Snoozing Coyote Turns San Francisco Backyard Into Cozy Den

San Francisco Animal Care and Control received a call from a startled resident after they reported a coyote taking a nap on their backyard couch. 

The resident reportedly told Animal Control that the napping creature was “reluctant to move,” making them think something was wrong. 

Officer Laura Mullen arrived at the scene and decided to approach the animal herself. “[I] told him it was time to get up,” she wrote on the agency’s Instagram page. “He looked at me, got up, took a big stretch & made his way to the yard’s edge.” 

After ensuring the furry lad was healthy and uninjured, Mullen encouraged him to hop over the fence and witnessed him returning to a wooded area. She concluded that he was a young male recently kicked out of his den.

She told SFGATE that this is normal behavior for the species — coyote pups usually leave their home dens in the fall or early winter to look for a mate to start their home dens with. 

Though the coyote’s curiosity was normal, animal control told the outlet that they’d never seen a coyote make itself at home in a residential area. 

“This one is a first, and our animal control officers have seen pretty much everything,” Deb Campbell, a spokesperson for the agency, told SFGATE in a text. 

The reason for this coyote’s unusual behavior is tough to determine, Campbell wrote. “It could be that it’s young and inexperienced and was just looking for a place to rest,” she told the outlet.  “This guy was just comfy and having a snooze.”

San Francisco Animal Care and Control urges individuals who spot coyotes to fill out a sighting form on its website. The forms are submitted to officers who help oversee the city’s coyote population. According to Animal Control, it's estimated that around 100 coyotes reside in San Francisco, a population number that has remained stable for the past decade to fifteen years.