SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A cute coyote made headlines this fall when it was caught on camera enjoying a nap in one San Francisco home’s pristine backyard.
The young male “couch coyote” spent a quiet November morning snoozing on an outdoor couch until an animal control officer encouraged him to move on. A new article by Time magazine revealed that the viral photographs were shot in the backyard of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s mansion.
The article celebrated Altman as 2023’s “CEO of the Year.” Altman told Time that his firing and re-hiring at OpenAI did not rattle him enough to lose any sleep over. But the wild coyote does when it scratches on his backdoor.
“What keeps him up at night these days is something far more prosaic: an urban coyote that has colonized the grounds of his $27 million home in San Francisco,” Time wrote.
The OpenAI CEO said he thinks the coyote is “very cute,” but also “very annoying at night.”
Animal Care & Control San Francisco Officer Mullen said he went to the mansion to make sure the coyote was healthy and OK. “I approached the coyote and started talking to him, telling him that it was time to get up. He looked at me, got up, took a big stretch and made his way to the edge of the yard,” Mullen wrote.
Mullen said the wild coyote was likely kicked out of its den and was trying to find a new place to live. As it turns out, the coyote has expensive taste.
Altman said the animal basically “moved into my house,” Time reported.