San Francisco authorities search ‘egregious coyote feeder’
San Francisco authorities are calling on the public to help identify a woman who allegedly fed wild coyotes around the city, an act that can cause the animals to lose their fear of humans.
San Francisco Animal Care & Control said in a statement Wednesday that it had received reports of feeding in multiple areas and shared a picture of a person the agency identified as “a particularly outrageous coyote feeder.”
The picture was taken with a camera on Bernal Hill and shows a woman with a platter of meat sitting on the floor while she feeds a coyote.
“The same person is reportedly feeding coyotes elsewhere in the city,” the agency said. “If anyone can identify this person, please call Animal Care & Control at 415-554-9400.”
San Francisco Animal Care & Control is appealing to the public for help in identifying a woman who allegedly fed a coyote on Bernal Hill in San Francisco. The picture was taken by a camera on the hill.
SF Animal Care & ControlSF Animal Care & Control
Coyotes are often spotted in San Francisco, where the animals shape the urban landscape, build caves and raise young in vegetation zones between the neighborhoods. Neighborhood groups next door are full of stories of coyotes killing cats, and Instagram is awash with pictures of coyotes strolling the streets of SF. Although the animals are nocturnal, photos often show them on the move in broad daylight.
Wild coyotes are naturally shy and shun people, but they can be comfortable around people if fed intentionally.
An aggressive coyote alerted several park visitors at Golden Gate Park last year, and authorities said there have been five reports of an animal attacking young children. According to an ongoing investigation, federal agencies captured and killed the animal.
Despite signs urging people not to feed coyotes, Animal Care & Control said that people were consistently and illegally feeding the coyotes so that they lost their natural fear of humans. The agency stated that feeding coyotes “creates dangerous situations when animals learn to approach people when they seek easy access”.
Feeding wildlife is illegal, and anyone caught in the act could face fines of up to $ 1,000 and / or jail time, the agency said.
“People need to stop feeding wild animals,” said Virginia Donohue, the agency’s executive director, in a statement. “If you continue to defy the law – and common sense – you will hurt a person and destroy an animal.”
