Part one of a three-part series on Coyotes in Seal Beach.
A coyote following you can be unsettling. If you are walking a dog and notice a coyote behind you, the natural reaction may be to assume the animal is stalking you or your pet.
But following does not always mean stalking, aggression, or an intent to attack.
That distinction is an important part of the city of Seal Beach Coyote Management Plan. Our approach looks at what the coyote is doing, the circumstances surrounding the encounter, and the level of risk the behavior represents. The goal is to take concerning behavior seriously without creating unnecessary fear around normal wildlife activity.
A sighting is not automatically a threat
Coyotes are part of Southern California’s urban environment. Simply seeing one does not mean something is wrong.
Under the city’s tiered response system, a coyote heard or seen moving through an area is generally classified at the Green level. A sighting can occur during the day or at night. The plan distinguishes these ordinary observations from encounters involving coyotes that approach people or pets, become unusually comfortable around humans, or exhibit threatening behavior.
That distinction becomes especially important when someone tells us, “A coyote followed me.”
What is stalking?
The Coyote Management Plan defines a stalking incident as an encounter in which a coyote follows a person, with or without an attended pet on a leash, and the person is not injured.
But not every coyote that follows a person or dog is behaving aggressively. The same outward behavior can mean something different depending on distance, body language, location, season, whether a dog is present, and what the animal does as the person leaves.
That is where “escorting” becomes important.
Escorting can look like stalking
Our Coyote Management Plan recognizes escorting as natural coyote behavior.
During denning and pup-rearing periods, a coyote may follow a person or pet from a distance because it wants the perceived intruder to leave an area. Someone walking a dog may unknowingly pass near a den or through territory the coyote is protecting.
The coyote may follow behind or move parallel to the person while maintaining distance until the person and dog leave the area.
That can understandably feel threatening. But the coyote may be trying to move a perceived threat away rather than attempting to attack.
A coyote that remains at a distance, does not display aggressive body language, and stops following once you leave the area may be exhibiting escorting behavior.
Being followed is still information we want residents to report. But being followed does not, by itself, tell us why the coyote is following.
What behavior is more concerning?
Our Coyote Management Plan identifies threatening behaviors such as growling, baring teeth, raised back fur, lunging, or nipping without contact. A coyote biting or injuring a person represents a much more serious event. An interaction in which an attended pet is injured or killed is also treated differently from a routine sighting or an incident involving an unattended animal.
A coyote moving through a neighborhood is not the same as one threatening a person. Likewise, a coyote following a dog walker from a distance in circumstances consistent with escorting is not necessarily behaving the same way as one aggressively closing distance or lunging.
That is why the details matter.
Where did it happen? Were you walking a dog? How far away was the coyote? Did it maintain that distance or get closer? What did its body language look like? Did it stop when you left?
Those details help Animal Control understand what actually occurred.
What should you do?
If you encounter a coyote, do not run. Keep children and pets close, remain aware of the animal, and give it an opportunity to move away.
The city’s plan also uses hazing to reinforce coyotes’ natural wariness of people. Hazing can include yelling, making loud noises, waving your arms, spraying water, or using other appropriate deterrents. Hazing is intended to change behavior, not injure the animal.
The Seal Beach Police Department also makes free coyote-hazing cowbells available in the Police Department lobby during regular business hours.
If the behavior appears consistent with escorting, calmly continuing away from the area may be sufficient. If the coyote gets too close, appropriate hazing may be used.
Keep dogs attended and on a secure leash no longer than six feet. Small pets require particularly close supervision outdoors.
Most importantly, pay attention to what the coyote is actually doing.
We want residents to be aware of coyotes without being unnecessarily afraid of them. Understanding the difference between ordinary behavior, escorting, stalking, and genuine aggression helps all of us respond more effectively.
In Part Two, we will look at one of the most important things residents can do to prevent coyote conflicts: stop feeding wildlife, intentionally or unintentionally.
Next: Feeding coyotes.