Brooks Fahy of PREDATOR DEFENSE shared this CBC News article with me which documents the first study that has shown Eastern Coyotes as capable killers of Moose............While we know that the Theberge biologist studies in Algonquin National Park in Eastern Canada showed that Eastern Wolves dined on Moose as a secondary dietary staple(Whitetail Deer, their primary source of protein), it was not thought that the Eastern Coyote(Coywolf as Massachusetts biologist Jon Way has named them) was not large enough to take down adult Moose.............Sure, a Coyote might get lucky and pluck a newborn Moose calf for dinner in the Spring, but to take down a 1000 pound adult Moose, NO WAY!...........Former Trent U. Grad student John Benson just published his accounting of 4 confirmed kills made by a two party Coyote pair over the 12 months spanning January 09-January 10...............As Benson observed, "It's unlikely that coyotes are making much of a dent in the moose population"............. "For one thing, all the adult moose that the coyotes killed were either inexperienced young adults between one and two years old or very old moose (more than 20 years old)"......... "In addition, a moose-tracking study taking place in the same area and at the same time as the coyote-tracking study showed that the moose population is actually growing"............There are no other studies that I could find showing that Western Coyoes(15-25 pounders on average) dine on Moose the way their Wolf/Coyote hybrids(Estern Coyote a.k.a. Coywolf) seem to be doing................Can any of you Blog Readers add anything to this unfolding development of the "canid soup" stpry that is unfolding in Eastern Canada and the USA?

Coyotes are moose killers, study finds

Study reports 4 confirmed cases of adult moose killed by coyotes and coyote-wolf hybrids

cbcnews.com

 

 

Coyotes may not have as fearsome a reputation as wolves, but a new study shows they are sometimes just as capable of hunting down and killing adult moose.

A study published Thursday in the Canadian Journal of Zoology documented four confirmed cases between January 2009 and January 2010 in which different packs of coyotes or coyote-wolf hybrids killed adult moose in an area west of Ontario’s Algonquin Park.

In one case, the moose — a 20-month old female that was likely more than 200 kilograms — was brought down by a pack of just two coyotes.

Eastern Coyote

 

 

 

 

 

 “That was impressive,” acknowledged John Benson, lead author of the report, who conducted the research while he was a graduate student at Trent University in Peterborough, Ont.

On the other hand, he said, it’s not really surprising, since it’s known that when packs of wolves attack a moose, most of the work is done by only one or two individuals.

Prior to the study, most scientists had assumed that coyotes don’t kill moose, said Benson, who was unable to find any documented cases of coyotes killing adult moose, although they had been previously known to kill calves..

Known for eating 'small' mammals

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources lists a coyote's diet as mainly rabbits, hares and deer in the winter and “small” mammals, wild berries, birds, amphibians and grasshoppers in the summer.

However, Benson, who is now a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, suspected coyotes around Algonquin Park might be capable of bringing down adult moose. In that area, the coyotes are large, the wolves are small and relatively rare (making up only seven per cent of the joint wolf-coyote population), and about 30 per cent of the joint wolf-coyote population are hybrids. In addition, some known coyote packs have hunting territories where there are lots of moose and very few deer.

 

Moose skeleton after Coyotes made the kill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Benson had the chance to test his hypothesis during a project to research the habits of coyote-wolf hybrids. As part of the project, Benson and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources wildlife researcher Brent Patterson trapped coyotes and coyote-wolf hybrids from 10 different packs and placed GPS tracking collars on them — a task that wasn’t easy.

“They’re incredibly smart so you have to be incredibly careful,” Benson recalled. “We’d boil the traps to remove all the [human] scent. We never touch them with bare hands. You basically try to make the area look exactly the way it did when you found it. Still, sometimes they sort of sense that something is wrong and don’t get trapped.”

Once the animals had been equipped, if the GPS showed they spent more than three hours in a given area, it was a sign that they may have made a kill, and the researchers went to see what the kill was.

4 confirmed, 5 suspected cases

 In addition to the four confirmed wolf kills, there were another five cases where moose appeared to have been killed by coyotes or hybrids, but that couldn’t be confirmed. While three out of the four packs that made the confirmed kills contained at least one coyote-wolf hybrid, Benson said that wasn't enough evidence to say whether the hybrids are more likely than coyotes to kill moose.

This eastern coyote hybrid killed an adult moose in central Ontario with his mate (an eastern coyote) and their three pups. Three out of the four confirmed moose kills were by coyote packs that included at least one hybrid. (John Benson)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It's unlikely that coyotes are making much of a dent in the moose population, the researchers reported. For one thing, all the adult moose that the coyotes killed were either inexperienced young adults between one and two years old or very old moose (more than 20 years old). In addition, a moose-tracking study taking place in the same area and at the same time as the coyote-tracking study showed that the moose population is actually growing.

Benson said he would be most interested to see whether the coyotes in Ontario are unusual or whether those in other parts of North America also kill moose.

One question raised by the findings is whether humans ought to fear coyotes the way we fear the “big, bad wolf.”

Benson points out that coyotes and wolves avoid humans whenever possible — one of the things that made trapping them very challenging.

“It’s good to have a healthy respect and fear, when you’re out in the woods, of any wild animals,” he said. “But it’s rare that a wolf or coyote attacks a human. So I don’t think our finding here really changes that a whole lot.”

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The Nature of Coyotes

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ontario is home to over 30,000 different species of animals and plants. This biodiversity provides us with many benefits, including healthier communities.

The Ministry of Natural Resources helps manage wildlife in Ontario and reduce conflict between people and species. We help people find ways to conserve nature and protect their family and property.

 

What is a Coyote?

The eastern coyote, found throughout much of southern Ontario and agricultural areas in the north, is a hybrid between the smaller western coyote and the eastern wolf.

Adult females weigh an average of 13 to 16 kilograms, while males' average weight varies between 16 and 18 kilograms. Coyotes are territorial animals, with their territory ranging from a few square kilometres where food is abundant to more than 100 square kilometres where food is very scarce.

 

Diet

Coyotes are opportunistic feeders and will consume a variety of foods, including meat, carrion (dead animals), fruit and vegetables. 

 

In winter, their diet consists mainly of rabbits, hares and deer when the snow is so deep that the deer's mobility is restricted. In spring, summer and fall, coyotes prey mainly on small mammals (fox, rodents, rabbits, mice and voles) and eat wild berries, birds, amphibians, grasshoppers and deer fawns.

 

Life Cycle

Coyotes often mate for life. Mated pairs usually breed in February, with pups born in April or May. Litters average five or six pups, but can range from two to 10. Both parents share pup-rearing duties, and begin to teach the pups hunting skills when the pups are eight to 10 weeks old.

Juveniles usually leave their parents' territory during their first autumn or winter to establish their own territory. What are sometimes referred to as "packs" of coyotes are generally an adult breeding pair and their pups from the most recent litter.

In some areas, coyotes can live eight to 12 years. In areas where they are hunted, or in populated areas like southern Ontario where vehicle collisions are common, the average life expectancy is less than five years.

 

Habitat

Coyotes are most commonly associated with open, agricultural landscapes interspersed with woodlots and other brushy terrain. They are also found in green spaces and industrial areas within cities.

 

Behaviour

Since migrating to Ontario more than 100 years ago, coyotes have adapted well to both rural and urban environments. The eastern coyote is now an integral and permanent part of our diverse landscape.

Many people hear coyotes without ever seeing them because of their night time howls, barks and yips. Coyotes howl to broadcast occupancy of their territory and keep members of the family group aware of each other’s locations while hunting or travelling alone. Howling may also help co-ordinate some feeding activities.

Coyotes are usually wary of humans and avoid people whenever possible. They have adapted well to living near humans and development. In urban areas, they tend to be nocturnal, typically roaming at night looking for food and spending the daylight hours bedded in bushy or wooded areas.

It is unusual for coyotes to show no fear of humans. Coyotes displaying no fear of humans or exhibiting aggressive behaviours have likely been habituated to people through direct or indirect feeding. 

 

Size of Populations  

Coyote populations normally fluctuate in response to the abundance or scarcity of food. When food supplies are limited, they experience a higher mortality rate and lower reproduction rates.

Humans account for the majority of coyote deaths through hunting, trapping and motor-vehicle accidents.
 

Diseases

Coyote diseases or parasites are rarely a risk to humans. 

Rabies is rare in coyotes in Ontario. Coyotes may actually help to reduce the incidence of rabies in Ontario since they often prey on foxes, a species more likely to carry the disease.

Mange is common in coyote populations in Ontario. Mange is caused by a parasitic mite that burrows into the outer layer of the skin, resulting in loss of fur, extreme irritation and can cause death.

 

Conflicts

In a small number of cases coyotes lose their fear of people and start preying on livestock. These problem coyotes require more serious measures. There are tools for farmers and rural landowners that will help them deal with coyote conflicts and predation.

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 Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

 

SPECIES:	Coywolf, Eastern coyote, Canis latrans x Canis lupus lycaon
ORIGIN:
RANGE:	In Canada, coywolves (which also  go by the name eastern coyotes)  are flourishing in southern Ontario,  Quebec and throughout the Maritime  provinces. They can also be found all  along the northeastern seaboard of the U.S.A. from New York State to New Hampshire and even into Rhode Island. Recent DNA analysis  have also shown that this hybrid is  starting to move as far as Pennsylvania . Their terrorities range from 20 - 40 square  kilometres in the countryside and can be  as small as 5-8 square kilometres in cities.
HABITAT:	Coywolves prefer edge habitats in agricultural, suburban and urban areas.  Edge habitats provide cover and in general  a greater amount of food resources. For part of the year, coywolves live in dens. In the winter, they use their dens for refuge  from the elements; summer dens are  used for 6-8 weeks of the year when  the pups are born. Females retreat to  the dens a few days before giving birth  and the young remain in or near the den  for the first 6- 8 weeks of their life.  Coywolves, like wolves, keep many  den sites at any one time. At the least  sign of disturbance they are often quick  to switch from one to the other. Coywolves  are very protective of their young and  move them from one den site to another  by carrying them in their teeth like cats  do with kittens. In cities, coywolves favour  den sites in natural green space like parks, ravines and stream banks and even unused  portions of backyards.
BEHAVIOUR:	Eastern coyotes or coywolves, like  western coyotes, are much more  comfortable living in closer proximity  to people than wolves are. Still, most  people, whether in the city or the country,  rarely see them. These phantom-like creatures have mastered the art of going about their business under the radar. We are more likely to hear them nearby. In the country the call and answer of coywolves keeping a check  on each other is a common sound and  in the city fire engine sirens and train whistles are known to set them howling in response. Despite being able to live  near us, coywolves are wary and avoid  people when ever possible. In urban areas, they tend to be nocturnal. Coywolves live in small family groups  consisting of a mated pair and their young.
SIZE:	Coywolves generally weigh anywhere  from 14-18 kilograms and are 120 - 150  centimetres long. Male coywolves tend  to be larger than females. Their thick coats,  long legs and bushy tails often give them a wolf-like appearance that causes them to be mistaken for these much larger animals.
DIET:	Coywolves are omnivores. They're  opportunistic hunters who will feed on  everything from berries and seeds to  small mammals like mice, voles, squirrels and rabbits. Their large jaw  structure allows them to hunt larger  mammals like deer, which in spring,  is a staple of their diet. In the city, they will feed on garbage, compost , fruit or vegtable gardens - and in  some cases - small outdoor pets.
FUTURE:	Coywolf populations are thriving in urban  and suburban areas. Their range expansion  has shown them pushing as far south as into Pennsylvania.

 

 

 

Fantastic news coming out of Oregon's Central Cascade Range since April of this year with 5 documented accounts of Wolverines in the Wallowa Mountains being confirmed.................Thought to have been extirpated in this part of the world since the 1930's, isolated accounts of Wolverines kept popping up right up through the 1990's..................It now appears a breeding population has the beginning of a toe hold in the state.........................The species became a candidate for federal Endangered Species Act protections in December of last year................Wolverines are a harbinger of climate change due to the fact that they require deep snow that must persist into the Spring months for successful denning and pup weaning to take place

WOLVERINES FOUND IN OREGON

dailyastorian.com

Even mild-mannered scientists get excited. Audrey Magoun, a 35-year veteran of field biological research, made a discovery so unexpected she says, "I have to admit I literally skipped down the mountain trail coming home, saying, 'Yahoo! Yahoo!' all the way down."

Magoun had just confirmed the first wolverine in recorded history in northeastern Oregon. "I was just exhilarated," she says.

She had tricked the wolverine into taking a picture of itself. With the remote trail camera in hand, she headed home to look at the pictures on a large computer screen. There she got an even bigger surprise; the camera had snapped photos of not one but two male wolverines.

Magoun adds, "I was as shocked as anybody."

Later, another camera captured images of a third wolverine.

She'd found three wolverines in her first season of research since moving to Oregon, making discoveries that had eluded the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) for decades.

Magoun knew what she was doing. She has tracked wolverines in Alaska and Canada since 1978. In the early days they lured wolverines into traps, tranquilized them and then fitted them with radio collars to see where they went.

Modern technology has made that intensive, hands-on handling of wildlife virtually unnecessary. "You can find out a lot of things about wolverines just using cameras," says Magoun. "It's not quite as invasive.

She has carried cameras, supplies and roadkill deer in her backpack deep into the Eagle Cap Wilderness of Oregon's Wallowa Mountains to set up 34 camera stations over a two-year span.

She hangs the deer as bait but the free food lured in more than just wolverines. Marten, bear, elk, flying squirrels, bobcat, cougar and a wolf have all come to the bait station and had their pictures taken. Magoun only learns of these sightings after she hikes back to each and every location to retrieve the memory cards.

Her cameras have spied wolverines from about 5,500 feet in elevation up to 7,000 feet. "They probably roam higher, but I can't get up there in the winter because of the avalanche danger," she says.

Magoun's success has inspired other researchers to resume the hunt for wolverines and other carnivores in Oregon's central Cascades range. ODFW teamed with Oregon Wildlife and the U.S. Forest Service to place 20 cameras across three wilderness areas, but after a full season of waiting, no wolverines had visited any of the cameras retrieved in the summer of 2013.

Like Magoun's cameras, however, the Cascade cameras saw a host of other wildlife including montane fox, flying squirrel, a bear and a rare high-elevation sighting of a raccoon.

Says Oregon Wildlife's Jamie McFadden-Hiller, "When we're looking for a wolverine it's like looking for a needle in a haystack, but you don't know if that needle exists."

Her team hopes to get funding to continue the Cascades Carnivore Project into a second season.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is due to decide in 2014 whether to add wolverines to the endangered species list.

Magoun extended her cameras for a second winter in the Wallowas. This time only one wolverine returned, who she nicknamed Stormy.

"He didn't show up until January," says Magoun. "So where he was all the time, I don't know."

DNA analysis of a hair sample from Stormy traces his roots to a known population of wolverines in Idaho. They have ranges of hundreds of miles and swim easily. Magoun says wolverines would have no trouble swimming the Snake River to visit Oregon.

She's not sure where the other two wolverines went, but she intends to keep looking.

"For me, wolverines make wilderness -- more than wolves, more than grizzly bears," Magoun says. "To me, if an area doesn't have wolverines, I don't feel like I'm in the northern wilderness. I feel like something's missing."

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Wolverines in Oregon? The rumors are true

opb.org

Oregon Field Guide: Wolverine

In Oregon’s dangerous back-country we search for the rare and elusive wolverine.

It’s an exciting time for Oregon’s wolverine trackers.
After countless unconfirmed reports of wolverine sightings and years of setting up cameras in remote, snow-covered forests, wildlife biologists working with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife have finally found what they were looking for.

A baited camera offered the first confirmed sighting of a wolverine in Oregon in 19 years on April 2. The photo was downloaded on Friday. A very happy Earth Day for wolverine researchers!

Two wolverines were caught on camera this month in Wallowa County. The first discovery came April 17 with a confirmed set of wolverine tracks. Then, just days later, researchers found their camera in Wallowa County had snapped pictures of two wolverines on April 2 and 13.

Wolverine tracks in the snow, April 17. That's a glove on the left for size comparison.

I dug up the 2006 Oregon Field Guide episode above to illustrate just how long the search party has been seeking out this elusive species in Oregon.
Wolverines are listed as a state threatened species, and there have been no confirmed sightings anywhere in the state since 1992.
The species became a candidate for federal Endangered Species Act protections in December of last year, and Meg Kenagy of ODFW told me that the species will be a harbinger of climate change because they den in the snow.
Here’s ODFW’s brief history of wolverines in Oregon:

A "shout out" of congratulations to Princeton, New jersey for seeking to co-exist successfully with Coyotes............. As part of its education campaign, the town wants to stress that residents should not leave out pet food that coyotes could eat................... Member of the town's Animal Control Advisory Committee did some research online finding out, among other things, that culling an area of coyotes only invites other coyotes to come in from other places as well as remaining Coyotes having even larger litters of pups to compensate for the killing of resident Coyotes..................Camilla Fox and Project Coyote should reinforce with Princeton that they should stick with this sound plan and not abandon it next year as some in the Village are suggesting

PRINCETON: Coyotes off kill list for this year Princeton will not cull coyotes but instead seek to educate the public on how best to live with the wild animals that live scattered townwide, officials said Monday. packetonline.com

 Princeton will not cull coyotes but instead seek to educate the public on how best to live with the wild animals that live scattered townwide, officials said Monday.

   Member of the town's Animal Control Advisory Committee did some research online finding out, among other things, that culling an area of coyotes only invites other coyotes to come in from other places, said Council President Bernard P. Miller, who sits on that committee. Furthermore, coyote living in urban-suburban settings tend to feed on small "critters" and food that is left outside, he said.

   Councilwoman Jo S. Butler, who also researched the issue, said she had found that culling is "not that effective" because it only leads coyotes to have larger litters.

   Mr. Miller and Ms. Butler said the coyote has no known natural predator. He said lethal methods of culling work best in "rural settings."

   Princeton Animal Control Officer Mark Johnson estimated that the town has around 40 to 60 coyotes. Last month, Mr. Johnson said there have been "numerous" coyote sightings; there was a report of one running across Community Park School on Saturday night.

   The coyote has been blamed for killing pets and chasing people, Mr. Johnson has said. Ms. Butler said that based on her research, people should not run from a coyote since that only triggers its chase instinct.

   Mr. Miller said coyotes range far in search of something to eat. As part of its education campaign, the town wants to stress that residents should not leave out pet food that coyotes could eat. Ms. Butler said she would like to see the town bring in state representatives come to talk about coyotes as they did about bear this past summer.

   In addition, the town plans to have Mr. Johnson destroy any coyote dens if he comes across any.

   The town has not completely shut the door to ever culling coyote. The town plans to collect data for any human-coyote contact, Mr. Miller said, and revisit the issue next year.

   In the meantime, the Princeton Council is expected to approve continuing culling the local deer herd. Princeton again will use a mix of sharpshooters and bow hunters starting in the wintertime likely at the end of this year or the beginning of 2014.

   The town also will have White Buffalo, the company providing the sharpshooters, do a census of the deer population, Mr. Miller said.

   

Are so many of us hoping beyond hope that wild North American Pumas still call the Southern Appalachians home that we have willed ourselves into believing the "wives tales" of their existence when in fact three decades of intensive "sherlock holmes" detective work by Dr Donald Linzey of Wytheville Community College has thus far not revealed a shred of evidence that Pumas still prowl Virginia and Tennessee?........................Intensive interviewing of those who felt they saw a big cat, DNA analysis of hair samples and motion sensor camera analysis saids that our GHOST CAT is in fact currently in ghost status in southeastern America..................The last verified Puma sighting in Virginia was in 1882, in Abingdon............... The last sighting in the Great Smoky Mountains was in 1920 and in West Virginia, 1887.................But a lack of proof does not deter Linzey, who continues to hunt Pumas................I think we are going to need USFW intervention in the form of rewilding if Dr. Linzey(and I) hope to see a breeding Puma population east of the Mississippi in our lifetime...

Researcher still hunting cougars

 

 

 

 

 

Millie Rothrock;tricities.com

Dr. Donald Linzey keeps waiting. He waits for the one photograph, the one video, the one scrap of fur that will verify the existence of cougars in Virginia or the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

So far, the elusive, massive cat eludes him, but not for a lack of effort on Linzey’s part to find it.

For more than three decades he has interviewed every person who reports a sighting to him. He developed a device made of carpet and nails that he attaches to trees to gather fur from animals that rub up against the trees. Then, he sends the fur off for DNA analysis. He has installed motion-detector cameras at various sites. He even trained his dog to track down cougar scat.

But still, after all these years, nothing.

 

Linzey spoke to a packed house Monday about his research. His presentation was the first in an academic lecture series presented by Wytheville Community College as part of its 50th anniversary celebration.

The cougar, which is also known by other names like mountain lion and catamount, is an agile, slender cat that is brownish-yellow in color with black markings in the facial area. One of its most distinctive characteristics is its long tail, which curls at the end and drags the ground.

People often mistake bobcats for cougars, Linzey said, although a bobcat has rough fur around its face, and a short, bobbed tail.

Cougars are relatively common out west. There is also a small population in southern Florida. Out west, they roam hundreds of miles; they have the largest range of any animal in the Americas. Two years ago, wildlife officials concluded that a cougar killed by a car in Connecticut was from the Black Hills of South Dakota 1,500 miles away.

If there are cougars in this area, chances are they do not roam nearly as far, the WCC professor said. Deer is a cougar’s main food source; they eat an average of one per week. Because deer are so plentiful here, it is not necessary for a cougar to roam very far, maybe 25 square miles.

The fact that they do not have to wander far for food is one of the reasons cougars remain so elusive in this area. In addition, they are most active at dawn and dusk, when less people are out, and they are shy by nature.

The last verified sighting in Virginia was in 1882, in Abingdon, Linzey said. The last sighting in the Great Smoky Mountains was in 1920 and in West Virginia, 1887.

But that does not mean they are not in the area. Many hunters and outdoorsmen have a cougar story to tell. The problem is they don’t have any proof.

“Most of the time, when people see an animal, it’s a fleeting glimpse and there’s not enough time to pull out a camera,” Linzey said.

When someone reports a sighting to him, Linzey interviews the person about exactly what he or she saw. He also inquires to see if anyone else was with the person, what the weather was like and what the animal was doing.

“Then I render a subjective opinion about whether or not it could have been a cougar,” Linzey said.

About 44 percent of the sightings are good enough for Linzey to pinpoint them on his Virginia map. Of that 44 percent, about 40 percent were confirmed by more than one observer.

On the map, there is one pin in Bland County and two in Pulaski County. There are no pins in Wythe County. Montgomery County has two strong sightings: one by a Virginia Tech professor and a second by a man and his son who watched a cougar for five minutes.

In Smyth County, a farmer shot and killed a deer at dusk and left it in the woods until the next morning. When he returned, the deer was gone. It had been dragged about 45 feet and was covered with leaves and debris, which is what cougars do with their prey. When they have had their fill, they cover the animal and return later to eat more.

Linzey sent fur sample from the site for analysis, but no cougar fur was identified, only deer fur.

“What could drag a deer that far?” Linzey asked. “I think it was a cougar, but there is no positive proof.”

Again.

Linzey has a photo of a young deer hanging from a high tree branch. He thinks a cougar drug it there, but there’s no proof.

Again.

The photos he has of cougars are hazy and sketchy at best. In the ones where the cougar is clear, there are problems: vegetation around it cannot be verified to be growing where the photographer claimed to have taken the photo, or the angle of the photograph cannot be verified. Other photos are too blurry for concrete identification.

Again.

But a lack of proof does not deter Linzey, who continues to hunt his mysterious cat.

“You have to make up your own mind about whether we have cougars out there,” Linzey said. “We need more eyes and ears out there. Then, there’s a better chance of finding a cougar.”

The existence of cougars must be verified so they can be protected, he said.

To report a cougar sighting, contact Linzey at 276-223-4824 or wclinzd@wcc.vccs.edu

 

The "Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve" is my "neighbor" abutting Western Los Angeles and Eastern Ventura Counties......................Coyotes and Bobcats along with Black tail Deer and the occasional wandering Puma grace these 2600 acres.................It is my window into what was the Oak Savannah and Chaparral environment that once harbored the densest population of Grizzly Bears in the USA prior to the Bruins being exterminated after the 1850 Goldrush period in this part of the world..................Click on the picture below for a great video presentation on the region

treeman4781 has shared a video with you on YouTube Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve by MRCAParks Located in western Los Angeles County and eastern  Ventura County is over 2600 acres of oak-covered rolling hills and an easy, well-maintained network trails. Access to the park is at the Victory Trailhead  at the western terminus of Victory Boulevard in West Hills, at the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Trailhead at  the northern end of Las Virgenes Canyon Road in  Calabasas, and through trails headed east on the National Park Service land at Chesebro Canyon. For more information about parks and programs in  the area: http://www.LAMountains.com http://www.facebook.com/LAMountains Help center • Email options • Report spam ©2013 YouTube, LLC 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066