animal being located and trapped.

He said there are no reports of bites or attacks on a human in Marin.

“The bottom line is we deeply care about this issue. We recognize what people are experiencing,” he said. “The other reality is that people are going to have to take the responsibility for living on the urban edge.”

It is illegal to trap and relocate a wild animal in California. The city has balked at the state’s policy to only take action when an animal attacks a human.

The city has urged residents to report sightings to the police in order to bring the issue to the attention of the state. The police have increased patrols at dawn and dusk and distributed educational materials highlighting tactics to haze or deter coyotes from the area.

“Like you, we are deeply concerned about this growing problem and are committed to doing whatever it takes to address it,” said City Manager Robert Zadnik in a statement issued to the public.

Cindy Machado, director of animal services at Marin Humane, said coyotes are at the end of their dispersal season, when the young are out with their parents seeking territory of their own. She described coyotes as “very adept” at finding food and shelter.

“Coyotes are looking for the easiest advantage. It could be trash, fruit trees or rats,” she said. “All of those things are reasons why coyotes are finding Belvedere on top of their tourist attractions these days.”

She said Belvedere has other attractions, including its proximity to open space areas in Tiburon.

She said coyotes have recently been tracked traveling from Sausalito to Mill Valley to San Rafael in a single day. Marin Humane is also tracking a coyote with mange and is urging the public to stop feeding the wild animals along pullouts on Highway 1 near Stinson Beach.

Michelle Lute of Project Coyote, a national nonprofit that promotes compassionate coexistence with wildlife, said increased interactions do not necessarily equate to more conflicts.

“The solution is conflict prevention, which means keeping companion animals on leash and under supervision, not attracting coyotes to backyards with unsecured food sources like garbage or compost, and humane hazing when appropriate,” she said.

In September a dog was reportedly bitten by a coyote in the Peacock Gap area near San Rafael. Other sightings in the area also have been reported.