San Diego County Sees a Rise in Urban Coyotes

Increasingly occurring within its urban neighbourhoods and public spaces, San Diego County encounters a heightened presence of urban coyotes. 

As FOX 5 San Diego reports, "residents in the University City community, for example, have reported an increase in coyote sightings within a less than mile radius of the Westfield UTC shopping mall in recent months." Similarly, the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources database also reports coyotes "in the county as far north as Oceanside to as far south as Otay Mesa near the U.S.-Mexico border..."

Concerning the reason behind these coyote encounters, the San Diego Humane Society states, “coyotes are highly adaptable animals who have learned to thrive in urban and suburban environments due to habitat loss, availability of food sources, and lack of natural predators."

Although coyotes naturally exist in open habitats, such as forests, deserts, or grasslands, they may move toward cities when their food source and water supply are low. As stated by the Humane Society, "coyotes may be seen in urban environments because as cities expand, their natural habitats become smaller, forcing them to seek new homes." 

Going forward, the San Diego Humane Society encourages locals to remain educated and informed on the potential of coyote interactions, which includes developing coexistence practices with these wild animals.