Are They Really Shooting Coyotes on the Venice Beach Canals?

Are They Really Shooting Coyotes on the Venice Beach Canals?

A dead coyote found on the Venice Canals has sparked concern, speculation, and even rumors that people may be shooting coyotes in the neighborhood. Sandy and Chuck discuss what happened, the community response and wildlife management efforts. The duo finish the episode by mentioning L.A. World Cup excitement and local summer events .

Venice Pulse is a podcast focusing on Venice Beach and beyond. It is hosted by Venice residents Sandy Clark and Chuck Whobrey. Sandy has been on the cutting edge of both written and televised journalism for the last 30 years. Her credits include NHK, CBC, ABC, BBC, AMI (various publications), the Daily Mail and the Westside Current.

Originally from the UK, Chuck spent 20 years in the music business producing various bands and artists. He also appeared on the BBC's Newsnight program talking about "Ecstasy". Besides that, Chuck has no qualifications whatsoever when it comes to hosting a current affairs type show!

Intro Music: "Trip" by DJ Nick "Feesch" Wilson

You can also watch this episode of "Venice Pulse" on YouTube.

#VeniceBeach #coyotehunting  #Coyotes #LosAngeles #VenicePulse

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Sandy.

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Chucky.

SPEAKER_01 0:10

I hear a rumor they are shooting coyotes on the canals.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

I certainly hope not. That would be awful. And I know what you're referring to, that this morning there uh there were reports that a young pup coyote, coyote pup, was found on the canals.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Um Well, not reports. You actually showed me a photo of it.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

And it had a wound.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

So we think it had a wound.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Okay. Um Which would explain why it was probably dead.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

Yeah. Well, we're you know, to be honest with you, it would be better if it had a wound. Because if it died of poisoning, that is alarming. Nobody should be dealing with the coyote situation here on the canals.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Okay, but you but you Okay, let's just clarify this. You told me that it had a wound. There it was a wound, there was some kind of gash or mark on the Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:07

I was told that there was a wound.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

And I asked, could it have been hit by a car? No. Because that would make no sense. Well, maybe it did.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Okay, so let me just fill the audience in here and we get to the point. Um I was in my local market this morning talking to a couple of the regulars there who I know. Um, and I mentioned that there'd been a canal, uh, a coyote found it dead in one of the gardens, uh, back gardens here on the canals. Um and then one of the guys was telling me, he said, if you heard a lot of gunshots around here recently, which I have actually, for the first time in a long time, I've heard what are distinctly gunshots going off in Venice. Uh a lot of times you hear kind of fireworks, firecrackers, and you think, oh, okay, is that a gun? But it's not. But you hear a gunshot and it is a little bit different. Anyway, he was saying that he'd heard that there were people with hangguns on the canal shooting coyotes.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Well, that would be absolutely horrific. And I really hope that's not true. And I haven't heard gunshots. I'm surprised you didn't tell me when you heard the gunshot.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

I did tell you when I've heard gunshots. We had gunshots at the Thai restaurant about two weeks ago. There were five distinct gunshots. Well, where was I? You weren't actually here as Alexandra and I were here.

SPEAKER_00 2:34

Why didn't you tell me?

SPEAKER_01 2:35

We did tell you.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

Well, I don't remember.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Well, you you appeared, you appeared like you could have been listening.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

But uh it doesn't surprise me that you don't remember.

SPEAKER_00 2:44

Anyway, I walked over to uh there's a photo circulating. Yeah. And I walked over, I walked over to see where this could have been, and it's it's like the side of the house. And I mean, it's a young pup.

SPEAKER_01 3:01

So a lot of coyotes are kind of some of them are kind of small though, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 3:05

No, this one is a baby. And the the way you can tell is the ears are really big compared to the rest of the body. And there's someone here on the canals who's kind of in charge of the community, and he reached out to everyone. He reached out to um the fish and wildlife. I think they came and collected the body and they're gonna do a necropsy to find out what caused it. Now, this is a concern for people who live here on the canals because you remember about a year ago, all of the, you know, unfortunate deaths on the canals. So I just I really hope no one is putting poison out. That would be awful.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

So the guy at the liquor market, and uh and I want to kind of vent this out loud, it does kind of seem more ridiculous. But he was um he basically put it down to he said there's a lot of people here on the canals with small dogs, and they're not very and some of them have been getting taken away or they're worried about coyotes, and he said these people aren't happy, and they were taking action into their own hands.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Well, that is not the right kind of action to be taking uh with guns or poison. That is just really ignorant and dumb.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

Do you think bow and arrows would be better?

SPEAKER_00 4:27

No, I don't think any of that is a good idea. I think that uh we on the canals um had a Zoom meeting with an official wildlife expert who gave really great tips on how to come together as a community and what to do. Now all the What did he suggest?

SPEAKER_01 4:48

What was some of his tips?

SPEAKER_00 4:49

She um she actually said maybe to get people to go out certain times of the day in groups and just kind of monitor the area to try to get an idea of where they're based. I don't know if they stay in one place, but Oh hold on, hold on, stop, stop.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Now, just yesterday you were talking about there were some coyote pups.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

You think we're on the canal?

SPEAKER_00 5:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Okay, did you mention that?

SPEAKER_00 5:19

No.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

Okay, well, I'm telling our listeners now.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

Okay. So I mean, where are these Well, there's an abandoned built there's an abandoned house on the canals. Um there's actually several lots that are vacant. And today I went and looked at a house right next to where the pup was found, and it's vacant, and there's shrubbery. I mean, it's the perfect place to hide.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

Yeah, I gather that coyotes are pretty good at sort of getting deep down in the shrubs, and you just don't even know they're there or what's going on.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

So we don't know. We don't know. I mean, there have been sightings um of the pups. I haven't seen them personally. I haven't seen one personally, but apparently, you know, the pups are in one location and then the moms and dads are out, you know, they're out getting food. I was told that the pups would relocate. I don't know where, and I don't know why.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

Um Okay, so again, okay, the people in the store today were talking about that they reckon uh the coyotes are actually originating from the bluffs. The bluffs? Where are the bluffs?

SPEAKER_00 6:31

That's in Santa Monica by the by the PCH. You know, it's you I don't know. I don't know. I'm gonna have to go and talk to this guy. I mean, a lot of people say it's because of the fires. I think it's because band in house, water. We have the canal here.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

It's not drinking water though, the canal.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Well, the ducks drink it.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

Well, it's it's salt water. The canal is salt water.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Oh. So So they don't drink it.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

I know.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

I think um but I do I think it's a good time for people to what they're doing on the canals, what I really like is that we've divided the whole community up in groups and we share information. We have um, you know, information on how to best protect yourself, take care of yourself. But there's also a lot of people online who are just really negative and, you know, say really ignorant things about what to do with the coyotes.

SPEAKER_01 7:41

And so you sent a text out to this group mentioning that the possibility of that one of the coyote could have been shot. Yes. What was the reaction?

SPEAKER_00 7:50

The reaction was that the person that lived near there did not hear and has not heard any gunshots, unless, of course, someone's using a silencer. Um what?

SPEAKER_01 8:04

Well, that's just ridiculous. People with silence it's ridiculous than being shot by people on the canals, but the fact that you have someone who likes to sign Matt Damon moved in. So it's this like the born identity.

SPEAKER_00 8:15

I don't know. But um he did say that this morning he heard howling at around, I think it was 3 30 in the morning, and then again at like six. But we'll find out a lot with the necropy. I don't know how long that takes.

SPEAKER_01 8:32

Do coyotes howl?

SPEAKER_00 8:34

Yeah. I thought it was wolves who had I guess coyotes howl too. A lot of people on the canals hear the howling.

SPEAKER_01 8:42

So you say we'll find out though with the what's the word? Necropsy. Necropsy. Um But will we? Well, yeah, we never found out about the dogs. Did we ever get any reports back from the dogs? No. A year ago?

SPEAKER_00 8:53

No. And I we need to find out. Was it the fish and wildlife? I mean, I don't they won't even come out for a bear. I I doubt I doubt they're gonna come out for this.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

Well, they came out for that mountain lion a couple of weeks ago, that backyard, didn't they? Do you know? Yeah, thank God. I find it hard to believe, though, that they're even doing a necropcy. I mean, what do they care? I imagine money is probably really tight and they just get the animal and dispose of it.

SPEAKER_00 9:18

I don't know. I think I think what they need to I think what they need to do is they need to see if there's an open wound. If there's a wound and it looks like a bullet, I mean, then you don't have to do a necropy. Just look at the at the coyote.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

Does that become a crime at this point?

SPEAKER_00 9:36

The coyote. Are you allowed? Yes. You're not allowed to shoot wildlife.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

So if I'm a legal gun holder in California, so I have a gun permit.

SPEAKER_00 9:45

Right.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

And I see a coyote and I shoot it in my back garden.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

Illegal.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

I'm not allowed to do that.

SPEAKER_00 9:52

You're not allowed to do that. I mean, I don't know, but that just sounds like you're not allowed to do that.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

I'm moving to Montana.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

You can probably do that in Florida where the gun is. Yeah, I'm sure you can. Shoot whoever. If someone's in your backyard, you can shoot them.

SPEAKER_01 10:07

Well, again, that's a whole different debate now, isn't it? Well, you I think people actually do that in this state, don't they? Uh I'm not even gonna go there as far as sex. I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Well, anyway, the little cute um coyote. Uh bless you. And kind of just I think we should all just chill. You know.

SPEAKER_01 10:29

Well, we chilled earlier. Okay, this is gonna be a quick podcast, so that that's what we've heard about the coyotes. But we did chill earlier. We've just been on the edge of the Pacific on Venice Beach. There was um a soccer game going on. Um it's World Cup fever here, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 10:42

I thought there was gonna be a big screen and we were gonna watch part of the World Cup.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

Well, that's not what happened.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

No. It was actually the US soccer beach team, which I think is like five aside in bare feet they play.

SPEAKER_00 10:57

So the women It's really hard and you can't wear sunglasses.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

Yeah, I don't know how they could they're running around in bare feet. I couldn't, I had to put my sandals on, it was so hot on the beach. So, how they did it, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 11:07

I bet you their feet just become numb to it. But it's I think they're just the bottom of your feet.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Yeah, they m uh yeah, I guess if you do that for a living as well. I don't know if it's professional.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

Is this professional?

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Well, I doubt it somehow. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Maybe I've seen professional.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

They had a hell of a tour bus, didn't they?

SPEAKER_00 11:23

They had buses, they had a camera crew, they had a Volkswagen, they had a car makeup.

SPEAKER_01 11:29

Yeah, there was there was a few hundred people there. It was probably about the size of a basketball court, maybe a little bit bigger.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

Uh USA versus Trinidad Tobago.

SPEAKER_01 11:40

Yeah, and they were when we left, they were losing 4-2, weren't they? I think after the Yeah, 4-2. It was in the third period, wasn't it? But I gather that the women played earlier and they um they actually won. But yeah, but it's World Cup Fever here. So like um since we last did the podcast, the Paraguay team had like a fanzone. Uh I've done a little short. You can find it on our website, on our YouTube channel somewhere. Um they took over Cocoa Beach just across the road on the Marina Del Rey side of Washington County. Yeah, and it was fun. It was uh just completely packed full of these Paraguay fans who'd all made the joke.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

Paraguainians?

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Paraguay, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

Paraguains.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

I think we should just stop saying that before we dig a hole even deeper for either of us. But um no, it was great. It was a really great buzz. They had kind of had like a DJ band screens, and they all congregated there, and then they all went to SoFi to uh basically watch the game against USA, which they lost. Yeah. So but right now, but right now as we talk, well, it's just finished, but they had another game at SoFi today, which was Belgian, Iran.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

And I want to tell everybody a secret.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

So it's not going to be a secret in the next one.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

We last Sunday we went to the Getty and we watched the game there, part of the game there. It was so much fun because it's outdoors, you're with people, there they're they pay played on two big screens, and then we went and hung out with Monet.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Yeah, it was funny because I sent some um pictures of us watching it at the Getty to some friends in England, and they were just gobsmacked, really, that you could be watching a football game next to a painting of Monet.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

Monet.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

I mean, that's certain that certainly isn't the vibes you get, say, in the East End of London when there's a football game on on the TV. So uh That was fun. But yeah, but we've got a few more weeks of the World Cup and uh yeah, we're quite enjoying it. So so here we are.

SPEAKER_00 13:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

First day of summer.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

Yeah. So Oh, summer solstice, Happy Father's Day. Happy Father's Day. Longest day of the year. Okay, this is our thinking. I say it's the longest day of the year.

SPEAKER_01 13:58

Charles says the nights start to draw in tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 14:01

So negative. And I say it's the beginning of summer. So potato potato. Something like that.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Right. On that note, should we say goodbye or do you have any? Bye. Okay, goodbye. Bye. Bye-bye, everyone. Goodbye. Sandy. Chucky. Uh I hear a rumor. Is that is that your phone on mute? When I said is your phone on mute, and you said yes, my phone is on mute. Okay. So is there any kind of button on the phone?

SPEAKER_00 14:43

I did. So what was that sound? It was supposed to remove Should we start again? Let's include that.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

Sandy.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

Jackie