Last Friday, Gary Vlahakis was out for an early morning run on the Red Car Property when he saw a coyote come down through the dry brush from Adelbert. He managed to get two coyotes on video ahead of him on the trail. You see his dog, who is deaf, stay obediently stay by his side. But the story of the video he DID NOT get is even more amazing...2 coyotes from Adelbert to Red Car Property 6AM #NatureinLA #LAFD still needs brush clearance @MitchOFarrell pic.twitter.com/RxOFTgAvWI— Corralitas (@RedCarProperty) July 15, 2016
The first thing I said was where's the third coyote? Vlahakis responded,
"As we were approaching the little trail that goes up to Adelbert I saw what I thought was a little doggie at the bottom....barking and barking!!! When we got within 30’ or so I realized it was a coyote, but it just stayed there and kept barking so i started taking a video (I thought). About 30 seconds later I thought something was odd so I turned around and a bigger coyote was sneaking up behind us. And I’m thinking 'this will be an incredible video!' The coyote was coming right at us when turned but angled off and circled around us to meet the other and they went up the little trail. It never was more than 15’ away as it went by."
The video didn't record. Of course anyone who's ever tried to capture a wildlife encounter on the fly, on your phone, has had a similar mishap with recording video. I know I have. You just shoot and hope for the best. I've learned to stick to stills and multiple images because I can rarely make the video work in such situations.
Keep your dogs on leash, keep your cats indoors, don't leave food debris outside. Keep your trash and recycle bins closed at all times. Get your brush clearance done. Don't give coyotes a place to hide in your yard. If there are neighboring lots that haven't been cleared of brush (like the Red Car Property) report them to LAFDBrush@lacity.org You can look up more info on brush clearance: http://www.lafd.org/fire-prevention/brush
