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LOS ANGELES -- New signs are being posted in Griffith Park to remind visitors not to feed the coyotes.
Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge plans to post the first of several "Don't Feed the Coyotes" signs Monday afternoon.
LaBonge says park-goers need to be reminded that feeding the coyotes is illegal and dangerous.
The move comes after two people were bitten in the park in recent months.
One man claimed he was lyng down near the Travel Town area when he awoke to find a coyote biting his foot, said Kevin Brennan, a California Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist.
The man was not seriously injured. He was not feeding the coyotes at the time of the attack.
Another person was bitten in the park in late August, according to Los Angeles County health officials.
In response, wardens dispatched U.S. Department of Agriculture wildlife services trappers, who trapped and fatally shot at least seven of the animals.
Some park-goers were angered, saying the action was too extreme and that other, non-lethal measures could have been taken to control the problem
The agency's policy is to capture and kill coyotes only if there's an imminent threat to public safety. Brennan said someone getting bitten is considered an imminent threat.
Coyote aggression and attacks on people and pets are on the rise in the state, according to a 2004 study by the University of California's Hopland Research and Extension Center. The study found that the increase was particularly prevalent in the Southland's "suburban-wild land interface" areas.
Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge plans to post the first of several "Don't Feed the Coyotes" signs Monday afternoon.
LaBonge says park-goers need to be reminded that feeding the coyotes is illegal and dangerous.
The move comes after two people were bitten in the park in recent months.
One man claimed he was lyng down near the Travel Town area when he awoke to find a coyote biting his foot, said Kevin Brennan, a California Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist.
The man was not seriously injured. He was not feeding the coyotes at the time of the attack.
Another person was bitten in the park in late August, according to Los Angeles County health officials.
In response, wardens dispatched U.S. Department of Agriculture wildlife services trappers, who trapped and fatally shot at least seven of the animals.
Some park-goers were angered, saying the action was too extreme and that other, non-lethal measures could have been taken to control the problem
The agency's policy is to capture and kill coyotes only if there's an imminent threat to public safety. Brennan said someone getting bitten is considered an imminent threat.
Coyote aggression and attacks on people and pets are on the rise in the state, according to a 2004 study by the University of California's Hopland Research and Extension Center. The study found that the increase was particularly prevalent in the Southland's "suburban-wild land interface" areas.
