Dining Out with San Francisco’s Coyotes

by Kat Kerlin, UC Davis
January 22, 2025

As their traditional dining options dwindle and natural areas give way to restaurants, homes and sidewalks, the coyotes of San Francisco are shifting what they eat.

Scientists from the University of California, Davis, wanted to understand what San Francisco’s coyotes are eating, and how their diet is changed and shaped by the city’s landscape, which can vary from block to block.

Their study, published in the journal Ecosphere, found that the number of restaurants and amount of pavement or “impervious surfaces” within the city heavily influenced what the coyotes ate. Coyote consumption of rats was highest where restaurant density was highest, and consumption of human-sourced food was highest in the most heavily paved parts of the city.

The findings can help inform and prioritize management strategies to protect native coyotes and reduce human-wildlife conflicts.

Keep reading: https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/dining-out-san-franciscos-coyotes

Read the Ecosphere paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.70152