Caltech Wildlife: Coyotes on Campus

Photos courtesy of Jieyu Zheng.

You have probably walked along Catalina Ave. near Caltech or on Caltech campus and have seen the signs warning of coyote activity in the area. Perhaps you have even seen coyotes yourself on campus! I’ve definitely had my fair share of coyote sightings on campus. One day I came out of lab and walked past the lawn on S. Wilson Ave. near the Broad Center. There chilling on the lawn was a coyote by himself. I looked at him. He looked at me. I walked on the sidewalk. He sat on the lawn. When my sidewalk path neared him on the grass, I kept my trajectory clear and steady, but turned to the coyote as he watched me, and I gave him a subtle nod and said “’sup”. He looked at me, unphased and calm. I was also unphased and calm. I continued walking and he continued chillin’.

I’ve heard several stories from friends and labmates that they’ve seen people’s pet dogs get attacked by coyotes near campus. Indeed, when I walk my dog, other dog owners walking their dogs make sure to tell me and other dog owners out on their walks about any coyotes they passed up ahead. One evening I saw a coyote hanging out on someone’s driveway in front of me while I walked my dog. I started stomping my feet and walking faster toward it—which also in the process startled my own dog and he started walking faster with me. The coyote, still a ways ahead of us, got nervous and walked off the sidewalk and further up the driveway closer to the house it was near. I scooped up my dog, and then started stomping my feet louder and walking faster towards it. It stared at me and I could tell it was scared. I stared at it and made a facial expression that was angry. I locked eyes with it and continued to charge forward on my way on the sidewalk. As I got closer, it got more scared and ran into the bushes to hide. I passed the driveway it was on and kept on walking along the path. I continued looking back to keep showing the coyote, wherever it might be hiding, that I was still angry and someone not to be messed with. When I was a few houses away, I finally saw the coyote emerge from the bushes. It timidly watched me continue to get farther away from it, but I turned back around every so often to keep staring angrily at it to impress upon it that we are not to be followed. Every time I looked back and glared at it, it stopped moving and waited. When we finally made it to the end of the block, the coyote continued to stay where it was and did not follow. I set my dog down and we continued our walk.

On another occasion, I was walking south on S. Wilson Ave. heading towards E. California Blvd. and saw a coyote ripping the dead flesh from a squirrel or some other small rodent. I had never seen a coyote eating another animal before. It was eating in the middle of the street and kept looking up at me, darting out of the way of passing cars. Once a car would pass, the coyote would return to its meal. I continued to walk on the sidewalk and the coyote continued to stand in the street. Again, I made my path and direction clear to the coyote that I was forward moving and staying on the sidewalk. But I looked at it as I kept a steady pace to make sure it wasn’t going to perceive me as a threat, or to make sure it wasn’t sick and going to attack unprompted. He looked at me. I looked at him. I made a calm face, reassuring him that he was fine and safe. And I kept walking forward. He looked at me, wanting to continue eating but also wanting to be sure I wasn’t going to approach him in the street. I walked past him and he kept eating.

I found it odd that the feasting coyote seemed to be able to read my facial expressions. Really, all the coyotes I have seen around campus seemed to read my facial expressions. This surprised me, as I once watched a Netflix documentary called Inside the Mind of A Dog. Apparently, dogs and wolves share 99.9% of the same DNA. However, dogs differ significantly in that they can read and interact with humans through non-verbal means (namely, facial expressions). According to a 2019 Smithsonian Magazine article, dogs have a facial muscle called the levator anguli oculi medialis (LAOM) which allows them to raise the inner eyebrow to widen their eyes or make facial expressions with their eyebrows. This is a muscle that is not used or missing entirely from wolves. Hence, studies between wolf pups and dog pups found that wolf pups can’t read human facial expressions or communicate with humans via facial expressions the same way as dog pups can. This made me wonder where coyotes fall on this Canines spectrum. Indeed, the article went on to report that coyotes, too, can make use of their LAOM and communicate well with facial expressions.

I’ve heard several people say that they are afraid when they encounter coyotes on campus, but they are not likely to hurt humans. According to clawonline.org/coyote-faq, in L.A. County only 13 people were reported to have been attacked by a coyote (in 2015) whereas 7,623 dogs were attacked by coyotes (in 2009). It’s important to keep small pets safe from coyotes, but people are less likely to be a target of coyotes. Coyotes are omnivores, so they are often attracted to food waste left out in urban areas or the rodents that are attracted to food waste left out in the open. Coyotes are most active around dawn, dusk, and nighttime. Last year, Caltech put out an alert about the many coyote sitings on campus. To reiterate their message, if a coyote attacks a person or a pet, immediately contact the nearest Department of Fish and Game or law enforcement office. If you encounter a coyote and feel threatened, call Caltech Security at 626-395-5000 (Ext. 5000) and then get to safety.

Stay tuned for the next article about Caltech Wildlife, where we explore the colorful happenings around campus with squirrels!