Comments on: Coyote Alert vs. “Velociraptor Alert” – “Under No Circumstances Should You Say, ‘Clever Girl’”

By: Jeri

Jeri — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 03:14:22 +0000

I saw 2 of them about 10 minutes apart from each other on my walk the other day. The first one at Stow Lake didn’t come closer than 50 ft or so, but 10 minutes later a coyote (about twice the size maybe 75-80lbs) walked right up to my dog, my fiance and I. It came within 10 ft with no fear what-so-ever.
Then is casually turned to the left and walked into the open field on MLK. It was casually walking around people, who didn’t really seem to notice it.
This particular coyote looked like a large wolf, while the others that I have seen have been considerably smaller and a little scrappy.

I couldn’t imagine wanting any harm to come to them, but my fear is that they don’t seem to have a healthy fear of humans.
They seem harmless, but are extremely dangerous in pack form. There are 6 known coyotes in the park.
If something happens (an attack on a dog or child) the officials would more than likely put these poor guys down.
Coyotes are most-likely looking for an easy meal in garbage cans (which are disappearing in the park) or the they are setting their sites on gophers and the birds out there.
So, I think that public education and well-posted signs are the City’s responsibility. Relocation is a possibility, as well. However, if there are pups somewhere, they may end up suffering without their parents.
For now, I guess the only thing that we can do is to be aware and let others in the park know if there has been a siting near-by.
They aren’t out to harm anyone, but they ARE wild animals and will defend their young and seek food where ever possible.
All of that being said, you can’t help but enjoy seeing a glimpse of them once in awhile.

By: sfcitizen

sfcitizen — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 20:25:46 +0000

I guess there are lots of them out there…

By: frank

frank — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:40:10 +0000

Saw him two nights in a row and this morning crossing a road in the park on a trail. Seemed very at ease. Hope he/she doesn’t wonder outta the park and get hit.

By: Suzie

Suzie — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 18:03:07 +0000

Last week, I saw a coyote as I was driving through Golden Gate Park during a busy morning cummute to work. It ran across 6 lanes of 2-way traffic to cross the street. I was both thrilled and sad. I was happy to see coyote back in the park, but sad that there has not been much public education since the killing of the two adult coyotes there in 2007. I have not seen any signs in the park educating the public about what to do and to not do when they encounter coyote and wildlife in the park. There are fox, raccoon and skunk in the park. I worry that what happened to the coyote family that lived in Golden Gate Park will be repeated. If there were a known den in an area in the park, perhaps they can close the area to dogwalking. We need to educate the public to peacefully co-exist with these amazing animals. Public awareness and education needs to start now before another unfortunate encounter occurs.