FYI: Wildlife in Lincoln Hills

Dry weather will bring wildlife to our neighborhood in search of water and small prey. A fox family was sighted in the area of Secret Lake Loop and Silver Fork Ct in Village 16A. (backs to a large open space & East Joiner Pkwy, entrance is Sun Park Ln off Del Webb Blvd)

Coyotes & bobcats are frequently sighted throughout Lincoln Hills and, on occasion mountain lions.

If you see this type of wildlife, immediately spread the word to nearby neighbors and notify the Village Coordinator so they can send a notice to the village.

We will not be issuing a community-wide Alert for each sighting. It would be helpful to include the following in your message.

Click here for a 3-page article about bobcats.

An excerpt from the article:

The preferred prey of bobcats includes cottontail rabbits, wood rats, and jackrabbits, with other small rodents, birds, reptiles, and occasionally deer rounding out the diet. Bobcats can and do take poultry, domestic sheep, and goats when the opportunity presents itself.

They are crepuscular, being most active a few hours before and after sunrise and sunset.

Suggestions:

• Secure your pets at dusk. Wildlife have flexible a diet and will take advantage of easily accessible food, including garbage and pet food left outside.
• Caution is advised on our trails. It’s a good idea to carry a phone and some type of defensive instrument, e.g. golf club, cane, large stick, pepper spray. Keep your pet, particularly small dogs, on a leash and close to you on our open space trails.
• If you should encounter a wild animal, STAND YOUR GROUND, and make as much noise as possible; this will scare them away. NEVER TRY TO RUN AWAY, THINKING YOU CAN OUTRUN A WILD ANIMAL. Running will trigger the prey instinct!

You can report any such sightings during normal business hours to the California Fish and Wildlife Dept at 916 358-2900. After hours, call the Lincoln Police at 916 645- 4040. If a human is in danger, call 9-1-1.

Warm weather has brought out the snakes, including RATTLESNAKES. Snakes are beneficial predators of rats, mice, voles, gophers, and other garden pests.