Coyote stops traffic on I-280 in San Francisco for over an hour

A coyote stopped southbound traffic on Interstate 280 near Mission Bay in San Francisco for more than an hour on Thursday morning, officials said.

A driver first spotted the animal behind yellow sand barrels near the Fifth and King streets onramp at 8 a.m. and alerted officials, said Deb Campbell, a spokesperson for Animal Care and Control.

“It is unusual,” Campbell told SFGATE “We get a lot of calls about coyotes doing various things … but this is different for us.”

The San Francisco Police Department, California Highway Patrol and Animal Care and Control came together to stop traffic and encourage the animal to run off the freeway, Campbell said. The animal was not captured.

“We just escorted it to a place where it was safe, where it wasn’t around a lot of people,” she added.

The animal appeared unharmed, Campbell said, and officers responding to the scene did not notice any limping. 

Traffic was stopped for about an hour, according to Campbell. CHP wasn’t immediately available to answer questions about the freeway being shutdown.

Coyotes are frequently seen roaming San Francisco neighborhoods. It’s unknown how many call the city home.  

“We estimate dozens, less than 100” live here, Campbell said. “That’s anecdotal, there hasn’t been a serious tracking study to-date.”

The animals are shy and generally keep to themselves, rarely behaving aggressively toward humans. Problems between humans and coyotes arise when people feed the coyotes, Campbell said. 

“Everyone has different opinions about coyotes,” she said. “Where we run into problems is when people love them too much and feed them. If they go about their usual business eating gophers and such, they’re a benefit. But when they eat Meow Mix, they become a problem.” 

Coyotes can also act agressively when they feel threatened or are protecting their young, according to Animal Care and Control.

The agency advises that people keep cats indoors and dogs on leashes to avoid run-ins with coyotes.