Saw A Coyote In The Middle Of San Francisco

Mer.kitten

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I had heard they are here in Golden Gate park but never saw one, then a few nights ago i was going home around 3 am, i was on Turk nearing the avenues, almost no trafgic, when i see what i think is a loose dog in the road. I slow down, thinking how i can catch it and wondering if its owners around, and i get closer and im like wait... thats no dog!

It came pretty close to my car, i rolled down the window and it didnt seem scared at all. Didnt seem quite full grown, either. I stopped (no cars were coming) and scrambled to get my phone to take a pic, and by the time i grabbed it he was walking away,, so the pics arent that great. I wish id gotten better pics, he was SO close!

Such a trip to see them in the city-i was literally like 8 minutes from downtown San Francisco.
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Furballsmom

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WOW
This is the thing, --some people just don't believe that predators are RIGHT HERE with us - oh my, that must have been crazy for you !!
Thank you for posting!
 

Elphaba09

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We have coyotes near us in NE Ohio. I saw one sitting on the side of the road about two miles from my house a few months ago. Our cats Fennimore and Willow (and their brother, Pip!) were saved from a litter that was likely eaten by a coyote. (The woman who found them is sure it was coyotes because she sees them on their property all the time.)
 

Willowy

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Oh, yeah, coyotes live everywhere. They're extremely smart and adaptable. While I hear them yipping almost every night, I've never seen any signs of coyotes around my house. I thought I was too far from the river for them to bother coming around. But a coyote was killed on the highway less than 1/4 mile from my house so I guess they are around here after all :dunno:.
 

neely

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Last summer we saw a coyote in our yard. DH saw it first and thought it was a dog then realized that's no ordinary canine. :eek: It jumped over our 5 ft. fence and went into our neighbor's yard. While walking our dog at dusk I also saw a coyote coming from the field behind a school.
 
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Mer.kitten

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It was pretty cool :) still annoyed i didnt get better pics tho, it was RIGHT next to my car.
 

DreamerRose

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Yes, they are everywhere. One got into a deli in downtown Chicago a few years ago and made quite a bit of news. As a gardener, I'm happy to see them. They get the rabbits and small rodents.

Wildlife is moving in. I put out some bird seed on the deck to entertain the kitties, and this evening saw two raccoons munching up all the sunflower seeds.
 

recurringecho

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Whoa!! I go visit SF occasionally but never seen one outside of a zoo before! Something to keep in mind if I ever settle up there... The only wildlife i've ever seen come into my yard are some raccoons, possums, and skunks
 

tinydestroyer

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I've seen coyotes all over California. In San Diego, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and most of all in L.A. When I lived in Hollywood, and walked my dog, we'd have other dog walkers warning us if there was a coyote in the neighborhood - which amounted to about once a week. They'd stalk the smaller dogs, but usually ignored my 85lb pup. We had a pair follow us for a bit once, but they split off down an alley. Let me tell you: jingling your keys is usually not loud enough to scare them. And don't run away if they're stalking you, you don't want to incite the chase. Turn and face them, making yourself as large and loud as possible according to public safety campaigns like Project Coyote.
And keep your cats indoors in coyote populated areas, please! Cats and smaller dogs are usually the victims of coyote attacks (only one fatal human attack of a 3 year old girl has been recorded.) CA cities generally take the stance that coyotes are simply repopulating their former territory, and have a right to be there, so even aggressive coyotes will not be dealt with for the sake of pets. SF is definitely one of those cities:
Coyotes are all over SF to stay, even if they sometimes kill pets

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/It-s-that-time-of-year-again-Coyotes-are-13063055.php
 

Willowy

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Quote from news article:
"If you kill one coyote, two coyotes will come to its funeral."
Yep. Even farmers (who normally prefer to kill all predators) know that if you have a coyote family that doesn't bother your livestock too much, you leave them alone, because if you kill them, the next ones that move in might have more of a taste for sheep or chickens or whatever. And there will ALWAYS be more that will move in.
 

Kflowers

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To keep them out, you need a fence that is 6 to 8 feet high. I've read both, some say to put a slant leaning out on the top. All say you need to go a foot to two feet underground because coyotes dig.
 
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Mer.kitten

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Ok it was crazy enough seeing them not far from downtown... but this was tonight, 6 blocks from my house

I walk for exercise in the early evening, now im wondering if i should rethink...
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PipersMom

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They are around our house in western PA. We can hear them and see their tracks in our front yard when there's snow on the ground. It's a wonder Piper survived long enough to make it into our garage, honestly.

I did have a face to face encounter with one while hiking the AT. It stepped out onto the trail right in front of me... fortunately, it had a rabbit in it's mouth and took off as soon as it saw me, but it was startling for sure.
 

Purr-fect

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We have them around toronto.

On sept 19th at 8:45am one jumped over my fence and was about 15 feet from greg.

Fortunately I was nearby and chased it off. A neighbours cat had recently disappeared. Im sure a coyote had taken it.
 

betsygee

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We see them here in Monterey sometimes. I saw a fox going through my back yard once, years ago. And just last week a neighbor reported having seen a mountain lion less than a mile from here!

I looked out my dining room window a few weeks ago to see this big beautiful bobcat.

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FeebysOwner

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Indeed - about the (indoor only) house cat!!! We are in a very urban area, but due to greedy developers (including a sell-out church/retreat, of all things) we have nearly lost all of the limited wooded areas anywhere around us. As a result, some of my neighbors have seen coyotes roaming ours and nearby housing developments.

The neighbors in my development, and some of those around us, have had a lot of 'missing' cats. Hmmm (duh). Needless to say, we are continually warning our neighbors on the Next Door Neighbor web site that if they truly love their cats, they will NO longer let them outdoors.
 
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