LONG BEACH >> Coyotes. It’s a word that can make pet owners shudder.

But how often are the animals seen? And are they predators to be feared?

To answer some of the questions, the Press-Telegram contacted Long Beach Animal Care Services and obtained data on coyote sightings covering 2013 and this year through Aug. 27. The information has been compiled in a map project that includes Cerritos, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach and Signal Hill, all of which contract with Long Beach for animal control.

Specifically in Long Beach, there have been 442 incidents of various types involving coyotes year to date, compared with 397 all of last year. The uptick can be traced largely to 128 incidents this May, a spike of more than 474 percent from the same month in 2013.

Ted Stevens, bureau manager of Long Beach Animal Care Services, said it’s difficult to determine if the jump has to do with changes in coyote behavior, the statewide drought or, in an increasingly connected society, heightened awareness about urban coyotes.

Regardless, Stevens said, “People need to understand how to protect themselves.”

That means keeping pets, especially cats, indoors — and not only because of threats from coyotes. According to city officials, thousands of cats are killed by cars each year. Earlier this year, authorities searched for someone who had used a bow and arrow to kill two cats in North Long Beach over the course of several weeks.

Those who encounter coyotes should also engage in what Stevens called “hazing,” or aggressively communicating with coyotes by yelling and running at them.

Even if one does not have a pet, it’s a good practice to intimidate coyotes, experts say, or the animals, who are naturally shy, could engage in brazen behavior.

“If we don’t give them a reason to be afraid, they won’t be,” Stevens said.

The average coyote tops out at about 35 pounds and usually is intimidated by humans, so coyote attacks against humans are rare.

Still, a study presented to the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in 2004 and updated in 2013 argues that coyotes in some areas are losing their fear of humans and becoming aggressive. The study documented 128 coyote attacks on humans between 1977 and 2013, the majority of them in Southern California.

Long Beach Animal Care’s tips for living with urban coyotes can be found here.

To report a coyote sighting, call 562-570-7387, or if a coyote poses an imminent threat to life, call 911.

Staff writer Peter Fullam contributed.