Pack of coyotes sparks concern in San Rafael

Pack of coyotes sparks concern in San Rafael
Jennifer Upshaw Swartz
Posted: 01/03/2010 10:23:56 PM PST

Linda Gattuccio walks her two dogs Sammi and Maggie in San Rafael. Gattuccio has changed her route after encountering a pack of coyotes along a trail behind Embassy Suites. (IJ photo/Robert Tong)
Linda Gattuccio and her two golden retrievers used to enjoy their early-morning walk on the dirt path along the wetlands adjacent to the Marin Lagoon development behind the Embassy Suites hotel in San Rafael.

No more.

It was about eight weeks ago that Gattuccio, 58, an account executive with Fidelity National Title Co. in San Rafael, first spotted the pack of five coyotes on the dirt path popular with dog walkers, exercisers and people pushing strollers.

"I've seen them close to Embassy Suites, around behind Embassy Suites, occasionally one or two, but not really in our neighborhood," she said, adding that she had seen them before near her walking trail behind a big fence but never on the path.

"God, there were five of them on the actual dirt path," she recalled. "They were grouped together. Somebody goes 'act big like a bear and they will run.' They did not run. They stood their ground."

Coyotes have become a fixture in the county, with animal control officials reporting sightings on the rise in the past decade. Encounters have been reported in Hamilton, Terra Linda, China Camp, the Ross Valley, Mill Valley, Tam Valley, Fort Baker and Sausalito, among other places.

In November, a brazen coyote that enjoys frequenting popular gathering spots in Southern Marin generated more than 60 complaints to the Marin Humane Society.

The coyote, which has been spotted behind Best Buy in Marin City and on the bicycle path near the Holiday Inn in Tamalpais Valley, also
Advertisement
has been seen in residential areas such as Bayvista Circle and Donahue Street in Marin City and on Tennessee Valley Road off of Shoreline Highway.

Wildlife experts say coyotes play an important role in the ecosystem, keeping rodents in check and preventing them from feasting on bird eggs. Humane society officials said there is little to fear from the doglike animals; still, people should use common sense.

In the Marin Lagoon area, others have seen them too. One woman with a stroller stood paralyzed in fear after an encounter one day. Gattuccio, seated in her car at the time, said she leaned on her horn to scare the pack away.

"She was just standing their frozen," Gattuccio said of the woman with the baby. "She obviously didn't know what to do."

Al Pasquale, 69, a marketing executive who lives on Lagoon Court, said, boy, do they have coyotes.

"We really do," he said. "I've seen them twice. I saw one about a month ago, two about two weeks ago and they were walking across McInnis just north of the Embassy Suites going into that company Autodesk and they went right in front of my car. They were healthy-looking coyotes."

He said he's not too worried, but does keep a close eye on his small Norfolk terrier when the dog goes out to do business at night.

"I don't want anything killed," he said of the pack. "Just capture them and put them up in the woods or something."

A tricky proposition, said Carrie Harrington, a spokeswoman for the Marin Humane Society. Because coyotes have a wide range, relocation is tough.

Still, residents should call when they spot the pack.

"If they haven't already, definitely call us," she said. "We'll send officers to the area to patrol. We'll post notices in the area. It's not easy to trap and relocate them. They tend to have quite a big radius they travel, so they might come back again, but definitely call us. That sounds like an area that we might want to post notices."

Gattuccio, who now only walks on the concrete path along McInnis Parkway and avoids the isolated dirt trail, said she thought she had a good strategy but has since abandoned it.

"I was going to get a foghorn," she said. "I looked it up in on the Internet. If you make it uncomfortable they'll probably go back up into the hills. My neighbor said, 'if you shoot a foghorn off at 6:30 in the morning we will evict you and keep the coyotes."

Contact Jennifer Upshaw Swartz via e-mail at jupshaw@marinij.com