San Francisco SPCA President Jan McHugh-Smith said recently that the regrettable shooting death of two coyotes in Golden Gate Park on Sunday, July 15 probably resulted from the animals becoming habituated to humans. Two officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shot the two - a male and female - after a pair of coyotes attacked two leashed dogs in Speedway Meadows on July 14. The California State Department of Fish and Game decided the coyotes were a risk to public safety and should be destroyed.
McHugh-Smith, who until recently was the CEO of the Humane Society of Boulder Valley in Colorado, said that coyotes are common in Colorado. She noted that the animals were usually skittish around humans and large dogs, and typically targeted small rodents, or cats. "Shouting and raising your arms to appear bigger normally frightens them away," she added. She said that when wildlife becomes habituated to humans, especially in an urban environment where people interact with them or feed them, their natural behaviors can be altered.
McHugh-Smith advised pet guardians not to feed wild animals, to exercise caution around them and to keep their pets away from them. She urged cat guardians to follow The SF/SPCA recommendation to keep their cats indoors at all times.
A spokesman for Fish and Game said they cannot be completely sure that the two coyotes that were shot were the same pair responsible for the dog attack. Several other coyotes have been sighted in various areas of San Francisco, including Bernal Heights and the Presidio.
Thanks to the San Francisco SPCA for this piece.
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