The coyote began tunneling under the fence, but then backed up and stood up high to check if the coast was clear on all fronts. It was, so he then slithered effortlessly through the six inch opening under the fence: head down, through the opening on his belly, and up again on the other side, bending as agilely as a snake. He was obviously not in a hurry, not going anywhere in particular it seems, because he lingered on the other side of fence where he poked around for a while before casually trotting on.
Coyote Yipps
Information and stories about San Francisco coyotes: behavior & personality, coexistence & outreach, by Janet Kessler: Unveiling first-hand just how savvy, social, sentient and singular coyotes really are!
This website reflects my 13+ years of intense, careful, and dedicated field-work — empirical observations — all photo-documented without interfering or changing coyotes’ behaviors. Be welcome here, enjoy, and learn!
Coyotes reappeared in San Francisco in 2002 after many years of absence, and people are still in the dark about them. This site is to help bring light to their behavior and offer simple guidelines for easy coexistence.
Note that none of the coyotes I document and photograph is “anonymous” to me: I know (or knew) each one of them, and can tell you about their personalities, histories, and their family situations. There have been over 100 of them, distributed among over twenty families, all in San Francisco. Images and true stories have the power to raise awareness and change perspective.
© All information and photos in my postings come from my own original and first-hand documentation work which I am happy to share, with permission and with properly displayed credit: ©janetkessler/coyoteyipps.com.
Current Coyote Behavior Photo Display at Randall Museum (extended and still running since February 2019)
Zoom Talk: Coyotes in San Francisco: Population, Family Life, Stewardship
(A crash course in SF coyotes!)
October 18th Presentation at PHS/SPCA: Inside the Lives of Urban Coyotes
(Another crash course in coyotes generally!)
Instagram: Coyoteyipps
Up. Coyotes are of course interested un whatever is going on around them, including up. I can’t remember what this was — either a raven or wildly blowing tree branches. #coyotecoexistence urbancoyote #urbanwild
His activities wind down as the human madding crowd and their active dogs arrive in the park where he spent an active evening hunting, but not evading dogs. His commute at dawn location is only a hop and a skip away. It’s usually at this transition time that coyotes are seen. I say “usually”, but they are diurnal so daytime sightings are not uncommon. Just shorten your leash and walk away from them to keep your and their morning running smoothly! #coyotecoexistence #urbancoyote #urbanwild
These two-year-old siblings had an altercation several weeks ago. At the time this photo was taken, they were still avoiding each other. Here the are looking at each other from a distance and not getting any closer to each other. It took two more weeks for them to start interacting again, as far as I could see. We all hold onto our grudges! #coyotecoexistence #urbancoyote #urbanwild
Up and over. Maneuvering through the urban landscape of San Francisco, California. Keeping your distance and always walking away from them will keep you and them happy and safe. #urbanwild #urbancoyote #coyote coexistence
At dawn, a coyote hunts in a neighbor’s backyard, helping to manage the neighborhood rodent population. Coyotes would do more of this if we would stop leaving out human scraps for them. They also would become healthier. A graduate student studying their diet explained to me how their intestinal flora is altered through human feeding, leaving them with a variety of ills, including a compromised immune system. :(( #coyotecoexistence #urbancoyote #urbanwild
Almost four years old. He’s had a mate and a territory for over a year, but no pups arrived last year. His mate is almost three years old now — maybe she was still too young last year. Every coyote is different. I saw them try again this year. In a couple of months we’ll find out if it worked this year. Humans should not assume that we have a monopoly on fertility issues. It’s better to assume that what occurs in our species is likely to occur across the board. #coyotecoexistence #urbancoyote #urbanwildness
Hurrying up the street and away from from onlookers and their dogs: in the neighborhood streets of San Francisco! Your best course if action when you see a coyote, especially if you have a dog (be it large or small), is to walk away from it. The coyote will then know it doesn’t have to defend itself, a small dog will be kept out of danger, and a larger dog will be kept from engaging or threatening the coyote. It’s a win win win situation! #coyotecoexistence #urbancoyote #urbanwild
Like a whisper, they were gone, leaving me with just one blurry glimpse and these undulating but ever so symmetrical tracks which would soon dissipate as they had. I’ll also post these with a fuller comment on my blog. #coyotecoexistence, #urbancoyote #urbanwild
The trees were whipping around above us during our last “weather event” last week — lots of down-pouring rain and 70 mph winds. A heavy branch was dropped only 20 feet away from me — I heard it snap and crackle and then crash loudly when it landed. If I had been directly under it, I would not have had time to duck out of harms way. But I bet this coyote would have known what was happening instantaneously and darted away. He knew that the action was up high, not on the ground. #coyotecoexistence #urbancoyote #urbanwild
“Coyotes move within a landscape of attentiveness. I have seen their eyes in the creosote bushes and among mesquite trees. They have watched me. And all the times that I saw no eyes, that I kept walking and never knew, there were still coyotes. When I have seen them trot away, when I have stepped from the floorboard of my truck, leaned on the door, and watched them as they watched me over their shoulders, I have been aware for that moment of how much more there is. Of how I have only seen only an instant of a broad and rich life.”
Here's a surprising take on radio-collars: I met a fellow several weeks ago who thought these collars meant the animals were "owned" by someone and therefore domestic; that "collared coyotes" were used to interacting with people, and that therefore it was okay to approach them and okay to let your dog interact with them. At the time, I thought that was an isolated instance of misinformation, but it isn't, as someone else repeated the same thing to me a couple of days ago. Scientists: please be aware that collaring sends the wrong signal to some people. #coyotecoexistence #urbancoyote #urbanwildlife
Her bulky radio-collar was supposed to be remotely released after ONE year. That was over a year ago. She’s had it on now for OVER TWO YEARS. When I inquired about it a week ago, I was told there had been a *malfunction* in the mechanism to remotely release it. The result is that they will have to take the collars off by hand, which will require capturing the animals -- and it's very difficult to capture *specific* animals, I was told. TWO animals are faced with this exact same situation. I wonder how long they've been trying to get those collars off -- certainly not for over a year, which is when they first became aware of the malfunction. At this point now, they'll have to wait until the fall, I've been told, so as not to interfere with/intrude on the pupping season, which actually has begun with the mating season going on right now. Glad to hear they are considering the animals’ needs in this respect.
Be A Coyote Ambassador!
INTRODUCTION PAGES
Top Posts & Pages
Coyotes: What to Know and Do
Download & Print Flyers
- Como espantar a un coyote para que se vaya
- Conflictos con coyotes
- Coyote Advisory from our video
- Coyote Coexistence & Dogs
- Coyote Facts & Fiction
- Coyotes Playing With Dogs
- FACTS MATTER, #resist (STOP TRAPPING)
- Farms and Ranches: the Futility of Killing Coyotes as a Management Tool
- Guía Para Coexistir Con Coyotes Urbanos
- Guidelines For Coexistence
- How To Handle A Coyote Encounter: A Primer
- Killed By Rat Poison – Flyer
- Sign in CHINESE: 土狼警讯
- Sign in SPANISH: ALERTA COYOTE
- Sign: Coyote Advisory
- Trilingual Video Poster
- Truth About Coyote Conflicts
- 共存简要守则 – Guidelines in Chinese
Published Articles & Recap
- Bay Nature Connections Interview
- Bay Nature: Raising Kids In The City
- Ciudadanos Coyotes: Vamos a conocerlos: Una introducción
- Coyote Behavior & Peaceful Coexistence
- Coyote Town: Leave SF's Coyotes Alone, by Julia Wong
- Coyote Whisperer Warns of Coyote Encounters During Pupping Season
- Coyotes: Beyond The Howl
- EXHIBIT: Coyotes, Beyond the Howl
- Family First: Wily Coyote's Here to Stay, by Linnea Due
- How To Coexist With Wild Coyotes — From SF's Own 'Coyote Whisperer'
- How to get Along With Coyotes As Pups Venture Out, Bay Nature
- How To Handle A Coyote Encounter: A Primer
- Inside A Coyote Family
- Janet Kessler: The Urban Coyote Watcher, by Leath Tonino
- Keep Our Coyotes Safe & Wild
- Making Peace With Coyotes by Tripp Robbins
- On First-Name Basis With San Francisco Coyotes
- Pacifica: Neighbors in the Night
- Photographer's Raccoon Adventure in GGPark
- Recap: My Position Regarding Coyotes
- San Francisco Residents Coexisting With Coyotes, by Robin Hindery
- SF Coyotes PODCAST 2/2020
- SF's "Coyote Lady", SacBee
- Sharing Bernal Hill With Our Coyote: A User's Guide
- The Bernal Hill Coyote is a Female and Human "Kindness" Could Kill Her
- The Coyote Whisperer, by Shelby Carpenter
- The Need For Wildness, by Tara Lohan
- The Need for Wildness, by Tara Lohan
- The Woman Who Follows Urban Coyotes
- Urban Coyotes Have Lives (PDF version)
- Wildlife In Focus: Coyotes
- YIPS & HOWLS EXAMPLES
TRANSLATION
Web Advocacy and More
- Anticoagulant Intoxication Fact Sheet
- Aversion Conditioning by Lesley Sampson
- Caught On Camera: Presidio Coyotes
- Citizen Coyote: Let's Get To Know Them: An Introduction
- Ciudadanos Coyotes: Vamos a conocerlos: Una introducción
- Cook County, Illinois, Coyote Project
- Coyote Lives In Maine
- Coyote Photos by Charles Wood
- Coyote Settles the South by John Lane
- Coyote Tracker
- Coyote Watch Canada
- COYOTECOEXISTENCE FACEBOOK
- CoyoteCoexistence Facebook (alternative link)
- COYOTECOEXISTENCE.COM
- Coyotes As Neighbors: Video
- Coyotes, wolves, cougars. . forever
- Coyoteyipps INSTAGRAM
- Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research
- FACTS MATTER, #resist (STOP TRAPPING)
- History of San Francisco's Native Plant Program, NAP
- How To Coexist With Wild Coyotes — From SF's Own 'Coyote Whisperer'
- International Consensus Principles for Ethical Wildlife Control
- Melanie Furr: America vs. the Coyote
- Micromanagement of Nature Benefits Few Animals
- NapRap
- Rat Poisons Are Harmful
- Save Mount Sutro Forest
- Saving Trees In The Bay Area
- SF Coyotes PODCAST 2/2020
- SFForest.Net
- The Need For Wildness, by Tara Lohan
- The Woman Who Follows Urban Coyotes
- Urban Coyotes Have Lives
- URBANWILDNESS.COM
- Wild Dog Foundation
- WildCare: Live Well With Wildlife
- Wildlife Services: License to Kill
Published Articles & Recap
- Bay Nature Connections Interview
- Bay Nature: Raising Kids In The City
- Ciudadanos Coyotes: Vamos a conocerlos: Una introducción
- Coyote Behavior & Peaceful Coexistence
- Coyote Town: Leave SF's Coyotes Alone, by Julia Wong
- Coyote Whisperer Warns of Coyote Encounters During Pupping Season
- Coyotes: Beyond The Howl
- EXHIBIT: Coyotes, Beyond the Howl
- Family First: Wily Coyote's Here to Stay, by Linnea Due
- How To Coexist With Wild Coyotes — From SF's Own 'Coyote Whisperer'
- How to get Along With Coyotes As Pups Venture Out, Bay Nature
- How To Handle A Coyote Encounter: A Primer
- Inside A Coyote Family
- Janet Kessler: The Urban Coyote Watcher, by Leath Tonino
- Keep Our Coyotes Safe & Wild
- Making Peace With Coyotes by Tripp Robbins
- On First-Name Basis With San Francisco Coyotes
- Pacifica: Neighbors in the Night
- Photographer's Raccoon Adventure in GGPark
- Recap: My Position Regarding Coyotes
- San Francisco Residents Coexisting With Coyotes, by Robin Hindery
- SF Coyotes PODCAST 2/2020
- SF's "Coyote Lady", SacBee
- Sharing Bernal Hill With Our Coyote: A User's Guide
- The Bernal Hill Coyote is a Female and Human "Kindness" Could Kill Her
- The Coyote Whisperer, by Shelby Carpenter
- The Need For Wildness, by Tara Lohan
- The Need for Wildness, by Tara Lohan
- The Woman Who Follows Urban Coyotes
- Urban Coyotes Have Lives (PDF version)
- Wildlife In Focus: Coyotes
- YIPS & HOWLS EXAMPLES
Download & Print Flyers
- Como espantar a un coyote para que se vaya
- Conflictos con coyotes
- Coyote Advisory from our video
- Coyote Coexistence & Dogs
- Coyote Facts & Fiction
- Coyotes Playing With Dogs
- FACTS MATTER, #resist (STOP TRAPPING)
- Farms and Ranches: the Futility of Killing Coyotes as a Management Tool
- Guía Para Coexistir Con Coyotes Urbanos
- Guidelines For Coexistence
- How To Handle A Coyote Encounter: A Primer
- Killed By Rat Poison – Flyer
- Sign in CHINESE: 土狼警讯
- Sign in SPANISH: ALERTA COYOTE
- Sign: Coyote Advisory
- Trilingual Video Poster
- Truth About Coyote Conflicts
- 共存简要守则 – Guidelines in Chinese
Web Advocacy and More
- Anticoagulant Intoxication Fact Sheet
- Aversion Conditioning by Lesley Sampson
- Caught On Camera: Presidio Coyotes
- Citizen Coyote: Let's Get To Know Them: An Introduction
- Ciudadanos Coyotes: Vamos a conocerlos: Una introducción
- Cook County, Illinois, Coyote Project
- Coyote Lives In Maine
- Coyote Photos by Charles Wood
- Coyote Settles the South by John Lane
- Coyote Tracker
- Coyote Watch Canada
- COYOTECOEXISTENCE FACEBOOK
- CoyoteCoexistence Facebook (alternative link)
- COYOTECOEXISTENCE.COM
- Coyotes As Neighbors: Video
- Coyotes, wolves, cougars. . forever
- Coyoteyipps INSTAGRAM
- Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research
- FACTS MATTER, #resist (STOP TRAPPING)
- History of San Francisco's Native Plant Program, NAP
- How To Coexist With Wild Coyotes — From SF's Own 'Coyote Whisperer'
- International Consensus Principles for Ethical Wildlife Control
- Melanie Furr: America vs. the Coyote
- Micromanagement of Nature Benefits Few Animals
- NapRap
- Rat Poisons Are Harmful
- Save Mount Sutro Forest
- Saving Trees In The Bay Area
- SF Coyotes PODCAST 2/2020
- SFForest.Net
- The Need For Wildness, by Tara Lohan
- The Woman Who Follows Urban Coyotes
- Urban Coyotes Have Lives
- URBANWILDNESS.COM
- Wild Dog Foundation
- WildCare: Live Well With Wildlife
- Wildlife Services: License to Kill
TRANSLATION
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