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Coyotes are being seen on the empty streets of San Francisco

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Re: Coyotes are being seen on the empty streets of San Francisco

#51

Post by resu_nimda »

philwelch wrote: post #29
aeturnum wrote: post #27

The "earth is healing, we are the virus" narrative is overblown (and ecofascistic), but it's good to remember that humans are not special. We push other life forms out of our spaces, but many of those life forms continue a marginal existence. The end of humanity would not be the end of life and being reminded of that is a useful check on our tendency to put ourselves at the center of "the" world (instead of just the…

Taking comfort in the potential extinction of humanity because at least there would be some non-sapient critters still around strikes me as an odd value system. Couldn't you make the analogous argument that the extinction of all life on Earth would be fine since it would have absolutely no effect on the vast majority of the universe?

Major extinction events have historically paved the way for new and interesting forms of life, including humans.

Re: Coyotes are being seen on the empty streets of San Francisco

#52

Post by Talanes »

simonw wrote: post #7

The first time I saw a Coyote was in broad daylight up on Corona Heights in San Francisco. I'd never even seen a photo of one before, but I knew what it was straight away because its face looked like Wile E Coyote!

I grew up in the rural deserts of Eastern California where coyotes are abundant, and never directly saw one once. Just the occasional rustling in the brushes and darting glances, and sometimes the flick of a glowing eye.

And then I come to San Francisco and one just walks past me and sniffs my hand while I'm going to the 7-11. Didn't even register that it wasn't just a dog until it had walked past.

It's crazy how much more comfortable around humans animals become in urban environments.

Re: Coyotes are being seen on the empty streets of San Francisco

#53

Post by kortilla »

jedberg wrote: post #38

I grew up in LA and while I don't live there anymore I've seen pictures from the last few days. Never in my life have I seen such blue skies over LA. And my parents don't ever remember it being clearer either. At least this shows what some stricter climate controls can do to both the climate and the economy and the tradeoffs involved.

Keep in mind stricter climate controls wouldn’t even hurt the economy this bad. A harsh carbon tax on all fossil fuels in exchange for COVID-19 to disappear to be gone would be a welcome relief to the economy.

Re: Coyotes are being seen on the empty streets of San Francisco

#56

Post by keeganpoppen »

52-6F-62 wrote: post #14
chrisco255 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coyotes have already done an excellent job of coexisting with humans. They are one of the most successful species at adapting to human civilization. Pigeons, rats, roaches, etc. also quite successful.

They are even pretty regularly seen around Toronto still. Normally they're just fine. They prefer to keep distance, but it's best to keep an eye. Any bold behaviour usually means they're hungry, which can lead to desperation. Them and raccoons, those devils.

haha-- i've heard this in reference to raccoons many times, and i've always wondered: what kinds of things to raccoons get up to that earn them such a universal designation (condemnation?)? like, surely even though a coyote technically doesn't impose (much of) a physical threat, it is more threatening than a raccoon... i do know that they are terribly fond of pulling lids off trash cans, etc., so i assume the annoyance power has at least something to do with it?

(they're so _cute_ though!... xD)

Re: Coyotes are being seen on the empty streets of San Francisco

#57

Post by yters »

robobro wrote: post #34
aeturnum wrote: post #27

The "earth is healing, we are the virus" narrative is overblown (and ecofascistic), but it's good to remember that humans are not special. We push other life forms out of our spaces, but many of those life forms continue a marginal existence. The end of humanity would not be the end of life and being reminded of that is a useful check on our tendency to put ourselves at the center of "the" world (instead of just the…

> ecofascism Oh, you're a "social ecologist" aren't you? There is nothing fascist or right-leaning in the notion that human activity largely has a negative impact on the natural world.

Haven't humans also cultivated much of the natural world? Some ecosystems fall apart once humans leave.

Re: Coyotes are being seen on the empty streets of San Francisco

#58

Post by bdamm »

jedberg wrote: post #38

I grew up in LA and while I don't live there anymore I've seen pictures from the last few days. Never in my life have I seen such blue skies over LA. And my parents don't ever remember it being clearer either. At least this shows what some stricter climate controls can do to both the climate and the economy and the tradeoffs involved.

Walking around my neighborhood and the silence is absolutely sublime. Airplanes, cars, highway noise, all diminished. The birds and chirps and friendly "Hellos" are amplified. It's bee n marvelous.

Re: Coyotes are being seen on the empty streets of San Francisco

#59

Post by yters »

aeturnum wrote: post #27

The "earth is healing, we are the virus" narrative is overblown (and ecofascistic), but it's good to remember that humans are not special. We push other life forms out of our spaces, but many of those life forms continue a marginal existence. The end of humanity would not be the end of life and being reminded of that is a useful check on our tendency to put ourselves at the center of "the" world (instead of just the…

What if humans are special, and help hold ecosystems together? We know of some, like the great plains and the redwood forests, where lack of human management leads to ecosystem breakdown.

Re: Coyotes are being seen on the empty streets of San Francisco

#60

Post by asveikau »

as-j wrote: post #37

As an early morning runner in SF, I see coyotes in SF every week or two, including at Twin peaks as mentioned in the article. One morning in Golden Gate Park I warned a few people walkings dogs since there were about 4 coyotes around the corner. From my first hand experience, I'd assume any wooded area with cover in SF has a coyote living there.

Not only that, many SF parks have signs warning about this, even years before the pandemic.

That they would wander out of the wooded areas is no shock. A couple years ago I saw one strolling along the sidewalk in the Presidio not far from Main Post, acting more or less the same way a tourist would.

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