50,000 years ago during the Pleistocene epoch, Los Angeles was home to mammoths, giant sloths, saber-tooth tigers and dire wolves. These animals went extinct during the ice age approximately 8000 years go. Fortunately, new creatures took their place.
Los Angeles is the second largest city in the country with nearly four million people. The city is also home to coyotes, rattlesnakes, possums, skunks, raccoons, rabbits, deer, mountain lions, bobcats, bears and gray foxes. Hike in the hills and you’ll find signs of animals everywhere. There are piles of scat, bobcat scratches on trees and snake tracks in the dirt. To live in Los Angeles is to live among thousands of wild animals.
Anyone who’s spent a fall evening in an LA canyon home is familiar with the eerie nighttime howl of coyotes on the hunt. The sound’s terrifying, like Apaches on the warpath. When a pack of coyotes find a stray dog or cat, you hear staccato yips and barks as they surround and ultimately kill their prey. Telephone poles in Laurel Canyon are littered with photos of lost pets likely victimized by coyotes.
I often see lone coyotes while hiking early morning in the hills. I only felt threatened once. I encountered a pack of coyotes at dusk at Roosevelt Golf Course in Griffith Park. The creatures stared me down as I searched for my lost ball in the trees. I cut the round short when their numbers grew and it became clear they weren’t scared of me.
Sierra Madre’s a small town in the foothills of LA County. The community has seen a surge of black bear encounters with humans. Bears have appeared in neighborhoods, trailer parks, schools and shopping areas. In 2023, the Sierra Madre police received 307 calls about bear encounters with humans. Seventeen reports involved bears entering homes. There have been dozens of injuries though no one’s been killed. After a bear invaded Sierra Madre middle school, the city council declared bears “a threat to public safety.” The animals were tranquilized and relocated deeper in the hills.
Mountain Lion sightings are rare. I’ve hiked the LA hills for nearly 40 years and I’ve only seen a mountain lion once. I was hiking with friends in Temescal Canyon in Pacific Palisades when we encountered a massive cougar on the trail about 100-feet away. The cat locked eyes with us, froze and leapt majestically into the foliage. He was more scared of us than we were of him.
More common hiking encounters involve rattlesnakes. Western rattlesnakes are everywhere in the Santa Monica Mountains. During the summer months, I often see snakes sunning themselves on a trail. On two occasions these venomous creatures rattled at me for getting too close. It’s a creepy experience.
According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, there are approximately 50 cases of rattlesnakes biting humans in Los Angeles per year. On average, two LA residents die annually from snakebites. Rattlesnake season lasts from April to October. The health department offers the following advice if bitten. Gently wash the bite area with water and soap. Elevate the bitten area above the level of the heart. Remove jewelry around the bite. Get to a hospital as quick as possible. Things not to do include don’t apply ice, don’t apply a tourniquet, don’t cut or slice the wound, don’t suck out the poison with your mouth.
In 2012, a 50-year-old woman was hiking in Franklin Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains. It was four p.m. on an 80-degree day, optimal temperature for snakes. She jogged up her favorite trail when she inadvertently stepped on a rattlesnake hidden by leaves. She was bitten twice. She felt the effects immediately: blurred vision, wobbly legs and panic. The pain was minimal but bruises and blisters appeared on her ankle as the tissue-destroying hemotoxin went to work.
She fell to the ground. Two hikers found her after a few minutes. They carried her to their car then drove her to a ranger station where an ambulance was called. As she waited for help, her breathing began to shut down. Within an hour, she made it to a hospital and was administered 116 vials of antivenin. She remained in ICU on a respirator for three weeks. She survived with a medical bill of $153,000.
Snakes pose an obvious risk but even docile animals can be dangerous. My friend Gregory was walking his dog through Laurel Canyon at night when he encountered a skunk. His dog started barking, the skunk lifted its tail and Gregory was struck in the face with a stream of pungent spray. His partner rushed him to Cedars-Sinai Hospital where Gregory endured six hours of temporary blindness. He felt painful stinging and tearing for weeks though his vision returned in full.
Most Los Angeles animal encounters are incidental and not dangerous. I often find possums in my trash bin rummaging for food. True to their reputations, they play dead. When I lived in Beachwood Canyon, I left cat food and water bowls on the patio and watched as raccoon families appeared for meals. Their deft fingers resemble human hands.
The most common animal sightings in Los Angeles involve deer. During the pandemic, my wife and I hiked canyon trails every day. We often saw deer including fawns with their beautiful white spots and brown markings. They spook easily but watching them forage for food is calming. On days like this, I feel I have “deer karma,” meaning I’m in a good energy space to attract the fauna around me. Seeing animals in Los Angeles is a blessing. I wish I felt the same way about seeing humans.