I go bird watching at Bolsa Chica. I know there are lots of coyotes there, as well as on the bases, Seal Beach and Los Al. There have been numerous sightings in Long Beach at our many parks.
I am sorry to hear about your cat. I really wish mine would just stay inside, but he won’t tolerate it. If we keep him in the house, he starts fights with our other cats. (I do make it a point to keep him inside on Halloween. He’s a black cat and he’s very friendly. I don’t want some wiccan freak sacrificing him).
When he’s outside, he mostly just hangs out on the patio and sleeps. He patrols the yard. Whenever I hear a cat fight, I know it’s him bullying some poor kitty. It’s never him screaming. Always the other fella.
Like I said, he grew up in Wyoming in some real wilderness. Then he moved to Texas for a while before I brought him to CA. He’s rugged.
He’s a great pet. I would be very sad if something happened to him, but he does not enjoy life in the house.
I found a 44 sec video, of exactly what must have happened with my cat. Note the size of the coyote and the cat; how easily he lifts that dead breakfast and carries it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw7ROh3Hc8k
In our area, the coyotes were displaced when the wetlands between Beach Blvd. and the Santa Ana river were “restored.”
Going back to the article, at 1017 acres, Golden Gate Park is 20% bigger than Central Park in New York.