Woman caught on camera feeding raw meat to California coyotes. Why that’s a bad idea

San Francisco officials say they’re trying to identify a woman who was photographed serving raw meat to coyotes.

San Francisco Animal Care & Control said in a statement Wednesday it’s gotten reports of the animals being fed by a “particularly egregious coyote feeder”, SFGate reported. The agency shared a picture of a woman holding a plate of meat on Bernal Hill in San Francisco.

“The same person allegedly feeds coyotes in other locations around the city,” the agency said, according to the publication. “If anyone can identify this person, please call Animal Care & Control at 415-554-9400.”

Feeding coyotes can make them less wary and more likely to look at people as a food source, Virginia Donohue, executive director at San Francisco Animal Care & Control, told KTVU.

Officials said humans feeding coyotes led to euthanizing one in July after the animal approached toddlers at San Francisco Botanical Garden, according to the station.

“We were certainly very alarmed to see them approaching children. That’s not natural behavior,” Donohue said to KTVU.

Anyone who is caught feeding coyotes faces possible jail time or a fine up to $1,000, NBC Bay Area reported.

Vanessa Barragan, who lives next to Bernal Heights Park, told CBS San Francisco that she’s seen multiple people feeding coyotes.

“There’s a lot of people that sympathize with them, so they feed them all sorts of treats,” she said to the station.

There are about 250,000 to 750,000 coyotes in California, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.

This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 11:25 AM with the headline "Woman caught on camera feeding raw meat to California coyotes. Why that’s a bad idea."