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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe coyote that was killed by federal officials at Crissy Field on Oct. 6 was seen hunting for gophers in the grass of the park\u00a0on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024.\u00a0Inge_Curtis\/Daniel Solorzano-Jones\/NPS<\/em><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\u00a0San Francisco coyote<\/a>\u00a0behind a\u00a0string of attacks<\/a>\u00a0at a popular San Francisco park has been caught.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Federal officials killed the young male early Sunday morning at Crissy Field, after an investigation revealed he had killed at least three small dogs that were off-leash and bit multiple other dogs, including at least one on-leash dog, across several weeks in September and October, according to officials and biologists with the National Park Service\u2019s Golden Gate National Recreation Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Phoebe Parker-Shames<\/a>, a wildlife ecologist with the Presidio Trust, said there were also reports of the animal charging at people on a trail in the Presidio, the 1,491-acre park that includes Crissy Field.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The coyote had grown comfortable around humans, said Parker-Shames. Officials had tried to scare the animal by hazing it, going as far as shooting it with a paintball gun, but were unable to quell the coyote\u2019s unusually aggressive behavior. Coyotes are typically shy with a natural fear of humans, but this animal became habituated, likely in part due to humans illegally feeding it and encouraging their dogs to harass coyotes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s an accumulation of factors that bring it closer and closer to people without getting a negative response,\u201d Parker-Shames said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The data and observations piled up. \u201cIn keeping with established wildlife management practices, NPS and Presidio Trust biologists made the difficult decision to lethally remove the animal in consultation with state and local authorities,\u201d GGNRA spokesperson Julian Espinoza wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A DNA sample was collected after the coyote was killed. It matched up with two dogs that were bitten. Katie Smith, a National Park Service biologist, told SFGATE on Wednesday that the team believes this is the same animal that killed the dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have no reason to believe otherwise,\u201d Smith said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n A crescent of land fronting San Francisco Bay at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge, Crissy Field is a former U.S. Army airfield that was restored into a glorious 100-acre park with beaches, marshes, grassy expanses and miles of paths always busy with walkers, joggers and cyclists. It\u2019s hugely popular with dog owners, who are allowed to take their pets off-leash in designated areas if their animals are kept under voice control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem is that many dog owners don\u2019t understand the true meaning of voice control, Parker-Shames said. \u201cEven if your animal is distracted by seeing a coyote, it means it will return to you, and reliably. And if it can\u2019t do that then you shouldn\u2019t have it off-leash,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The GGNRA, which includes Crissy Field, is the only unit within the National Park Service with off-leash dog areas, Espinoza said. Since the spate of coyote attacks, GGNRA has posted signs throughout the park encouraging pet owners to keep their dogs on-leash in all areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Smith and Parker-Shames were part of the team that led the investigation into the coyote reports in September. This included reports of the three dogs that were killed; SFGATE talked to two of the dogs\u2019 owners and recounted their horrifying experiences in a separate story<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two collected photos and patrolled\u00a0Crissy Field, eventually determining it was a single coyote that was responsible for the brazen actions. The animal that was menacing the park had a telling scar on its upper right forearm.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The decision to kill the coyote was made on Tuesday, Oct. 1. That day, the biologists observed and received reports of the coyote acting aggressively toward dogs in a half-dozen separate instances across the Presidio. On the Mountain Lake Trail near Paul Goode Field, it charged at an individual and then backed up and moved toward a group of people (nobody was bitten or injured).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t extremely aggressive but crossed the line,\u201d Parker-Shames said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s a little snapshot of the amount of chaos that can come from one animal,\u201d Parker-Shames continued. \u201cIt probably felt like there were six coyotes in the park that day. That was the straw that broke the camel\u2019s back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n BEST OF SFGATE<\/p>\n\n\n\n Culture\u00a0<\/strong>|\u00a0This SF restaurant was the blueprint for \u2018Bob\u2019s Burgers’<\/a> Alongside federal officials, the biologists set up a stakeout at the park that weekend, from 11 p.m. Friday to 4:30 a.m. Saturday. No luck: The animal with a scar was never spotted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They went out again Saturday night and found him this time. He was killed early Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs we did our targeted removal, we did our best to ensure we got the right individual animal,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe have no reason to believe there\u2019s more than one coyote exhibiting these bold behaviors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The biologist said studies have shown that it\u2019s usually a single individual that is responsible for most conflicts, and once a coyote has learned a behavior that it benefits from \u2014 like, say, approaching humans for their food or preying on small dogs \u2014 it\u2019s hard to counteract it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Smith and Parker-Shames are confident the team made the right call, especially because the animal was acting aggressively toward humans without dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cObviously, we love dogs,\u201d Parker-Shames said. \u201cBut when we decide to remove a coyote, it\u2019s more about human safety than dog safety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being at the center of the decision was not easy. \u201cWhen you get on a conference call and say those words \u2014 \u2018kill an animal\u2019 \u2014 it sucks,\u201d Parker-Shames said, getting emotional.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The biologists are concerned the killing of one habituated coyote will lead dog owners to think it\u2019s now safe to let their canines off-leash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis lethal removal is not a solution, this was a reactive response to an increasing public safety concern,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a solution to prevent issues like these moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martha Walters, the chair of the Crissy Field Dog Group<\/a>, has been coming to the park for 40 years and has repeatedly called on officials to put together a plan for managing coyotes and share it with the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe coyotes are still present at\u00a0Crissy Field so people need to be on the alert,\u201d Walters said Thursday morning. \u201cYesterday, a Crissy Field Dog Group member said there are three coyotes that went from the Marina Green to the Wave Organ and onto the East Beach at Crissy Field.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n The biologists said it\u2019s important that Crissy Field visitors continue to keep their dogs on leash and pack out their trash, as coyotes love feasting on stinky scraps. The overflowing trash cans at the park are attractive for coyotes, as is the chicken left at the pier by people using the meat in crab traps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCoyotes are highly intelligent and highly opportunistic and if you give them an easy opportunity for a food source, they\u2019re going to take that,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s important for us to remove those attractants if we want to change that behavior \u2014 that includes putting small dogs on a leash. The best thing you can do to keep your pet safe is to keep it on a leash and as close as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In particular, Smith said she had observed some disturbing behavior at the park that she thinks contributed to the young male coyote\u2019s demise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve personally observed visitors intentionally encouraging their dogs to interact with and harass a coyote,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s deeply disturbing because we\u2019re animal lovers, and seeing folks intentionally put their pets at risk is incredibly disturbing, and it\u2019s not at all helpful to the coyote.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n An estimated 100 coyotes live in San Francisco, making homes in the patchwork of green spaces spread across the city\u2019s 49 square miles. After the killing of the coyote, Parker-Shames said four coyotes are still likely living in the Presidio: an alpha male and female, long-term residents who breed once a year and have not caused any significant problems. The pair likely had two pups in 2023, and one was the young male who was killed. Parker-Shames has not seen his sibling in many months, and she assumes the animal has either died or moved to another area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This year, the mother and father had two more pups. The wildlife biologists hope San Francisco residents can help keep those animals wild.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis was so hard,\u201d Parker-Shames said of the recent killing. \u201cI don\u2019t want to have to be out here again. All of us come into this because we care about wildlife. I would rather be involved in the effort because I know we\u2019re going to do it well and responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n More Coyote Coverage<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 New study reveals what urban coyotes are really eating in San Francisco<\/a> Oct 10, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Amy Graff<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n SENIOR NEWS EDITOR<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amy Graff is the senior news editor for SFGATE and leads the site\u2019s news desk. She was born and raised in the Bay Area and got her start in news at the Daily Californian newspaper at UC Berkeley, where she majored in English literature. She has been with SFGATE for more than 15 years and writes about a little bit of everything but is obsessed with weather. You can email her news tips at agraff@sfgate.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ‘When you get on a conference call and say those words \u2014 ‘kill an animal’ \u2014 it sucks’ By\u00a0Amy Graff, Senior News Editor Oct 10, 2024 (SFGate.com) The coyote that was killed by federal officials at Crissy Field on Oct. 6 was seen hunting for gophers in the grass of… Continue reading
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