A public West Hollywood coyote safety meeting is set for Thursday night in West Hollywood, after months of complaints from Eastside residents who say the animals are showing up at all hours and getting too comfortable around people, pets, and yards.
Editor’s note: This story was originally published ahead of a West Hollywood community meeting on coyote activity. It has been updated on 1/28/2026 as the meeting approaches.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Plummer Park, in Rooms 1 and 2. Neighbors involved in a local “coyote watch” effort are encouraging residents from Poinsettia Drive, Poinsettia Place, Greenacre Avenue, and surrounding streets to show up, and they’re also stressing this isn’t just an Eastside issue.
“To keep our community safe, it is important that every resident follow the same protocol,” the group said in its meeting notice.
What To Know Before You Go
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at Plummer Park (Rooms 1 and 2). If you’re coming to speak, it helps to arrive a little early. Residents are expected to raise concerns about repeat sightings, animals entering yards, and what the City can, and can’t, do when coyotes stop acting wary around people.
Why This Meeting Is Happening
Residents began flagging the situation in October, with multiple reports of coyotes getting close to people walking dogs, roaming in small groups, and lingering in front and backyards. Several neighbors told WEHOonline they feel like they’re constantly on alert, especially early in the morning and at night.
One issue residents say they uncovered recently is food. Earlier this month, neighbors reported that someone may have been feeding wildlife and leaving an accessible shelter space, conditions that can pull coyotes into a pocket of the city and keep them there. When coyotes associate a neighborhood with food, they lose their fear quickly. They stop running. They start testing boundaries.
Reminder: It’s Mating Season
January through March is peak coyote mating season in Southern California. That can mean more movement, more territorial behavior, and more repeated sightings in the same area, especially if the animals have found a reliable mix of food and cover.
Background
A West Hollywood coyote meeting with the City of West Hollywood is set for Thursday, January 29th after eastside residents pleaded with the City for help dealing with aggressive coyotes for more than three months.
The meeting will take place at 6:00 PM in Plummer Park rooms 1 and 2. The eastside neighborhood “coyote watch” group wants everyone from Poinsettia Drive, Poinsettia Place, and Greenacre Avenue. to attend. And not just people with pets or kids. While the eastside group has been experiencing heightened and prolonged stress from the coyote sightings they know it’s a citywide problem. They said all West Hollywood residents are invited to attend.
“To keep our community safe, it is important that every resident follow the same protocol,” the group said in its meeting notice.
Months of sightings
Residents started complaining back in October. Marissa Christiansen encountered a coyote around 7:30 AM on Poinsettia Place. She was walking her dog when the coyote came within 10 feet of them.
Many have reported seeing packs of three roaming the streets. Several times they’ve jumped resident’s fences. The coyotes can often be seen relaxing in both front and backyards with no fear. What’s especially unnerving is the roaming 24/7 and the wild yelping all hours of the night into the early morning hours. Even though residents have followed the proper hazing protocol, the coyotes refuse to leave the neighborhood.
Breaking point
At this point residents have told WEHOonline they’re at a “breaking point” with one resident saying they feel as though “they’re being held hostage.” They say they understand coyotes are a part of life, especially here in Southern California, but to take up permanent residence in the neighborhood is not sustainable. They need the City’s help.
Someone was feeding them
Earlier this month, residents discovered someone was feeding and sheltering them. When neighbors approached the homeowner about an unsecured crawl space, they said they feed wildlife including raccoons and opossums, and that if coyotes were part of that, “so be it.”
Coyotes that get fed lose their fear of people. They stop running away. They get bolder.
Residents also need to stop giving coyotes places to hide. Crawl spaces under decks make perfect dens. Unsecured trash cans attract them. So does pet food left outside or fruit that falls from trees.
Mating Season is Now
Reminder, January through March is peak coyote mating season in Southern California, which means more movement, more patrolling, and more den-protective behavior, especially if they’ve found a reliable pocket of food and cover. It’s also when you’ll see the same coyotes over and over because they are not just passing through, they’re holding territory.
Editor’s Note: Full disclosure: This reporter is an eastside resident who shares the community’s concerns about increased coyote activity.
Is it illegal to kill coyotes?
Yes
It also is ineffective at getting rid of them. It actually has proven to increase their population in an area (social structure causes others to expand to that territory, and increases breeding behavior). The best move is to haze them and not feed them.
Last night around 10 p.m. a coyote came right up to my front porch on Poinsettia Drive. They seem to know their way around the neighborhood.
Nimby eaters..!
I saw 2 of them running in the street westbound on Fountain Ave at Alta Vista at 1:30 am.
Eat those foofy dogs boyz! You were here first!
So were us Mexicans….
That doesn’t excuse Chihuahuas (except as food!)
Can’t say I disagree….