up next on a second look, what happens when people and wild animals try to share the same space? from coyotes in golden gate park to turkeys in the berkeley hills. the to bears in yosemite and the backyard pool, can't we all just get along. that's straight ahead on a second look.

hello everyone i'm frank somerville and welcome to a second look. tonight we look at what happens when wild animals come into contact with humans. over the years as the people populations moved into areas that were once wildlife habitats those encounters have become a lot more frequent. as rob roth reported last year, that could be deadly for the animals. >> reporter: here at wild care, this barn owl is still recovering. it was struck by a car on highway 37 last month. the owl was just one of some 4,000 wildlife treated here each year. many injuries are the results of brushes with humans. >> our population is growing and expanding and there are a you know a host of native wild neighbors that we have here. >> reporter: whether humans are persistently encroaching on

wildlife or wildlife is encroaching on us, there's been an increasing amount of run ins. authorities afraid for public safety shot the animal to death but must it frequently end this way? >> a lot of times actually doing nothing. people staying inside and letting the cat move on its own. >> reporter: this is video of coyotes taken in san francisco's glen park by a ktvu viewer. no one is sure how many coyotes are now living in san francisco but there are enough that a commission of animal control and welfare is proposing a plan. they're tracking coyote sitings online. >> the city has not done any major educational outreach push for a number of years and i think that the whole point of this is that we need to coexist with coyotes. >> reporter: sometimes the

animals win, the recent rain rushed out a family of beavers, they are rebuilding. about four years ago downtown businesses thought the dam would cause flooding, animal advocates found a solution. >> what you see when martinez did this is that compromise is really possible and that there's really good reasons we do it. >> reporter: peaceful solutions to such conflicts say wildlife advocates often come through education. that the more we know about wildlife the less likely the need to kill it. >> as rob mentioned, coyotes have long inhabited san francisco's golden gate park. park officials took steps to protect coyotes and dogs from each other by making the park closed to dogs. >> reporter: moran shot this video. he says it shows a running coyotes just moments from

closing in on a pedestrian and dog. the encounter ended without violence. dog owners say it's one of a series of recent confrontation near this restroom. >> i was so scared. >> all teeth showing, growling, hair up. once it saw us it headed across the street, 120 yards ran right at us. >> reporter: george mccowski says he ran into a coyote as big as his 60-pound dog mosey last week. >> he was brown and fearless, usually they run away. this guy was just standing and looking. >> reporter: with pupping season running april through august it's no wonder coyote parents are becoming more aggressive. starting tomorrow a quarter mile of jfk drive between north lake and middle lake will be off limits to dogs through the pupping season. >> we tell everyone of course keep your dogs on leash and if

you can avoid the area avoid the area. but if a coyote does approach, try to make some noise. >> reporter: in 1999 our health and science editor john fowler brought us this look at how officials handled a coyote they said posed a serious threat to people and animals. >> caught him around the chest. >> reporter: this good catch is a coyote or coyote either will do. coyote expert darren simpson traps troublesome critters. >> you see, old male. it's an alpha. these are the ones that usually do your killing. so what i'll do with this little guy here, is put him in a bag. >> reporter: simpson says this

6-year-old coyote has been trouble. it's killed pets. as well as its mate. >> these coyotes that eat pet, some have learned to' garbage and pet food can get quite large. coyote is a proficient animal. and small slow things attract them. >> small children are the public safety risk. >> coyotes are most active in the morning. this doverman pincher barely survived the coyote attack. >> i was so thankful that he wasn't killed. we kept screaming and screaming and they were going around in a

circle. and i mean, it flashes through your mind, what if they got him to where he was really injured. >> reporter: he says another time a pack of coyotes tried to attack her while she was hiking with another dog. >> i got circled by six. she was on the lead and they circled me as i was trying to get out. >> just the old day my wife had two coyotes sprint at her feet while watering the lawn. i think the interaction has become so common that they're losing their fear of humans. >> reporter: coyotes attacked two of this family's dogs. >> they decreased because they were hunted and tracked and destroyed but the numbers are definitely coming back up. >> reporter: experts say when humans throw out the natural predator the wolf, the numbers

came back. it's that adaptability that brings the coyote into conflict with people and sends him out to solve the problem. he urges people in coyote area keep pet food and pets inside. and act aggressively if confronted by a coyote. he says every week he has to set snares and has to destroy them. >> we have choices that we have to make, we can't relocate problem animals. because if we do relocate that animal, he has a 90% chance of starving. >> some claim detroying the alpha male create it is super coyote and even bigger problem. humane organizations do support trapping coyotes which are at no risk of extension. >> coyotes are going to eat the

last cockroach on the world, i can guarantee you that. dealing with the growing population of wild turkeys in the area. what happens when owls attack?

over the years the lawrence berkeley lab has worked on some of the toughest scientific questions facing mankind. but in 2007 the lab had a vexing problem and struggled to find answers. it faced an invasion of wild turkeys and here's our report at the time from ktvu's amber lee. >> reporter: just before sunset. >> i counted 55. >> reporter: forging and a few flying into trees to settle in for the night. scientists who work at the lab complain that the birds have become a nuisance. >> they've been flying into windows, apparently they like to see their reflection and they peck on things. >> reporter: that behavior has led into two different

incidents. where turkeys have broken windows in labs. >> large pieces of glass were falling, and an area where we have a will the of our staff going around. >> reporter: scientists don lucas says the lab has put up fences and put up decoys to try to keep the turkeys away. lucas says the lab is now on a waiting list for california fish and game to send out turkey wranglers. but the relocation has to half before spring. the scientists say the waiting list is long because wild turkeys are creating problems in many parts of northern california. critics say relocation alone won't solve the problem because turkeys can fly into this area

and repopulate. >> they need to teach the employees not to feed, that it's for the turkeys own benefit. >> reporter: ktvu's tori campbell brought us a look at the explosion in the population of wild turkeys all over the bay area and here's her report from november of 2008. >> reporter: in the fields forging for foods, on people's lawns, rummaging for food and crossing the streets to find another place to scavange for food, turkeys are popping up all over the area. >> we have tons of wild turkey here. we have a lot of little children here and they can be really intimidated by them especially near mating season. >> reporter: no one seems to know how they got into the wild

but they are -- their emergence in the last six years is undeniable. there is no evidence the birds carry any diseases or are dangerous to people. but they are an increasing nuisance. >> turkeys will sometimes see their reflections in shiny sides of cars and hoods of car and so they'll go after the car thinking it's another turkey. and usually with their claws scratch up the vehicles. >> reporter: the u.s. department of agriculture will get rid of the birds for you or if you don't want to wait, you can hire someone like gary beaman. >> this is a net projecting device that shoots out a net and will catch, shoots out a 12- foot by 12-foot net and captures, four or five turkeys alive at a time. >> reporter: with each mature hen laying up to a dozen eggs in the spring the adult

population is out of control. >> turkeys have increased expenencially. >> i have all sorts of devices to catch turkeys. >> reporter: not everyone likes that idea. >> i think it's disgusting. >> reporter: connie lives on the edge of walnut creek and feeds the wildlife. >> we really love having the turkeys, we moved out here where there were backed up to open space so that we could be around near wildlife and don't quite understand why other people would move here then hate the wildlife. if you hear half a block away me giving food they'll come running. >> reporter: fish and game warden is dead set against feeting any wild animals including turkeys. >> something that the department recommends against, we really strive to get people to keep animals wild. when we come back on a second look, pigs pile on. we're going to show you the destructive power of the wild

pig. and a while later, how to be smarter than the average bear and protect your picnic basket from bears.

most people think of pigs as farm animals but pigs also live out in the wild and when they do they can be destructive. >> reporter: wild pigs make a b line from hiding places in mount diablo. the pigs have relandscaped a couple of different lawns. sometimes even rooting up ground beneath the fencing that was layed on top of the lawns and was supposed to keep them out. >> fixing divots in the golf course is where i plan to be

but i spent the day fixing the lawn. >> when i came out she raised her leg and saw me. next thing i know she came at me and i climbed up on the hood. >> reporter: you climed on this hood? >> actually i landed on it. >> reporter: descendants of the wild bore, experts warn people to stay clear. >> they will kill you in a second. you get in the wrong place at the wrong time or right time you're asking for trouble. especially around a female with piglets.

>> reporter: the pigs have out smarted the pest control. >> so far they haven't been able to catch them. >> they'll feed on practically anything. >> reporter: just ask these residents. rangers say they are under staffed and have little time to hunt for pigs. the pigs are seeking out greener pastures in this case lawns. you might want to be on the look out for owls as well. one or possibly two owls swooped down one night in santa rosa and attacked twoing dos carrying one of them away. reporting claudia cowen talked to a family that lost their chihuahua. >> reporter: now their mourning

the loss of their beloved chihuahua trooper and nursing bandit back to health after an attack from the sky. >> in the time i took me to put my boots on, i heard a screeching sound. >> reporter: it was a horned owl like this, birds that typically eat rats or squirrels, but on this night had a bigger appetite. they swooped trooper and bandit. trooper was carried off and hasn't been seen since. owl experts say such attacks are rare but almost always lethal. razor sharp talons can easily snatch a pooch. >> as we approach on their

natural habitat it could be more troublesome. >> if they recognize something of prey they're not going to discern the fact that it's somebody's pet unfortunately. when we come back, they are big, powerful and often times they are hungry. what happens when a bear in yosemite decides he wants your lunch? ♪[linkin park "burn it down"]

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♪ [narrator] can't wait for the honda civic tour featuring linkin park? neither can we. go to facebook.com/hondacivictour for details. this summer yosemite national park will be packed with visitors once again. the rangers will be working full time to keep the visitors separate from some of the park's permanent residents, we're talking about the bears that live there. craig heap showed us what happens when hungry bears find a picnic in the pack and what rangers say visitors can do to stop the party. >> reporter: the signs warn you, the rangers warn you.

>> there's a bear warning inside. they're starting to come out of hibernation, so go through carefully. >> reporter: there's even a video that warns you. every year at yosemite national park bears break into car after car after car all in a search for an easy meal. >> this bear can spend hours to try to break into a lodge or just minutes into a car. >> reporter: it's the people's behavior the rangers have to change. over the last three years, park officials have gone on a massive public education campaign. they tell campers the same thing at every opportunity. don't do this. don't leave food in your car not even scraps, not even an empty soda can. not even an empty cooler or bag that looks like it might look

like it has groceries in it. bears are smart, they have powerful noses and they'll go after anything that gives off a strong odor. >> toiletries, lotions, bug sprays, anything that has a slight scent to it the bears can pick up. >> reporter: officials have begun to tow unattended cars with food to a protected area where bears can't get to. >> we don't want bears to get into a car and then they figure out they can break the window to get in. >> the bears are going to the cars, people are complying not getting food out of their cars. however, they are leaving food out in campgrounds. >> reporter: yosemite provides

bear boxes in their campgrounds. big bear proof containers to store stuff in. they work if you use them properly. eric english used this one at his camp site but didn't lock it. a bear ate all the groceries all up. >> i was really disappointed in myself that i hasn't done what i should have done which is close up the bear box. >> officials have also targeted the bears. for years they set bear traps around areas where there are a lot of people. when they catch a bear they tranquilize him, tag him with a radio transmitter and relocate them. >> tuffy let's go find the bears. >> reporter: a few years ago, the park began to use bear patrolling dogs and scare bears out of the camp sites. in recent years, park rangers have been shooting them with

pellets to discourage them from getting close to people. all of this seemed to have have worked. in 1999, the figure dropped to 140,000. and last year it dropped even more to $81,000. it's not always food that bears seek sometimes it's comfort. in 1984 an aging almost toothless bear made its rounds. a video shows a bear happy in the hot springs water. just last month another bear visited a home in monrovia the same city where sampson was discovered in a hot tub. this home video was shown last month by two teenagers in southern california of a bear going into a little dip in a backyard pool. the two sisters who spotted the animal said they were worried about their families dogs but

the bear didn't seem bothered. >> we thought it was crazy. he was not phased by us at all. he was staring and mocking us. he was swimming like he was a person. >> reporter: the afternoon swim did not take long. after a quick splash the bear headed back into the wild. monrovia is in the foothills of the mountains. and that's all the time we have. i'm frank somerville, we'll see you next week.