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Published Nov. 5, 2023, 1:49 a.m. ET
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So much for letting sleeping dogs lie.
A San Franciscan woke up this week expecting to take in the city views from their outdoor patio — but instead found a “beautiful coyote” enjoying a nap on their couch.
The canine had made himself so comfortable on the elevated patio that it made zero attempts to flee when the homeowner approached.
The homeowner worried that the animal’s lethargic behavior indicated it was sick or injured and rushed to call the city’s animal control department.
It turns out the coyote just didn’t want to give up the perfect sunbathing spot.
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“I arrived and made contact with the resident who took me to their backyard and showed me the coyote who was comfortably resting on a couch in their outdoor patio,” Animal Control Officer Mullen wrote on Facebook.
“I approached the coyote and started talking to him, telling him that it was time to get up. He looked at me, got up, took a big stretch and made his way to the edge of the yard.”
The coyote reluctantly walked to the edge of the yard, which was connected to a woodland area, and hopped back into the brush.
Mullen noted that the animal moved appropriately and did not appear sick or injured.
“The coyote looked like a young healthy male that was probably recently kicked out of his den and was trying to make his way through the city,” he wrote.
Coyote pups usually stay with their parents — who mate for life — for about a year and a half before they venture out on their own.
The fall and early winter is typically the time when the “yearling pups” start dispersing out of their home dens, looking for a mate to start a den of their own, the department said.125
What do you think? Post a comment.
San Francisco has a population of roughly 100 coyotes, which are key to keeping the rodent population in check.
Big city coyotes are not out of the ordinary — New York City’s population recently “expanded their turf,” with several recent sightings of the four-legged friends in the Bronx’s Claremont Park.
Exposing the Big Game 
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’d honestly be thinking twice before calling animal control on a napping coyote.
You’re right. I wouldn’t either. It’s just lucky animal control didn’t “euthanize” the poor thing in its sleep (only because they keep the rat population down).
Considering that it is generally not permitted to relocate coyotes in California – they’d just put a bullet in his head and think nothing of it regardless of whether he was healthy or not. Then you get the usual PR drivel of public safety and tired line of we had no other choice, condescendingly talked down to about how to keep coyotes away and if they’re feeling especially spiteful that day a reminder of how the state is working hard to control the coyote population through wildlife management programs to prevent future conflicts and protect livestock.
So sweet! He looks very comfortable and perfectly healthy.