Close Encounter

Posted by liaso (Bay Area, United States) on 12 November 2007 in Animal & Insect.

of the Coyote Kind.

Today I went to the Marin Headlands to look at Rodeo beach, one of the many beaches affected by the recent oil spill. (For those of you who haven't heard, a cargo ship hit the Bay Bridge on Wed. spilling 58,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil into the Bay.) This week, unless I find something spectacular to shoot, I will be sharing pictures of the beach, the surrounding headlands, and Battery Townsley.

One of the first things I encountered was this coyote, as I was driving down to Rodeo beach. I'm worried for this little coyote. He (maybe she) entered the road to approach a car that paused to photograph him. Only problem is he stopped right in the middle of my lane. I pulled to the side of the road, not only to photograph him, but to lead him off the road. Sure enough, he followed my car. I think he was hungry. He walked up very close to me, seeming to beg for food. He lost interest when I did not provide any and went to another car that had pulled over in hopes of better "hunting". Eventually he went back into the bushes when no one fed him.

The reason I worry for him is twofold. First, he seems to expect food from people, which suggests he's been fed in the past. This leads him to be too comfortable in people's presence. Second, this comfort and seeking out of humans leads him to the road, but he does not seem to comprehend the danger of cars. I am very worried he'll get hit.

Despite the worry, I did very much enjoy seeing him. I took several photos, including one of him yawning. These two seemed the best of the bunch. (The yawning photo was farther away, and not lit as well. Perhaps I'll post it later if I run low on photos.)