SAN DIEGO — If it seems like you’re seeing more critters and snakes and other wildlife in your neighborhood during the sweltering heat, there may be a reason for it. CBS 8 spoke with an expert about why wildlife sightings may be up in your neighborhood.
“This is Brawley, she’s one of our resident coyotes, she’s an ambassador coyote,” said Andy Blue, Campus Director for Project Wildlife Ramona while pointing to an outdoor enclosure. “As you can see, she’s not real active midday, she will be later and she was earlier in the day, but she’s well taken care of. She’s got a pool over here to get into and we have misters in the enclosure to cool her down.”
Blue says coyotes typically don’t want to be out and about midday when temperatures are the hottest.
“You know, animals are smart enough, like us, to stay out of the heat as best as they can, so if you’re hiking in the middle of the day, chances are you’re not going to come across any animal,” said Blue.
Morning and evening hours are a different story, however. If you’re seeing more critters and wildlife around your home, they could be searching for water or a place to cool down.
“So you want to minimize, as much as you can, the things that will attract animals to your yard,” explained Blue. “As much as we love having them around, whether it’s a bird bath or a water source or a bird feeder or a compost pile, you don’t realize it, but that’s what attracts animals to your yard.”
Summer is the most active time for rattlesnakes. April to September is the time of year when most encounters and rattlesnake bites are reported.
“When it’s hot like this, even your irrigation systems that are making the ground cooler and damp, that’s going to attract animals like rattlesnakes,” said Blue.
While leaving water out may seem like a nice thing to do, Blue says it could have unintended consequences.
“Animals are very resourceful, and they know where the water sources are in neighborhoods or canyons, so it’s important to not only not put water, but certainly food as well, and again, that attracts rabbits, squirrels, rodents that are going to attract other animals like coyotes and bobcats and rattlesnakes.”
When letting your pet out in the morning, it’s a good idea to go out there first and make some noise to spook away any animal that may be in your yard, and remember, coyotes can jump over tall fences. As for Brawley in this heat wave, she does what coyotes do.
“You can even see where she’s dug burrows over there and that’s what you would see in the wild to escape the heat,” said Blue while pointing into the enclosure. “They’ll find a cooler area under a tree, and they’ll dig the den to be a cooler spot.”
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