WesternU Joins Research Partners to Assist in Study of Coyotes in Los Angeles County

Urban coyote behavior is something of a mystery to researchers, but thanks to the assistance of WesternU faculty and students, a clearer picture of coyote activity is beginning to emerge.

The College of Veterinary Medicine is working with the Los Angeles County Quality and Productivity Commission, the Los Angeles County Agriculture Commissioner/Weights and Measures Project, and the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources to trap, attach tracking collars to, and release coyotes to gather migration data, which sponsors believe will lead to better management of the species in urban settings. The project has been approved by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“We wouldn’t be able to do this research without a team,” said Dr. Niamh Quinn, Ph.D., UC Cooperative Extension’s human-wildlife interactions advisor. “For scientific research, we need different ideas to come from people with different expertise.”

Dr. Curtis Eng, DVM, an Associate Professor at WesternU, began his work with the project three years ago, viewing it as a welcome opportunity for students to gain hands-on veterinary experience with wildlife. Students would assist in sedating, examining, tagging, and releasing the animals, while Dr. Quinn would attach the radio collar.

Since that time, Dr. Eng has recruited more than a dozen WesternU students to get involved in the project. “Essentially, it was an open call to students who knew me and my work,” Dr. Eng said. “If you are interested in potentially getting up at 2 or 4 a.m. to work on some coyotes, we’d love to have you.”

Avak Zakarian, DVM 2022, one of Dr. Eng’s recruits, said the field experience was invaluable.

“Being on the coyote research project team has been an adventure,” Zakarian said. “We have all owned pets and have been to zoos to see exotic species, but having to safely capture a wild animal in an open environment, sedate and keep the animal stable, and release it is an experience like no other. Every step of the project has been carefully thought out.”

With funding from the Los Angeles County Quality and Productivity Commission and the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures Project, Dr. Quinn bought GPS tracking collars and pays for game cameras to find the coyotes.

Dr. Eng said the team learned that coyotes in the Los Angeles area are more elusive than previously thought. When the project was being outlined, the researchers estimated that it would take 12–18 months to trap, collar, and release 20 animals. The project is now in its third year, and 19 coyotes have been collared thus far. The project’s second phase is in the planning stages.

“We hadn’t realized that coyotes are much smarter than we are,” said Dr. Eng with a chuckle. “So every year I have to recruit a new set of students.”

The unpredictability of coyote behavior makes the project an ideal teaching activity.

“What I love about the project is that it’s provided the students with an opportunity to get hands-on wildlife experience,” Dr. Eng said. “This is a real-world activity, where we are trying to make a difference in how coyotes are managed long-term within a very urban society.”

A documentary on the project, “Coyote Conflict in Los Angeles - The UCANR Hazing Study,” can be viewed for free on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/ watchv=IEnqU24RgAU&feature=youtu.be. The University of California’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Department wrote about the project here: https://ucanr.edu/ News/?routeName=newsstory&postnum=46062.