There goes the neighborhood!
Glendale residents are growing concerned about some recent transplants to the sleepy residential community. Neighbors on Brockmont Drive say that a pack of at least seven coyotes have taken over an abandoned home, reports CBS Los Angeles, and officials are unsure about how to react.
The home, which was destroyed in a fire last November, is set to be demolished within six months of August 2011 (when the demolition permit was issued). But after hearing news of the coyotes, city officials want to expedite the demolition process, reports KTLA. Meanwhile, the home's owners have given county officials permission to set traps around the property to remove the animals.
Glendale Mayor Laura Friedman, a nearby resident, does not support trapping the animals. According to Daily News, Friedman told Fox11 that the coyotes "need to coexist with us," and that killing them would be "unfortunate, because we did choose to live here in the hillsides, and we should be living with these animals." Officials could be visiting the site today to determine whether the traps are the safest choice for the area's pets and residents.
While there haven't been any reported violent incidents related to the new coyote family, some residents believe it will only be a matter of time before tragedy strikes. Neighbor Cathy Molloy told the Los Angeles Times that the coyote pups and their parents "think humans are their family... But eventually they're going to get hungry, and they're going to turn on us."
Southern California has seen a rash of coyote sightings and attacks on small pets this summer. Reported incidents include stories from North Diamond Bar, Laguna Woods and Sierra Madre. The last time a Glendale resident was attacked by a coyote was in 1981, when a three year-old girl was fatally wounded (PDF).