Coyotes shopping for breakfast in West Orange County neighborhoods are nothing new. But when it happens in broad daylight, the carnivorous predators show no fear of humans, there have been repeated attacks on pets, and people are out walking their dogs a mere twenty feet away, the danger could become serious.

That is what happened in Rossmoor this morning, Sunday, July 11, 2010. A group operating under the auspices of the Rossmoor Homeowners Association, known as the Rossmoor Predator Management Team, RPMT has been formed by local residents to call attention to the problem before a tragedy happens. Two members of the RPMT sited and photographed the critters in Rossmoor around 7:00 am this morning.

When a wild animal becomes adjusted to a human dominated environment, such as a residential neighborhood, it is called imprinting. When imprinting occurs, the animal may act in unusual ways, including becoming aggressive toward people. Coyotes are normally nocturnal hunters, so finding them out looking for food during daylight hours could be a sign of imprinting.

“We had received an email from a distressed resident wanting to know what we were doing about coyotes in Rossmoor. She stated she lived across from Hopkinson Elementary and could see coyotes running on the school grounds,” said RPMT member Rebecca Lara. “This morning {Sunday, July 11, 2010} the RPMT was going to the school on Foster when just as we got to Gertrude to make a left onto the school, the coyote crossed the street from there and onto Foster.”

It was a typical Sunday morning when the coyotes were spotted in Rossmoor. “There were people walking, jogging and two women walking their dogs on leashes on Foster in Rossmoor, “reported Lara.

Contributing to the situation is the similarity coyotes bear to some larger dogs. “If you look at that animal, you could make the mistake of it being a German shepherd because it kind of looks like a mix,” said Lara. She told www.OC180NEWS.com this morning, the coyote was only about 20 feet from one of the people walking their dog. “It was in the water control channel looking at Ron {RPMT photographer Ron Singer} snap its picture.”

Another sign of imprinting is loss of natural fear of humans. The RPMT this morning sent an urgent email to a variety of government officials to inform them of the incident. The report included the following:
“This morning the RPMT witnessed a coyote running through Rossmoor resident's homes and their front yards. The coyote was not afraid of people and even stopped allowing us to take its picture. The coyote then returned to the water flood control channel off of Foster Road. It should be noted that he easily jumped over the 5 foot fence. The coyote then stopped on the inside of the fenced area where apparently he felt safe and again posed for more pictures.”

There were two separate coyotes spotted in Rossmoor this morning. In addition to the one on foster, Lara and Singer also saw a different coyote on Kensington a few minutes before photographing the animal on Foster.