As coyote sightings are on the rise, one Southern California woman said she was shocked to discover a family of coyotes had been living underneath her home.
Surveillance cameras capture the moment a woman who was walking her dog running to safety after coming face-to-face with a coyote in her neighborhood.
Residents in the Leimert Park neighborhood said a rise in the number of coyotes canvassing the area has left them concerned for their safety.
Phaedra Harris, a Leimert Park resident, recalls the moment she was jolted out of bed by the sounds of a woman screaming for help in the middle of the night.
Harris immediately suspected that it was likely a pack of coyotes surrounding the woman.
“Sure enough, this woman was just running for her life,” Harris recalled. “And I was like, ‘Get in here! Get your dog! Get in here!’” as she waved the woman to safety inside her home.
“They were chasing her and her dog and they were growling at the dog,” Harris said.
Just days before, Harris said she discovered the pack of coyotes weren’t just roaming around the neighborhood, but they had also been living underneath her home.
“My neighbor, she sent me a video of the coyotes coming out of my crawlspace,” Harris said.
After reviewing her home security footage, she confirmed the coyotes were indeed, living under her house.
“I actually saw four pups and two adult coyotes in my front lawn killing a raccoon or a possum or something and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s a whole family.’”
She contacted local law enforcement which referred her to animal control, but no one was available to help. She felt helpless for a bit until she contacted Humane Wildlife Control, Inc., an organization that uses humane, no-kill methods to remove wildlife.
Harris’ crawlspace was eventually sealed up and the coyote family left her property.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that coyotes were right here, but yeah they’re here,” she said in disbelief.
However, Harris said she also understands the coyotes will likely stay in the neighborhood as the are is also their natural home.
“What I’ve learned is that we basically have to learn to live with the coyotes,” she said of the information provided to her by the humane pest control company.
Earlier this month, Mar Vista residents were on edge as a pack of coyotes continued stalking the community.