Coyotes Turn Empty Long Beach Home Into Den

Seeing a coyote walking down a busy street is not as uncommon as most would think. Everyone in their lives has had a run-in with them. In most cases, these animals stay clear of people and mind their own business. And in the rare, and often severe cases, cities like Long Beach are left with the responsibility of removing coyotes from its streets and neighborhoods.

However, in one residential neighborhood on East Conant Street in Long Beach, this doesn’t seem to be the case.

According to Paula Briggs, a local resident, coyotes have gotten so out of control in her neighborhood, that they’re quite literally taking up residence in a vacant home, five minutes away from her house.

“There’s a house on 5303 E. Conant St., and from what everyone has been saying, this house has been vacant for almost 23 years,” Briggs said. “The house is full of weeds, the trees have grown out of control and now there’s coyotes living underneath the house and in the backyard.”

According to Briggs, people in her neighborhood are too afraid to leave their homes now, because of the coyote problem being left unchecked. It’s become so out of hand, that she says the wild animals have even attacked people’s pets.

“I can’t even take my dog outside anymore, I have to keep an eye on him,” Briggs said. “Just the other day I saw – it was terrible – I saw two coyotes pulling apart a cat.”

Briggs also stated that, recently the coyotes have started to branch out from just the vacant home and toward other people’s homes. Some, she says, have been spotted going up to residents’ front doors and exterior walls.

Naturally, a situation as problematic as this is cause for concern. As more incidents and run-ins with these wild animals continue, residents of the neighborhood have taken action to report the issue to Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS).

One such resident is Jeanne Smart, who formed a neighborhood coyote watch group on the website, Nextdoor.com.

“I’ve lived in Long Beach almost my whole life and never had there been a problem as bad as this,” Smart said. “We used to have cats galore, outside, as well as people walking their pets. And now, because of the coyotes in the neighborhood, we have to keep our animals inside.”

Through Smart’s watch group on Nextdoor, Long Beach residents have been able to warn their fellow neighbors to steer clear of the empty-house-turned-coyote-den.

“On my daily walk with my dog I encountered two young coyotes,” Karen Borne, a Long Beach resident, said in a post online. “One just ran off, but one was persistent in watching me. Of course I picked up my 30-pound dog and screamed, stomped and got away from it.”

Borne continued: “This happened at the corner of Conant and Hackett. Please everyone, keep your pets inside in morning hours and do not leave water or food out.”

Some Long Beach residents who live by the vacant house also posted about arming themselves with self-defense weapons to protect themselves from the coyotes when going outside; these include stun guns, pepper spray, cattle prods, baseball bats and, according to Jeanne Smart, one neighbor has allegedly gone so far to get a shotgun.

Jeanne Smart also told Beachcomber that she feels the city is just simply choosing to overlook the problem of coyotes in her neighborhood.

“I’ve contacted the city three times about the house, explaining how it became overgrown with weeds and nobody was doing anything about it,” Smart said. “And on the last time I called, which was when I mentioned there were coyotes living in the backyard and under the house, I got yelled at.”

Smart continued: “They told me they couldn’t do anything about the coyotes and they weren’t going to.”

When Beachcomber asked if the city ever redirected her or told her who to call to deal with the coyotes in the house, Smart said no.

“We’ve got a coyote problem and the city is putting their hands in the air like, ‘What do you want us to do?’” Smart said.

As you read all of this, you’re probably wondering, “What about the owners of the house? And if it’s been reported to the ACS, why has no one dealt with the coyotes inside the home by now?”

For starters, the house is technically under ownership, not abandoned. According to a property profile shared with Beachcomber by Michele Tran, a senior processor at the mortgage company, Ever Lending, the house is owned by a company named High Grade Consulting LLC.

As for why the house is left in the conditions it is currently in, remains unknown. The Beachcomber had reached out to High Grade Consulting LLC for more information on the house, but were unable to get a response.

As for the reasons why animal control has done nothing about the coyotes living inside the empty house, the Beachcomber reached out to Staycee Dains, the Long Beach director of animal services, for more information.

According to Dains, the city has received reports about the coyotes inside the empty house, but have not been able to do anything yet because, legally, there aren’t enough reports to show they’re a danger to the neighborhood.

“We have a report on the house but, unfortunately, there’s nothing actionable for the city to do,” Dains said.

Dains explained and shared with Beachcomber Long Beach’s Coyote Management Plan, a 19-page document that breaks down the city’s steps in handling coyote-related incidents.

According to the management plan, the city of Long Beach coordinates responsive action to coyotes depending on the threat level their actions classify them as. The incident level that a coyote is classified at ranges from Blue, Yellow, Orange and, lastly, Red.

According to the management plan, it is only when a coyote problem becomes a red-level incident (when a coyote bites or injures a person, for example) does the city inform the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) for elimination of the responsible coyotes.

“We don’t have reports of coyotes running after people or attacking people in that neighborhood,” Dains said. “So if that were to happen, then we would have a different response.”

Furthermore, the management plan reads: “As a last resort, lethal control measures, when employed, can be controversial and non-selective; therefore, if they are used, they must be humane and in compliance with federal and state laws.”

Dains also explained how there’s often a misconception that animal control operates in a clockwork-like manner, when it’s often more complicated than most people would believe.

“I think that there might be an expectation that animal control gives a similar response like a local police department,” Dains said. “But the truth is we don’t.”

Dains continued: “We have 12 animal control officers for a city that holds half a million people. It’s not as though we have hundreds of animal control officers that are able to respond, so we really have to prioritize our calls based on the people that are in greatest need.”

Despite this, Dains also stated that it is very important for more people in Long Beach to continue to make reports whenever there is a coyote or other animal-related emergency, as it allows for the city to later concentrate on reports that may not be considered too dangerous to the public.

“If there are also code enforcement issues happening, for example if it is believed that a house or property is creating an attraction to wildlife, I highly recommend the people of Long Beach to contact whichever department in the city handles code enforcement,” Dains said.

The department she refers to is the Code Enforcement Bureau, a branch of the Long Beach Department of Development Services.

In the end, the empty house on East Conant Street still remains as it is: covered in weeds and a literal home to coyotes that reside inside it. According to Michele Tran it’s a major problem that she fears could bring future damage if the city does nothing about it.

“What if a bunch of coyotes keep breeding inside? And not just coyotes, the house might attract drug users or homeless people if they find out nobody is taking care of the property.” Tran said. “I cannot imagine what the situation must be like for the neighbors who live right next to it. What if they have pets or small children?”

Tran also commented that the city of Long Beach should look into resolving the coyote problem as soon as possible, before any more people or animals get put in danger.

“This is a basic fundamental safety issue for our families and neighbors!” Tran said “If this property has been neglected and something is going on inside, then the city of Long Beach should step in soon before it really becomes a house of horrors.”

For more information about the city of Long Beach’s handling of coyotes, as well as how to report any coyote sightings in your area, you can visit their official website at https://www.longbeach.gov/acs/

[Author’s Note: On Feb. 2, Beachcomber was notified by Paula Briggs that a Notice To Clean Premises was posted onto the vacant home by the Code Enforcement Bureau and Department of Development Services.]