coexisting with coyotes

Coyotes In The Neighborhoods

30 Jul 2023 4 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in cars, cats, communication, coyotes and children, denning behavior, Feeding, following, hours, investigating, reactions to a human, streets, territoriality, trekking behavior

[This has been written for distribution to several neighborhood newspapers and newsletters here in San Francisco. I’m posting here so it will be available to more of the same.]

Hi Neighbors!

This is Janet. I’ve been documenting our coyotes here in San Francisco for the past 16 years: their population, dispersals, family life, and behavior including their encounters with people and pets.

We have about 17 coyote families here in San Francisco, each living in a separate territory about the size of the Presidio (2.4 square miles): ONE family lives on each of these territories and have ever since I started documenting them in 2007. A family consists of the mated alpha pair — i.e., Mom and Dad — and then pups born this year, and possibly some of the yearlings born the year before who haven’t yet dispersed. All of these territories extend beyond the parks and include our neighborhoods. Sightings in neighborhoods is normal.

Territories: Most territories include a substantial sized park, or a number of smaller fragmented parks, but a few territories do not even have this. In other words, a couple of coyote families live in the neighborhoods and retreat for most daylight hours to small patches of green spaces. Their main trekking activity is through the streets where they become visible to human pedestrians and car traffic. Please note, there are no more coyotes now than there have been over the last several years, but some people are seeing them for the first time.

Exploring front door steps along the street

Trekking: *Trekking* behavior involves brisk trotting/walking around a dozen or so city blocks. The coyote — usually one at a time, but two together have also been spotted, and more rarely more together — is either moving to another resting spot within its territory, or he’s patrolling to find out what’s going on in his territory: he’ll do so through sniffing, looking, and poking around. Of interest to him is that no outsider coyotes have been around, what animals have been around, and where food scraps have been tossed. He’ll be on the sidewalks and zigzagging down the streets. He’ll enter driveways and alleyways. He’ll go up people’s front steps, even if those steps are steep and take him three stories up. He’s checking things out. He may take a shoe, a ball, or a newspaper. Sometimes he’ll sit and watch: I’ve seen him sprawled out on some dirt, just chilling for a few minutes.

Stopping to examine the terrain in his territory.

Main hours: His main hours of activity are between sunset and sunrise, so this is when you are most likely to see him — though note that they can be out any time of the day. All you need to do is always walk away from him the minute you see him. He’s not interested in any kind of confrontation with you and he’ll do his best to avoid you by going around and hurrying away. But dogs have always been an issue for coyotes. Dogs and coyotes are notoriously mutually antagonistic and need to be kept far apart. Part of this is for territorial reasons: coyotes keep other coyotes out of their territories in order to preserve the scarce resources there just for themselves: in other words, the territory is owned by the one family that lives there and they exhibit ownership behavior. Because of this territoriality, the population is consistent and stable which is what we all want. If you see them repeatedly, it’s because you are seeing the same coyotes over and over again, not different random coyotes from all over the place. These coyote territorial owners often come to know by sight — always at a distance — the regular walkers and dogs and vice-versa.

Interestingly, few people even know these coyotes exist here, and even fewer actually ever see them. Those folks who have seen the coyote — usually as they walk their dog — have seen a coyote 3 or 4 times during the past year, even though the coyotes are out daily. Unfortunately, several of those people have been spooked recently because the coyote approached or followed them. I’ll explain more about this below.

Dogs: Coyotes avoid and ignore most dogs, but they are suspicious of them all. They have a need to tell dogs that the territory is theirs, especially if the dog gets too close or is in the pathway of the coyote. Sometimes they do this through a sort of one-upmanship eye-to-eye communication most of which we humans are not aware of. But at other times it is more blatant, with the coyote actually approaching or following a dog. The minute you ever see a coyote, you need to always walk away, in the opposite direction, with a shortened leash. Your dog may bark and lunge towards him, so you need to drag your dog if necessary to walk away from the coyote. If your dog is small, he may become frightened, rightfully so, because coyotes have picked up small dogs. It doesn’t happen often, but it has happened. It’s a good idea to pick up a very small dog as you walk away from the coyote.

Examining debris, a newspaper and chilling in the neighborhood.

In approaching a dog, the coyote’s main interest is usually simple curiosity — they are sniffing to find out more about the dog: sniffing is how they pick up most of their information –dogs exude so many hormones and other chemical odors full of information about themselves — but also to test the dog’s potential reaction to themself. The coyote may then follow your dog: again, this could be simple curiosity, OR he’s ushering or escorting the dog away and making sure the dog is leaving. Just keep walking away from him. In rare instances, a coyote’s suspicion and even dislike for a particular dog (your dog or a similar dog may have chased him or lunged at him or snarled at him in the past, and of course any coyote would remember this) may cause the coyote to approach the dog from the back (where there are no teeth) and nip the hind side of the dog, cattle-dog fashion, to get that dog to leave. It’s not a frequent occurrence, but it has happened. You are unlikely to encounter any coyote regularly, so when you do, just follow these simple guidelines. IF you feel crowded by the coyote approaching or following your dog, you should face the coyote and angrily heave small stones or pinecones at his feet without hitting the coyote. You may have to do this several times. Making eye contact almost always stops a coyote from approaching any further: he’ll stop, and then you should continue walking away, keeping your eye on him.

It might be a good idea to actually practice this so that you know what to do — then, if the occasion should arise, you’ll know exactly what to do without thinking.

Dens: If there is a den within 1/4th mile of where you walk, you need to know that parent coyotes are very protective of their personal space, their areas, and their young and their suspicion of other dogs is compounded. A parent coyote can be persistent, insistent and intense in his communication to make a dog leave. I’ve been through it: it indeed is scary. The same guidelines should be followed: stay away and walk away when you see a coyote. If you are seeing a coyote regularly on your walk during denning season, you might consider taking a different route for awhile.

I am available in person to be there and help out. Also, if you have questions about *your* neighborhood coyote or coyotes generally, please contact me: janet@coyoteyipps.com

Summaries of easy guidelines

Cats: Cats, should not be allowed to roam free where there are coyotes — cats are at risk if they are accessible. Cats are not equipped to handle coyotes, dogs, or cars, ALL of which kill cats, with cars leading the list — cars kill 5 million cats a year. Dogs — because of their sheer number in our area — are the biggest issue when it comes to coyotes. It’s best to simply keep your pet as far away from a coyote as possible — this is easier to do with a leash.

Relocation: Some people have asked if coyotes can be relocated. They cannot by law. The reason for this is that moving them kills them inhumanely. But even if a coyote could be eliminated in some way — which the city does not do — its niche would soon be refilled by another coyote, and you would have the same dog issues to deal with as with the first coyote. Keeping your dogs leashed gives you control over your dog. Dogs love to chase coyotes, and a leash prevents this. Leashing keeps dogs safe from coyotes, cars, and others dogs. Over 3 million dogs are killed each year by cars; their second greatest killer is other dogs. .

Danger to humans: As for dangers to humans from coyotes, these are almost non-existent. The 17 — yes, only 17 or so — *scratches or bites* to humans from a coyote each year throughout all of North America have almost all been due to separating a dog from a coyote, hand feeding, or to a small child where feeding has gone on. Small children indeed have to be watched as carefully as you would watch your dog — but hopefully you do that anyway! Please compare this figure to 1000 dog bites to humans every single day of the year ending up in emergency rooms.

Feeding: Lastly, please don’t feed coyotes. Not only does it draw them to the area, it can cause them to hang around which increases the potential for pet incidents. Profusely fed coyotes become unnaturally docile and sometimes even get closer to humans in the hopes for a toss out. This is no good for the coyote or us humans or our pets.

*Trekking through a neighborhood street in San Francisco*

Bonanza for Kinky and Fam, by Walkaboutlou

18 Apr 2023 5 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote resilience, coyotes and wolves, farming and ranching

[For those interested, Kinky Tail has a history. Enter “Kinky Tail” into the search box to read more about her and her family]

Hi Janet,

An update on how strange life can be, and how coyote take instant advantage.

On our patrols early in morning we saw a cow had died during calving. Unfortunately it happens with these range cattle.

Her last movements put her in view of the Ranch Patriarchs home. He’s housebound bit scans his land incessantly with scopes and binoculars.

It’s customary now to burn or bury a dead cow if possible. Especially with wolves now usually we want to limit exposure for taste of beef.

But the timing and place of death also lead to the ranches college kids who are becoming biologists, to conduct experiment.

The hypothesis is..the spot is too open and noisy for wolves to scavenge. LGD are literally next hills over as well. So permission was granted for experiment on the basis if wolves arrive they have to remove cow instantly.

So far…trail cams and Ranch Patriarch have noted…a lot of scavenging. No wolves as of yet. Golden Eagle, Vultures, Raven, Jays, 1st came. Then a Badger literally burrowed under..and in it. It seemed to be there days. Racoon. A fox. Mink, Weasel. 3 dogs. (Someone’s Doodle got very filthy)

The highlight is….Kinky Tail.

Kinky Tail and her Mate realized…a cow dropped dead within sight of pup den. Bonanza. But problems too. A lot of company visiting too close to den.

That night..one of the kids showed Patriarch how to use night vision scopes.

He scoped and watched Kinky..from 9:14 pm to 1 a.m. moving NINE! 9 pups from hillside den to old shed foundation many yards away.

Then at 3 a.m. her Mate came..fed doddering pups at new spot and curled up to sleep. Kinky went off to feed and cache food 3:15-5:56a.m. Then went inside new den and didn’t emerge until late afternoon.

Also noted…3 strange coyote came to cow..chased off by Mate but returned later. Territories don’t seem to hold much force when huge meals are available. At least for some coyote.

The kids are charting up facts and trying to apply science with realities seen..and possibilities thought. We never know whole picture. But tentatively..locally..we see coyote seemed to have disappeared large scale. We see wolves traveling widely after deer and elk. We see a dead cow not utilized by wolves… we suspect site too open and with homes and LGD in view. We see one of the few remaining known coyote have huge litter. And we see them take instant advantage of cow dying at den site…but 1st moving pups.

The hypothesis and info gathering will be intense next few weeks.

The Patriarch has his own predictions.

Those are going to be the fattest coyote pups for 100 miles.

Take care,

Lou

PS: I think Kinky will be a superlative Mom. Her Mom and litter siblings were wiped out by wolves. Her aging father and land lessons molded her fast. She bred early and denned in Sun scorched cliffs..raised 2 pups and instantly left cliff area when wolves trotted thru this year. She’s only 2 but has learned a lot. I feel biologically her body did just as we have heard…coyote population locally dropped…she had huge litter.

She is a small slip of a coyote but of immense mind. Her mate seems small in her presence though he’s big. Making meat caches all night then gorging then feeding pups all day…shes busy. And the type of coyote that embodies this indomitable flame of canine species.

Wolves are Top Dog Here

Dogs Rule The Ranches

And Kinky Tail Navigates Them All.

The New Watch Dogs! by Topsy Farms

12 Mar 2023 3 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coexisting with coyotes, Coyotes on Farms and Ranches, farming and ranching

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Topsy Farms (@topsyfarms)

Reposted with permission from TopsyFarms. Press on the image above to continue reading the story in the comments.

Hunters may no longer be dictating Wildlife Policy

09 Nov 2022 12 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in managing wildlife, newsprint, Uncategorized

A new philosophy is being established for how our country’s wildlife is being managed. Hunters and the NRA have always had a monopoly on decision making in this arena. But this is now changing, as explained in this article below. More environmentalists and non-hunters are entering the controversial conversation, and they want to rely on nature, in all of its glory, to balance itself more naturally, rather than massively killing predators. Please add your voice and support to the numerous organizations listed which are opposed to “managing” wildlife mostly for the benefit of hunters. I’m posting this as a follow-up to Walkaboutlou’s article on slaughter hunting. Press the long link below the photo to read the article which was published in Outdoorlife.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/in-washington-state-hunters-may-no-longer-be-necessary-to-manage-wildlife/ar-AA13Qwad?ocid=msedgntp&pc=W037&cvid=d2b15a08f3d74d0b8f8c85fddc9ef933

One of Scout’s Two 6-Month-Old Pups Killed by a Car

31 Oct 2022 9 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in cars

Xochitl (so-cheel) was only six months old when she was hit by a car, probably in the early evening as her body was cold by the time we found it predawn the next morning.

On Friday, before dawn, my friend Melina called me to let me know there was a dead coyote on the road. I was able to meet her 15 minutes later. I identify coyotes by their faces, but it’s almost impossible for me to identify a dead coyote by its face — I need to see the placement of his or her active eyes, among other things.

There had been two different coyote families living on opposite sides of that dangerous road, but recently we hadn’t seen any members of the first family and we kept noticing the second family — Scout’s family — encroach further and further into the first family’s territory. I wanted to confirm its identity by identifying the coyotes that were hanging out close-by.

Melina led me to where she had seen four coyotes up the hill; two were still there when we got there : they were lying down, watching the daybreak. I was able to capture this photo of their silhouettes only because the camera was aimed at the daybreaking sky — but it was too dark to identify them. Melina wondered if their lying there was connected to the dead coyote.

The two coyotes got up when they saw us and headed towards the road which they crossed close to where we picked up the dead pup. My camera would not focus because of lack of light and soon the coyotes were out of sight. Luckily, I spotted them again on the other side of the road, and was able to capture a couple of identifiable images in spite of no light and distance. Yes, this was Scout’s family: the coyotes who had been hanging out were Scooter (Dad) and Scout’s other pup. The two that were no longer there would have been Scout and a yearling.

What remains of Scout’s family now is herself and her mate, a two-year-old male, two yearlings, and one pup born this year. They cross a lot of roads as they cover their fragmented territory — two of them high-speed roads. Cars should be considered the coyotes’ main predator in urban areas.

*Scooter (Dad) on the left; and Xiomar (see o mar, the surviving pup) to the right.*

Attacker or Attacked?

21 Aug 2022 6 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in "demand" behavior, coyotes and human behavior, Feeding, newsprint

Attacks by coyotes on humans indeed have occurred, so I don’t want to belittle these, but it should be noted that they are rare — exceedingly rare — and when they have occurred, they seem to all be related to feeding coyotes. This week a story about an ultramarathoner attacked by a coyote went viral nationally. The response to that story was splashed all over the internet, and on social exchange sites, where, by the way, because of how the story changed, the NextDoor posting was eventually removed by the author. I’ve jotted down some of my thoughts and observations about it.

One of the responses to the ultramarathoner “attack” report by many who fear coyotes was that, “it’s time to cull the coyotes here in SF.” I wish people understood that the number of coyotes has nothing to do with the marathoner’s situation. The “encounter” occurred on the Marin side of the bridge, for one thing. If there was only this one coyote in all the world, an encounter with some of the reported elements could have happened. The little truth we’ve found in the story is likely due to feeding coyotes. What apparently could have attracted a coyote is the crackling of the power bar wrapper. The reported event occurred in an area where feeding of coyotes is rampant. Before people feed coyotes they take the food out of it’s mostly crackling wrapper — imagine a potato chip bag or even a McDonald’s burger bag — and then feed the coyote. Think of Pavlov. Everytime the coyote with this training hears that noise, he’s been getting food from willing feeders. Now, possibly, the coyote hears that sound and approaches. I know a NatGeo photographer who learned this: he could instantly get an animal’s attention by crackling a potato chip bag — something I adamantly discouraged. This is a scenario that could have occurred. Lesley Sampson of CoyoteWatchCanada reminds me that even without the wrapper noise, “food becomes the “reward” for advancing closer to humans”: repeatedly fed coyotes have been taught to approach.

Coyotes who are fed regularly by someone also often display “demand” behavior: they become demanding when the food isn’t forthcoming quickly — it’s a very unusual behavior displayed by a very few coyotes who have been hand fed.

By the way, this man was running, he was not on a bike as reported by some folks, the bleeding on his face was from a fall, not a bite as originally posted — he was not bitten. As far as I have read, he wasn’t attacked at all, but possibly bumped — and I even question this — as the coyote went for the food he had been trained to expect. Three AM is when coyotes are normally out and active.

*This is a screenshot from Twitter via SFGate*

It’s important to note that Karnazes’ extreme initial report, as seen in this Twitter photo to the left, and his revised report — he revised his story when he was questioned by people who know coyote behavior — depict coyote behavior that is totally out of the ordinary, extraordinarily so. This deceptive photo was posted by him on Twitter with the words, “Animal Attack Beware” and “I’ve been attacked by a shark and now a coyote”. Coyotes do approach challenging dogs, but seldom do they approach people unless they’ve been trained to do so through feeding, and even then they remain hugely wary. I doubt if the coyote ever even touched him. He tripped and fell and bloodied himself doing so, then he posted this bloodied picture of himself saying he was attacked. Might he have been scared? Scared people often fill in details to justify and explain their fears.

I’ve personally seen instance after instance of what has been later reported as an “attack” which in fact was a dog allowed to get too close to a coyote, often while lunging and barking ferociously at the coyote, and then the coyote reacting with a snarl, bared teeth, and hackles up without running off and possibly even following the dog and owner afterwards. The owner thinks their dog’s activity should scare the coyote off, but in fact it causes a defensive reaction in the coyote which is reported as an “attack”. Such an encounter can be kept from escalating and curtailed by quieting and calming the dog while by immediately walking away from the coyote, but often the scared owner enhances their story calling the incident a direct attack, which it was not.

It occurred to me that he even might have posted the story facetiously, just to add some spice to his running, not knowing how seriously everyone would take him. I say this because he himself, apparently, was surprised at the coverage and then changed the story.

https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/coyote-experts-respond-to-karnazes-attack-17379330.php When all was said and done, had this actually been an “attack” on a human? Or might the whole report and sensationalism thereby engendered, be construed as an attack on coyotes? Food for thought.

More of the same today: I followed a coyote from far behind for about 1/4 mile. Way down the street was a woman walking her labradoodle. As the coyote got closer to her, I was about to call out for her to be aware, but she noticed the coyote just then and hurried across the street. This was the best thing to do. But she should have walked on. Instead she created a huge commotion and started yelling “scat, scat”, which had the sole effect of attracting the coyote’s attention, so the coyote stopped and watched from across the street before continuing her trot on down the street. The woman turned to me and told me that the coyote had been “stalking” her from way up the street. I said this wasn’t true — that I had been watching the coyote who was minding her own business and just happened to be walking down the same street as the woman and her dog. The woman screamed at me that I wasn’t there so how would I know. The fact is that I WAS there and saw what went on. This kind of altered reporting goes on all the time.

Flopsie, by Pete Dardis

08 Aug 2022 1 Comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coexisting with coyotes, coyote "messaging" behavior, coyote behavior, dog reactions to coyotes

Eydie! No!

Dang it.

Eydie! Come!

Like that’s gonna work.

Eydie had seen the local coyote, Flopsie, and was chasing her across the hillside.

Flopsie is a male coyote, born in the neighborhood two years ago. I first saw Flopsie’s mom about seven years ago, with my then much younger dog chasing behind her. I have learned so much about coyotes in the years since then. I stay alert and leash up when I see a coyote around. (Thankfully, our park is off-leash). Eydie still loves to chase them, but at ten years old she has no chance of catching one now.

But today I never saw Flopsie until the chase was already well under way. He had run across the hill and then down, arcing back across the hill behind some temporary fencing. Eydie, following behind, had cut the corner and was now stuck behind the fencing, while Flopsie, in complete safety, arched his back and bared his teeth menacingly, signaling his claim to this part of the hill.

Eydie gave up and came back to me, and I clipped her leash on. The fun was over. But not for Flopsie. After a quick nibble at the low spot in the fence, he hopped over it and followed us up the trail at a disrespectful distance, until I bent down as if picking up a rock. He turned and backed off immediately. We went on our merry way.

Eydie and Flopsie on opposite sides of the fence, then Flopsie jumps the fence, whiffs up the information where Eydie was standing, and then follows at a disrespectful distance until intimidated to leave. They then each went on their separate ways.

The Indomitable Loudmouth, by Walkaboutlou

04 Aug 2022 4 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, farming and ranching

Hello Janet!

August is here and we do our ranch patrols and land surveys prior to sunrise. Such predawn movements are necessary in this hot smoky time of year.

A new personality has come to an old coyote family turf and taken over.

A wolf pack dispersed the former coyote group and the surviving daughter Kinky started new life in new places. She is thriving with her 2 pups and mate elsewhere.

This male is now here…and letting all know, man or beast. He’s about 3 or 4, extremely vocal, erratic and tenacious. His voice has a mule like bray to it. He has been dubbed Loudmouth.

All evidence is that he came from east of us, which is highly pressured lands. The ranches usually hunt coyote year round. Also, the wilderness areas east are territories of wolf packs.

So . . . when you see a coyote come from such areas and he’s relatively older, you are seeing the stereotypical extreme canid. The herky jerky zig zagging crazy elusive then alternately bold coyote. It’s not a judgement. But rather, a reflection of human cultures and land pressures.

Loudmouth is as tough as they come and twice as wild. He likely has dealt with decoy dogs, staghound packs, and wolves. He knows LGD and likely respects them…but could make farmers pay for their persecution if they aren’t dogged up.

Snares, traps, hunters, he has survived and eluded them all.

Likely he is more then able to dominate other male coyote. The two yearling females following him…dont seem daughters. They clearly are a pack.

*Listening to Loudmouth and Twisted Sisters*

They have moved in. And Loudmouth is ensuring all know he intends to stay.

He was quite upset with our patrol and fence check.

When I returned to my blind for coffee break, Loudmouth erupted from it. He had doubled back, and pooped in my chair.

Welcome to the Ranges Mr. Loudmouth.

Take care,

Lou

Slim Jim’s Bigger Picture, by Walkaboutlou

07 May 2022 4 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, farming and ranching

Hello Janet,

I recently mentioned the old nearly blind former pack leader, Slim Jim, and him joining his daughter over 8 miles away from his core area.

The move mystified me because I felt he had it all. Safety in landscape and Bison herds.

The bigger picture with wild animals is almost really never known. We cannot know every detail, trajectories or reasons. However..I realize more now about Slim Jim with help from others and some analytical thinking. (And it’s still guesswork)

Slim Jim had a very nice area and kept following bison for some months. However. . .2 things changed the Bison scene:

1) The Bison cows are heavily pregnant or giving birth. Their tolerating ANY canine..including elderly Slim, is over with motherhood. At least when calves are tiny 1st couple weeks.

2)The bison are a captive herd. They may have 7,000 acres to range. But they are moved periodically. Early calving season the bison are moved out of hills to watch until all calves are born and birthing season is over. Slim Jim wasn’t about to follow Bison in hemmed in fences.

Why he didn’t stay in the area when buffalo left is likely a few wolves passed thru. Rolling in bison patties apparently is a wolf pleasure when herds aren’t about. Trotting wolves even distant would likely unsettle the old guy.

We will never know how Slim Jim made it to Daughter Kinky and her family. Did she fetch him? Did he somehow know where she went and begged admittance? 8 miles is alot when you are blind and not fast. He made it.

He is now officially pup sitter of 3 pups.Kinky had a tiny litter. (Her being a yearling might be partial reason)

He is with pups constantly. He likely sees a little and stays very close to the massive cliffs and crevices that are now home.

He went from green foothills and range to stony highlands.

I wish his scruffy little body well.

Regards,

Lou

❤️ Falling In Love With Coyotes ❤️

14 Feb 2022 8 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coexisting with coyotes

This little girl yearling sat atop a knoll to watch the active dogs playing below in a fenced-off dog play area. It must have been a little like watching TV for her. The dogs ran after each other, wrestled, got mad and nipped at each other, ran after balls the owners tossed. There was high energy which must have been very entertaining for the coyote who spent a good half hour there. While she was there, I took these photos of her: it’s so easy to fall in love with coyotes. BUT, please do so at a distance and non-interactively as you walk away.

3″ cards being distributed

By clicking on any of the photos, you can enlarge them and scroll through them.

A while after taking these photos, I spoke to a woman who was excited about what I had to say about coyotes. She told me about the coyote she had seen several times across the street from her shop, right in the middle of a residential neighborhood and right here in the middle of San Francisco. We talked at some length — she had lots of questions for me. Then, she asked if she could “touch it” next time and maybe “take it food”. Her adoration for the animals was overflowing. She was absolutely shocked by my response: “please leave them alone and don’t approach them.” She had no conception at all about the needs of a coyote — their need to remain wild, remain healthily wary of humans, and to hunt for themselves.

I went through simple guidelines with her, and gave her a 3″ business card listing those. I’ve been handing these out because succinct guidelines are not printed on park signs, and aren’t readily known by most people. Please go over them yourself if you aren’t sure about them!! Truly loving coyotes involves loving their well-being, their wildness, and their ability to care for themselves — it does not involve interacting with them in any way, including feeding them. Please remember that feeding them causes them to hang around and approach people which may lead the city to kill them, which happened here in the city last July. Feeding is a selfish need of the feeder — it does not benefit the coyote and actually hurts them. It’s understandable that you may want to love them, but please do so hands-off and at a distance, without feeding! Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤️

Four-Minute Slice of Nightlife

19 Jan 2022 5 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in cars, coyote behavior, coyotes and cars, family interactions, hunting, social animals, social interactions

As the last bit of daylight flickered out, I was able to see this coyote and able to take a couple photos. The photo to the left approximates what could initially be seen in the little light there was, and that light soon faded away. After just a few shots, the camera would no longer focus automatically. It was too dark to see with one’s naked eyes — all I could really see now was that there was movement — but the camera’s amazing video setting (manually focused as best as I could) and an at-home edit which boosted the light, brought a few short moments of a mated coyote pair’s nightlife and interactions to light, as seen in the video below. Coyotes are very social and interact all the time, and the video at nightfall shows several minutes of them doing so.

Mom was chilling on a knoll of grass, obviously waiting for her mate to appear because when he finally arrives, she hurries over to be with him. The scene takes place along a roadway, and you’ll see cars passing by which don’t disturb the coyotes. I’ve learned from observing over the last 15 years that coyotes feel safer under cover of darkness — they know our human vision is not very good at that time.

HE had picked up something and was nibbling on it. Was she reacting to this, or simply greeting him? She raises herself against and over him, and nips the back of his neck. She is the *boss* and she may be emphasizing this. HE stands there and puts up with it UNTIL she gets down, at which point he makes a dash to evade her reach!

She appears to gape in disgust: “Ahhh. Men!” Then she stretches and gapes again before heading in his direction. Before reaching him she passes something smelly and decides to roll in it to absorb its fabulous odors. They both scavenge and appear to find tidbits.

In the meantime, cars pass, one after another which doesn’t affect them in the least. Both coyotes wander towards and away from each other as they find scraps of food. BOTH coyotes *gape* now and then: it looks like a big yawn, but I’ve seen it often as a sign of being upset over something.

Mom looks intently overhead at something and then comes to the edge of the road and looks around as though she’s trying to figure out what is going on. She puts her nose up in the air as she whiffs to *see* beyond the cars: they are always scanning for safety. Again she looks up at the sky and then suddenly both coyotes flee in fear. That’s when I look up and I see what’s bothering them: someone is flying a kite right overhead.

Now it’s too dark even for the video setting of the camera — amazing as it is, it can only go so far. But against the lighter sky, I’m able to capture the kite — this is the only section of the video I did not have to brighten to make it visible. The video is mostly blurry because of the lack of light, but at least you can see what is happening.

Screening: “don’t feed the coyotes”, a film by Nick Stone Schearer

11 Sep 2021 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coexisting with coyotes, coyote behavior, film

September 27th update: This particular one-time screening is over. There will be more screenings (and I’ll post those) before the film will be put on the site which currently does have the trailer: dontfeedthecoyotes.com. The questions and answers which occurred right after the film, however, may be seen here.

Neighborhood Coyote Chat

13 Jun 2021 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coexisting with coyotes, crash-course in SF coyotes, presentation, slide presentation

Come hear about our SF coyotes! Janet Kessler will give a crash-course on their population and population dynamics, their family life and interactions, and guidelines/stewardship for coexistence, with plenty of time for Q&A. This is Janet’s first out-of-doors talk, and she will be using posters instead of slides because there is no outlet for a projector. Let’s see how it goes!

About Janet: She’s been documenting our coyotes daily over the last 14 years here in San Francisco — she’s likely the only person who knows just about all of them individually, their families, and the extent of each of their territories. She will talk briefly about the neighborhood coyotes, as she has done in her recent presentations to West Portal and North Beach.

WHEN: Sunday, June 20th, 2021 at 11:00 am
WHERE: St. Mary’s Park Bleachers – wear your masks
- Enter from Murray Street, either at the intersection at Crescent or on the other side of the park off of Justin Street. You can’t miss the bleachers once you enter the field.
CONTACT: Nancy Ganner through Bernal Heights NextDoor, or Janet through coyotecoexistence@gmail.com

Here are some photos, after the fact. We had a wonderful turnout of over 50 people, with almost everyone staying for the massive and long Q&A at the end. Thank you everyone for being so supportive of my work!

Pack Strategies, Growing Pups, by Walkaboutlou

10 Jun 2021 4 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, families, farming and ranching

Hello Janet!

I hope all is well with you as the season progresses. This time of year flies. I am walking well after hip surgery and slowly recovering.

The updates on the 2 mom coyote pack continue thanks to the careful work and amazing skills of the knowledgeable ranch family who have allowed coyote to share their massive ranch properties. Decades of tolerance and behavior modifications have created a land where coyote, livestock, wildlife all thrive. (LGD dogs are big part..but thats another story) The extended family all take turns monitoring and studying the coyotes. They are documenting great stuff.

Old SlimJim, (father) Chica (Mom) Janet (daughter and 2nd mom) and Big Brother (yearling) all thrive. They indeed, moved the pups from the rocky cliffs to the open Oak Savannah ecosystem. Incredibly, all 9 pups have still been accounted for. Originally 11, it’s still a big group of pups.

One adult is almost always with or near pups. They have had several moves and it seemed Slim Jim initiated every move. The family discussions about why Slim Jim moves them so much are awesome to hear. Was it because the local cougar made fresh marks nearby? Was it because soon a salmon run will deliver salmon to a riverbank where Slim Jim gathers the expired fish? Is it because the wolves come around and scout? One ranch youngster has an observation. “Bigger Grasshoppers and more Voles” he says. “Slim Jim took the pups where the grasshoppers are already big and the voles are everywhere there”.

It’s true-the pups are already foraging and catching rodents and grasshoppers. It is very important for pups to forage and feed themselves ASAP.

It’s likely a culmination of all these and more. Slim Jim is an old coyote who knows all these areas. And the food sources. He has literally moved his pack where this summer, rodents, insects, wild plum groves, and expired salmon all will be. Slim Jim also has a unique skill which he’s shared with Big Brother his son. A few miles away a ribbon of country road unfortunately delivers deer being hit and killed, or running off to die. Slim Jim takes full advantage of such road killed deer. And delivers huge meals of venison. It is very rare for pups to eat so well. Big Brother and Dad have hugely impacted pup nutritional provisions.

Other note: All the adults are super lean and seem exhausted at times. They seem to take turns pup sitting. Big Brother the most. Pups are weaned it appears. Of the 9 pups, one with kinked tail sleeps with adults rather then littermates. Kinky Tail seems a favorite. It is groomed more than any pup.

Turkey Vultures make the pups duck or hide, indicating the local golden eagle may be why 2 pups are gone.

Pups also seem to hunt then bolt at times. Its suspected snakes are instinctively avoided at least by pups. Many rattlers here. So snake aversion is good.

The Patriarch of Ranch family has studied “his” coyote over 60 years. He is house bound usually. But still listens to coyote news and gives his thoughts. 4 generations of family discussing coyote packs is very special.

His thoughts: “That’s a really big litter. By summer’s end the adults will be tired and ready to stop providing. The pups will develop extra fast and really scatter about. And Big Brother will be a great dad after raising all those pups. Janet the Daughter will get a new hubby. Old Slim Jim…well, let’s hope best.”

Big Litter, lots of food, and tired but skilled adults here. A structured but unusual pack going fwd. And a Ranch family sharing it all from 10 years to Great Great Grandpa.

Take Care Janet,

Lou 🐾

: Cougar

: Plums

: Wolf

: Salmon

[All photo credits are from the author, Walkaboutlou]

Provoking a Reaction

21 May 2021 4 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coexisting with coyotes, coyote behavior, coyotes and dogs

This is not an aggressive coyote. I know this coyote well — he simply wants to be left alone. The dog and walker in fact came upon this peaceful fella calmly sunning himself — that’s how it began. This is a defensive coyote being threatened by an aggressive dog. The dog is provoking the reaction by focusing on the coyote, barking and lunging at the coyote. IN RESPONSE to both the dog’s presence and the dog’s behavior, the coyote is displaying its scariest behavior, trying to warn the dog to stay away (“hey, look how ferocious I am; you might want to stay away”) and to get the dog to leave. The coyote is messaging the dog and owner, in the only effective way it knows how, to move away from itself and the area, and not focus on it.

Rather than heeding the message and moving the dog along and away, the dog-owner plants herself and her dog in sight of the coyote to take a sensationalist video for Facebook — it’s a clear provocation to the coyote. All she had to do, was walk away from the coyote, dragging her dog if she had to.

Please heed the message: walk away from coyotes, especially if you have a dog! Please remember that we’re in the middle of pupping season, when coyotes will particularly defensive about themselves and areas close to their dens. [Video extracted from Jennyfifi Facebook]