{
  "id": "2023-03-24-pepperdine-university-coyote-awareness",
  "slug": "pepperdine-university-coyote-awareness-2023-03-24",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Pepperdine University",
    "shortName": "Pepperdine",
    "state": "CA",
    "type": "private-r2",
    "alertSystemName": "Pepperdine Emergency Notifications",
    "enrollment": 7600
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-03-24",
    "type": "other",
    "cleryCategory": "advisory",
    "headline": "Advisory issued after several coyote sightings during the spring term",
    "headlinePublic": "Advisory issued after several coyote sightings during the spring term",
    "summary": "On [March 24, 2023, Pepperdine University issued a Malibu Campus Coyote Awareness advisory following several coyote sightings during the spring 2023 term](https://emergency.pepperdine.edu/2023/03/24/subject-malibu-campus-coyote-awareness/), providing detailed guidance on what to do when coyotes are encountered. Pepperdine's own biology faculty had recently published [peer-reviewed research confirming that urban coyotes on and around the Malibu campus have become significantly less cautious around humans than their rural counterparts](https://seaver.pepperdine.edu/newsroom/articles/biology-professor-javier-monzon-investigates-how-urbanization-shapes-coyote-behavior.htm).",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "outcome": "No injuries. Advisory issued for community awareness. No capture or removal. Report sightings to Public Safety at 310-506-4441."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "March 24, 2023 PDT, following multiple coyote sightings during spring 2023 term",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "Subject: Malibu Campus Coyote Awareness. Following several coyote sightings on the Malibu campus during the spring 2023 term, Pepperdine would like to educate the University community regarding what to do when coyotes are seen on campus to ensure all are informed of, but not alarmed by, the wildlife with whom we share the Santa Monica Mountains. If you see a coyote on or near the Malibu campus, please report the incident to Public Safety at 310.506.4441. Respect the animal. Do not feed wildlife. Do not approach the animal; leave space for the animal to escape. Maintain eye contact and move away slowly. Do not run. Running could trigger the animal's instinct to chase you. Appear as large, loud, and powerful as possible. Shine a bright light at the animal, especially at night. If there are small children or pets present, pick them up immediately.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://emergency.pepperdine.edu/2023/03/24/subject-malibu-campus-coyote-awareness/",
      "sourceDescription": "Pepperdine Emergency Information official archive: 'Subject: Malibu Campus Coyote Awareness' advisory (March 24, 2023)",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim text of the March 24, 2023 advisory as published on Pepperdine's official Emergency Information site; its signature phrase 'informed of, but not alarmed by, the wildlife with whom we share the Santa Monica Mountains' is a standard formulation Pepperdine adopted after the February 2022 mountain lion dog kill and applies to subsequent wildlife notifications as a coexistence-over-alarm messaging approach.",
        "The instruction 'Appear as large, loud, and powerful as possible' reflects hazing technique protocol for coyotes, distinct from mountain lion protocol (where noise and size also help) and black bear protocol, demonstrating that Pepperdine maintains species-specific response guidance for its resident wildlife.",
        "Pepperdine biology professor Javier Monzon and student researcher Lucian Himes ('23) published research around this same time confirming that urban coyotes near the Malibu campus were less fearful of humans than rural coyotes, so the campus was simultaneously studying and communicating about the same animal."
      ],
      "characterCount": 856
    }
  ],
  "context": "Pepperdine University's Malibu campus shares the Santa Monica Mountains with a well-established coyote population. Coyotes in the area are documented to be less fearful of humans than rural coyotes, as [confirmed by research from Pepperdine's own biology department published circa 2022-2023](https://seaver.pepperdine.edu/newsroom/articles/biology-professor-javier-monzon-investigates-how-urbanization-shapes-coyote-behavior.htm). This creates a distinctive situation in campus wildlife management: the university's academic research directly informs the behavioral risks described in its own emergency advisories. [The March 24, 2023 advisory followed a series of spring sightings and used the same non-alarmist framing Pepperdine had adopted after the February 2022 mountain lion dog kill](https://emergency.pepperdine.edu/2023/03/24/subject-malibu-campus-coyote-awareness/). Unlike mountain lion advisories, this coyote advisory did not restrict any campus operations or order shelter; it was purely educational. The advisory is distinguished from a typical timely warning by its subject line format ('Subject: Malibu Campus Coyote Awareness') and its explicit educational tone, reflecting Pepperdine's classification of wildlife sightings as advisory-level events rather than Clery-reportable incidents. [The Santa Monica Mountains support one of the most studied urban coyote populations in the United States](https://seaver.pepperdine.edu/newsroom/articles/biology-professor-javier-monzon-investigates-how-urbanization-shapes-coyote-behavior.htm), and the Pepperdine campus sits at the intersection of active ecological research and practical campus safety management.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Subject: Malibu Campus Coyote Awareness - Pepperdine Emergency Information",
      "url": "https://emergency.pepperdine.edu/2023/03/24/subject-malibu-campus-coyote-awareness/",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    },
    {
      "title": "Biology professor Javier Monzon investigates how urbanization shapes coyote behavior - Pepperdine Seaver College",
      "url": "https://seaver.pepperdine.edu/newsroom/articles/biology-professor-javier-monzon-investigates-how-urbanization-shapes-coyote-behavior.htm",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    },
    {
      "title": "Campus Wildlife - Pepperdine Emergency Information",
      "url": "https://emergency.pepperdine.edu/campus-wildlife/",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-31"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "wildlife",
    "coyote",
    "advisory",
    "california",
    "pepperdine",
    "malibu",
    "santa-monica-mountains",
    "urban-wildlife",
    "educational-advisory"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-31",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-16",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}