LAPLACE — St. John residents are asked to take extra caution in monitoring small children and pets as efforts are under way to remove coyotes from numerous residential areas.

The St. John the Baptist Parish Department of Public Safety and Wildlife and Fisheries identified the areas around Louisiana 51, Belle Terre Boulevard, the Riverlands and Cambridge neighborhoods, the Interstate 10 corridor and Edgard near the levee as locations of coyote movement.

“You need to monitor small children, which is another unfortunate aspect to the coyotes,” Deputy Director of Public Safety Travis Perrilloux said. “They tend to look at small animals and small children as prey.”

Residents should avoid leaving food overnight in pet bowls and are asked to leave garbage cans covered.

Authorities began setting traps for coyotes last week after receiving complaints and monitoring rising water levels in the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain.

Perrilloux said coyotes do not act like stray dogs looking for trash or waste, instead adding in swamp and marsh areas, they are drawn to warm-blooded creatures like rabbits and ducks.

He said the parish’s response is proactive, adding no incidents of coyote attacks have been recently reported.

Wildlife and Fisheries Nuisance Control Officer Jamie LaBranche said coyotes are crossing area levees because they can’t live with the rising water. He said they are also having pups and, therefore, moving around looking for food.

“The population is normal, you just might see them more over the levee with the water rising,” LaBranche said. “If you have a small dog or cat, keep a good eye on them. They love cats, and they love small dogs. If you are walking your dog, it is very rare that they will come up and confront you. If you get close enough to them, you can (accidently) corner them. If you corner them, they are going to come out and try to get you.”

LaBranche said area coyotes grow to about 45 pounds, with some weighing as much as 60 pounds depending on their access to food.

“They love rabbits, and they love chickens if they can get them at a chicken coop,” he said. “Their last resort are small pets, like cats and small dogs. In the woods, what they do is steal baby rabbits out the nest, and that is how they are surviving right now.”

LaBranche said coyote food in the wild is “plentiful,” adding residents are only seeing them recently because of rising water levels.

“We’re mostly pinpointing locations and getting the traps set up (right now,)” he said. “Coyotes are real smart. You might set the trap out, and he might pass by it three or four times before he will get in it. He’s got to check it out if it is something new to him. It’s a smart animal.”

Residents are asked to report coyote sightings to the Department of Public Safety at 985-652-2222 or call 911 if they come across an aggressive situation.

Once coyotes are trapped, officials said, they are taken to another parish and used for training purposes.