Tagged coyote might have trekked from San Francisco
DEAR JOAN >> We live in the Thousand Oaks area just south of Capitol Auto Mall. Over the past few months, we have seen a couple of coyotes roaming our neighborhood and parks. Recently, we noticed one of them had a tag on its ear. Any idea who would do this and what information we can retrieve from this apparent monitoring?
Also, there are two gray foxes living in a neighbor's backyard and roaming our fences. Will they eventually move on?
— Dennis, San Jose
DEAR DENNIS >> Your visiting coyote might be part of a tagging program conducted by biologists and scientists with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Presidio Trust in San Francisco.
In 2015, the Presidio Trust captured 16 coyotes in the park, tagged them, gave them temporary radio collars and released them. More recently, a handful of coyotes were tagged and collared in the Marin Headlands area.
The tagging and tracking are attempts to learn more about coyotes' movements and activities to help wildlife specialists manage the animals.
While it seems improbable that a coyote would travel from San Francisco to San Jose, it's happened. One of the tracked coyotes went from the Presidio down to the South Bay in just a month, before he was struck by a car and killed on Highway 280.
Researchers like to hear from citizens who spot any of these tagged coyotes. You can snap a photo and submit it, along with details, through the iNaturalist web site, www.inaturalist.org or by installing the app on your phone.
Approach coyotes, tagged or not, with caution, keeping a safe distance. If you're with a dog, make sure to keep it on a leash.
As for the foxes, they aren't a big threat to humans, although they can be to small animals. Foxes are normally afraid of humans, but if they've found a warm, sheltering place to bear their kits and have access to food, they can hang around for several months.
Your neighbor or someone else in the neighborhood might be feeding them, which can make them less wary. Although the foxes are likely to move on eventually, and they probably won't cause you any trouble, it's best for them to move out of a populated area and keep their distance from people. Whenever you see them in your yard, make loud noises to frighten them.
Helium balloons
I had a few emails from folks upset that I suggested tethering helium balloons in front of windows to keep birds from pecking at the windows and their own reflections. I should have stressed that you should make certain the balloons are secured and won't accidentally float away. Abandoned balloons and their strings present an entanglement danger to other animals.
There also is concern over our helium supply. Estimates on the percentage of helium used by the balloon industry range from 7% to more than 10%, but shortages last year of the gas used for medical and scientific equipment, brought helium rationing.