Increasingly bold coyote behavior scares Foster City residents

She noticed a coyote in the distance and pretty soon, a pack of three — presumably a mother, father and their pup — approached Zou and Ava.

“They ran up to me. I didn’t run up to them,” she said, adding that her dog was on a leash the entire time. “I saw them in the distance and tried to peacefully leave the area.”

Zou made noise, tried to make herself look big and slowly backed away but said nothing she did dissuaded them. They continued following her, at one point close enough for her to pet them, and even began nipping at her dog’s heels.

“They were completely brazen,” she said. “I tried to make a run for it. I know you’re not supposed to do that, but I thought if I was injured, I would at least be around people by the dirt path.”

The pack eventually let up once Zou got to the trail where some people were gathered, but the incident shook her up. Since posting about it on Nextdoor, she has received numerous messages about similar situations in Foster City, including at Shorebird Park, as well as neighborhood cities. One woman told her that her small dog was killed in that same area recently as well.

More interactions

Anecdotally, coyote sightings and encounters across the Peninsula seem more commonplace over the last five to six years, but it’s hard to tell what percentage is attributable to an increase in coyotes’ presence — largely due to an increasing comfort with humans — or more awareness of negative incidents since the adoption of sites like Nextdoor. Jason Pelletier, who manages large nature preserves for environmental nonprofits, said it could be a combination of both, though other factors, like seasonal changes, are also at play.

“We’ve had a couple years of good rain, and that means food for everybody. Breeding success has been high, and that means there are more around,” Pelletier said. “Second, it’s that time of year when those pups go from puppies to adolescents, so you’ll see bigger groups of mature animals right now, because they are the mature pups born in the spring and they haven’t yet separated from their parents.”

In places like Foster City or other areas, coyotes’ predators like mountain lions and bobcats are not around, which could also contribute to their growing presence.

Pelletier added that between the rise of social media and neighborhood sites, coupled with a surge in outdoor activity since COVID-19, more people are interacting with wildlife and reporting their encounters at a higher rate.

Colleen Crowler, spokesperson for the Peninsula Humane Society, said the agency is prohibited from getting involved with coyote populations, or any wildlife for that matter, unless they are injured. While it’s not uncommon for them to get reports of coyote sightings or aggressive behavior, the agency has noticed any recent upticks.

Becoming accustomed to humans

According to a study by the University of California, Davis, there have been roughly 165 known coyote attacks on humans in California between 1977 and 2015. But it’s still incredibly hard to find reliable information on coyote presence and behavior over time, said Carolyn Whitesell, human wildlife interaction advisor with UC Davis Cooperative Extension.

“In terms of hard data, it’s really lacking on coyotes, especially in regard to population numbers,” she said. “But I can say, anecdotally, over the last few decades, talking to residents, there does seem to be an increase in the number of coyotes that people are seeing in suburban areas.”

Christina H., who did not want to give her last name, has lived in the San Carlos hills for more than 30 years and said the coyotes seem increasingly desensitized to the traditional scare tactics, like yelling. She now has to use the noise from a baton or stun gun, as other methods won’t work — however, they still try to follow her around regularly. A pack tried to attack her and her dog several years ago and even poking them with a metal bat didn’t work, until she made it back to her yard and sprayed them with a hose.

“In 1991, when we moved in, you’d see a fox here and there. I saw coyotes sitting under the light, and I saw them by the driveway, and when I saw them, I’d yell, ‘Leave me alone,’ and they would,” she said. “Now they have no fear.”

Whitesell said that coyotes become more comfortable the more time they spend among human populations, especially suburban and urban areas where people are neither hunting them nor posing a threat. Easy access to food and prey, such as fruit trees, trash and cats keep the human-populated areas particularly appealing. And over time, it’s not surprising they are less affected by traditional hazing methods.

“Coyotes are very smart,” Whitesell said. “So if you’re yelling at them, and the coyote doesn’t actually think it’s going to result in anything, they seem to be able to figure out if you actually mean it or not, and they’re going to push the boundary until something happens.”

It is likely that individuals will have to increase the level of hazing, or deterring mechanisms, Mairan Smith, unit wildlife biologist at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said. If yelling doesn’t work, using an air horn or shaking a tin can of coins could help. Even tossing things at them or walking toward them if they’re not cornered is helpful, said. Pelletier said not to break eye contact or turn your back if they approach, as they are still unlikely to pick a fight with a larger animal.

“Even coyotes that are habituated are still wary of people, but they are probably interested in your dog,” Smith said.

Warning signs

Redwood Shores and Foster City have seen a general increase in coyote encounters over the last decade, but it’s hard to know to what extent.

“I’ve heard that they weren’t really in the Redwood Shores, Foster City area 20 years ago, and that they are more new to that area in the last 10 years,” Smith said. “They’re definitely attracted to the neighborhoods because of the resources that human neighborhoods provide.”

Foster City spokesperson Austin Walsh said the city has updated its messaging along the levee, where many of the coyote sightings occur. Like Whitesell, he said there isn’t much data on whether the population has increased over the years, as reports provided to the city on the number of sightings is not reliable. Staff recently put up additional messaging, which provide instructions on what to do if residents encounter coyotes, especially with dogs present. Walsh said he was unaware of any additional city programs or initiatives regarding the coyote population.

Longtime Foster City resident Laura Bertucci said her friend’s cat was recently killed by a coyote in front of her condominium and said she’s heard similar stories more frequently over the years.

“We never had a problem like this,” she said.

Call for more monitoring, warnings

Both Bertucci and Zou said there should be more awareness by residents, the city and wildlife agencies on the issue. Zou said she cares about animals and wants to respect their habitat but feels like there needs to be more education, as well as an acknowledgment by animal agencies and the city that the situation is getting worse. She wonders if they’re only going to get increasingly aggressive the more comfortable they are with humans.

The state doesn’t actively manage the coyote population — rather, it mostly keeps track of and monitors behavior — and Smith said relocating wildlife animals is usually not effective in the long run, as they end up migrating back to high-resource areas.

“We get concerned when they start approaching people when there aren’t dogs around,” Smith said, though she added that’s much less common. “There will likely always be coyotes in our communities, especially while we have green spaces. For long-term management, the best way forward is to reduce attractants and haze and make sure that we keep them in our neighborhoods at a respectful distance and not in our backyards.”