The Coyotes of San Francisco

They walk along busy San Francisco streets. In Chinatown plazas. Across the paths of Muni buses.

One was found dozing in a laundromat.

Coyotes can sometimes be seen roaming in cities around the country, including Chicago and New York. But in San Francisco, they have become ubiquitous, and the tension between humans and coyotes is growing.

Some people adore them, and coyote mania has seeped into the city’s quirky culture. Others despise them and have called for their eradication, especially after one lunged at children and killed small dogs. Many people simply wonder where they all came from in the first place.

Coyote pups were born in April in a den at the Presidio Golf Course in San Francisco.

Coyotes are native to California and were widespread in San Francisco in the early 1900s, but were considered pests and were eradicated.

A coyote howls to communicate with nearby coyotes as a runner and a car pass nearby.