(KNX 1070) - A Cal State Long Beach professor wants to hear from pet owners to try to figure out why coyotes go after their pets.
It’s an online survey with the hope of getting some answers.
After all, coyotes can be seen all over the place and sometimes they go after pets and occasionally even people.
Dr. Ted Stankowich, an Associate professor in biology at Cal State Long Beach, says "If you have a problem like we have in Los Angeles where there are coyotes everywhere there’s no way you’re going to trap everyone and totally get rid of the population."
He tells KNX trapping doesn’t work well anyway because coyotes are territorial so if one coyote goes, another moves in to take its place.
"And they want to breed faster and more and you end up with more coyotes," he said.
Researchers want a lot of data from pet owners on whether the pets have ever been threatened or attacked by coyotes or not.
"What our survey is aiming at is are there traits or characteristics of pets that make them more or less susceptible to being attacked from coyotes," he said.
In the meantime, he says it’s better to harass them and make them more afraid of humans so they won't come around.