Earlier this week, a seconds-long video posted originally on Instagram that showed two SF coyotes frolicking on Crissy Fields Beach went viral for obvious reasons — it was cute and consoling af.
Coyotes in San Francisco have a lore all unto themselves. They were darling fauna during pandemic lockdowns, doubling as symbols of how flora and fauna will happily flourish without human meddling. Signs of them popping in and around San Francisco parks are heeded with care by locals and tourists alike. Stories of how they’ve become increasingly acclimated to human interactions continue piling up — anecdotes that exist alongside recorded and documented cases of coyotes crossing paths with humans … and their dogs.
This summer has seen a five-year-old girl get bit on the butt in SF’s Botanical Gardens, prompting a Jaws-like culling of three nearby coyotes; reports are still unclear if the young girl provoked the canine or might have accidentally stumbled close to a nearby den, prompting a defensive act from a brooding parent. A pack of coyotes killed a dog owner’s pup at Baker’s Beach around 7:15 a.m. on August 1st. Two public spaces were temporarily closed — an athletics field in Bernal Heights and a nearby dog park on the edge of the Presidio — due to a strong increase in coyote sightings in the area.
Yes, it’s been a very brat summer… but it’s also been a Hot Coyote Summer, to boot. Recently, a pair of coyotes were filmed playing.
“Oh to be an SF coyote,” reads the caption for an Instagram post published by DoTheBay, which was filmed by [at]gabbymickevicius. The thirty-second-long video shows two coyotes in San Francisco frolicking along Crissy Field Beach with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background, awash with sunset Pantones.
The pair of wild canines are, indeed, playing. Recreating with other beings, even those that belong to different species, is a crucial element of bonding — an act performed by social creatures as a means to strengthen connections and, by proxy, the likelihood of survival. Play is also imperative for young predators and omnivores, the latter of which more correctly define the hunting styles of coyotes, to help hone their sharp motor skills, besting their odds for successful hunts.
For this instance of four-legged (eight-legged, because two-four-legged creatures?) frivolity, it seems the only thing these two animals are chasing is joy.
No phones, no laptops, all ringers silent. Just frolicking and vibing and being in the moment. Who knows, maybe they were/are even roommates (read: denmates)!
