California Outdoors Q&A

Coyote ID

Q: How can I tell the difference between a coyote, fox and a wolf?

A: Coyotes (Canis latrans) are highly adaptable animals that can be found in a variety of habitats throughout Central and North America. Of all the wild canids in California, there are typically more coyotes in urban and suburban environments. They have adapted to surviving, and often thriving, alongside humans in many California communities. They are often confused with domesticated dogs, foxes and gray wolves.

Coyotes are larger than foxes but smaller than gray wolves. They typically weigh between 10 to 35 pounds with a shoulder height of 18 to 23 inches. A coyote’s coat is usually a mixture of brown, gray and tan with black strands. Coyotes have a bushy tail with a black tip that usually hangs downward. Coyotes are significantly smaller than wolves and have a sleeker build, narrower snout, smaller paws and proportionally larger, more pointed ears than those of a wolf.

Foxes are smaller than coyotes and have smaller, more pointed snouts. Identifying coyote pups can be challenging because they can look like baby foxes, called kits. However, coyote pups are usually larger than fox kits and have larger and more rounded snouts. California is home to gray fox, island fox, red fox and kit fox.

Each year, typically during spring and summer, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) receives reports of coyote pups that have been misidentified as orphaned or “stray” domesticated puppies and taken from their habitat. Separating a coyote pup from its mother can be detrimental. Once separated from its family group, a coyote pup may not learn natural healthy behaviors and the survival skills necessary to be safely returned to the wild. If you come across a coyote or other wildlife, it’s best to leave it alone and contact your CDFW regional office.

To learn more visit CDFW’s Keep Me Wild: Coyote web page or this fact sheet on Distinguishing Between Coyotes, Wolves and Dogs (PDF).

Wildlife Watch

Q: How do I get my community involved in CDFW’s Wildlife Watch program?

A: Wildlife Watch is an educational outreach program designed to help communities co-exist with wildlife. The Wildlife Watch team works with local communities and organizations to develop wildlife management plans. These plans often include outreach to neighbors and community members on how to minimize human-wildlife conflict with coyotes, racoons, bears, mountain lions, wild pigs, turkeys and other wildlife that live amongst us. This often involves teaching neighbors to minimize or eliminate attractants such as pet food and unsecured trash. Plans may also incorporate humane and proactive use of nonlethal deterrents and nonlethal corrective actions.

If you’re interested in bringing Wildlife Watch to your community, reach out to the city manager or assistant city manager where you live. If you need assistance making that connection or identifying the right contact, please contact Human Dimensions of Wildlife Conservation Research Scientist Alex Heeren at Alexander.Heeren@Wildlife.ca.gov.

Wildlife Watch works with all types of local jurisdictions including cities, counties, towns and townships. They also work with local organizations such as councils of governments. CDFW encourages people from any type of community or neighborhood organization to reach out to see if Wildlife Watch is a fit!

Beaver policy

Q: I was reading about CDFW’s new policy on beaver depredation. How does the new policy differ from CDFW’s previous stance on beaver management?

A: CDFW has always recognized the ecological and intrinsic value of beavers as a native species, and the new policy aligns CDFW with the nature-based role beavers play in aiding habitat management, ecosystem restoration and increasing resiliency to climate change and wildfire.

The new policy takes into consideration the role of beavers as ecosystem engineers and aligns with our increased understanding of nature-based solutions and individual species impacts. The new policy guides how CDFW staff respond to beaver depredation complaints and the issuance of depredation permits, which are (and already were) required for the take of beavers causing property damage. The new policy also promotes non-lethal deterrents that can prevent or reduce damage from beaver activity. In California, beavers are classified as furbearers. As of 2020, they may no longer be trapped for recreational or commercial purposes. Any owner or tenant of land or property that is being damaged or destroyed, or is in danger of being damaged or destroyed, may apply to CDFW for a lethal or nonlethal depredation permit to take the offending animals, per California Fish and Game Code section 4181.

Free Fishing

Q: I live in another state. If I’m visiting California, can I participate in one of CDFW’s free fishing days?

A: Yes, you can! CDFW offers two free fishing days per year when anyone can fish without purchasing a fishing license. California Fish and Game Code section 7149.7 allows both residents and nonresidents to fish on these days without a sportfishing license and without payment of any fee. Note that all other rules and regulations applicable to the holder of a sportfishing license apply. These include season restrictions, size and bag limits, tags and tagging requirements, fishing hours, stream closures and report card requirements.

CDFW’s next free fishing day is Saturday, Sept. 2. Free fishing days are an amazing, low-cost opportunity to give fishing a try. CDFW’s Fishing in the City Program offers in-person clinics that teach fishing fundamentals to aspiring anglers in metropolitan areas.

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Trading sport-caught fish

Q: If I catch bluefin tuna on a charter boat, can I trade it for fishing gear?

A: No. It is not legal to trade sport-caught fish for fishing gear. California Fish and Game Code (FGC) section 7121 prohibits selling or purchasing sport-caught fish – and the definition of “sell” includes barter, exchange or trade (FGC, section 75).

Urban coyotes

Q: What’s the best way to haze urban coyotes?

A: Hazing is a process designed to scare animals away and instill in them a fear of humans, which is done for both public safety and the well-being of the animal. For the general public, here are a few hazing techniques that can work with coyotes: Making yourself look as big and scary as possible, waving your arms above your head, vocalizing aggressively toward the coyote while maintaining eye contact, stomping your feet and taking a few steps in the coyote’s direction (while maintaining a safe distance), throwing rocks or sticks toward the coyote, using a shaker can (a can filled with coins or some other small object that when shaken makes a loud noise), using a garbage bag by shaking it open so it makes noise, or using an airhorn or water gun.

For hazing to be effective, people need to continue to haze the coyote until it completely leaves the area. Many people will haze the coyote and then stop once the coyote takes a few steps away. However, it’s crucial to continue hazing until the coyote completely leaves the area.

More information about living with urban coyotes can be found on California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Keep Me Wild web page. Additionally, CDFW’s Wildlife Watch Program produced a document on coyote hazing techniques (PDF). People who are experiencing problems with urban coyotes are encouraged to submit a Wildlife Incident Report. CDFW also helped produce this short video about living with coyotes (Video).

CDFW’s goal is to help people and wildlife coexist, and that includes native predators like coyotes. Coyotes occupy an extremely important niche in our ecosystem. They help keep rodents under control and scavenge carrion (remains of dead animals), which helps keep neighborhoods clean.

Remember that hazing must always be done safely and from a distance. If there is an immediate danger to public safety, or if a coyote has bitten or scratched a human, get to a safe location and call 911.

Crab loop traps

Q: Can two crab loop traps be used simultaneously on one fishing pole?

A: Yes. It is legal to have two crab loop traps used simultaneously on one fishing pole. However, if you’re on a public pier, no person shall use more than two rods and lines, two hand lines, or two nets, traps or other appliances used to take crabs, per California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 14, section 28.65(b). Also see CCR, Title 14, section 29.80 which covers gear restrictions for recreational take of saltwater crustaceans. A hook is not a legal method of take for crabs. If you’re going to use crab loop traps, you’ll need to tie the trap onto the line instead of using a hook. Bottom line: While fishing for crabs from a public pier in ocean waters, you can either have two poles with one loop trap tied on each, or one pole with two loop traps.

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Coyotes

Q: I live in a condominium complex in Orange County, and coyotes sometimes run around the building – which worries those of us who have small dogs. Can I legally shoot a coyote with a compound bow if I obtain a California hunting license?

A: Assuming you are asking specific to the condominium complex where you describe seeing the coyote, the quick answer is no. Here’s why:

Per California Code of Regulations, Title 14, section 472(a), a coyote is categorized as a nongame mammal. This means you can hunt them if you have a hunting license and a legal place to hunt. Coyotes may be taken at any time of the year and in any number, and archery equipment is a legal method of take. However, most cities restrict the discharge of a firearm in urban areas like those with condominium complexes. Many municipalities further restrict the discharge of archery equipment, and pellet rifles as well. You would have to check your local ordinances to see what is prohibited.

After those possible restrictions, here's the primary law that would prohibit you from hunting a coyote in or very near your condominium complex: California Fish and Game Code section 3004(a) makes it unlawful for a person, other than the owner, person in possession of the premises, or a person having the express permission of the owner or person in possession of the premises, while within 150 yards of an occupied dwelling house, residence or other building, or within 150 yards of a barn or other outbuilding used in connection with an occupied dwelling house, residence or other building, to either hunt or discharge a firearm or other deadly weapon while hunting. The 150-yard area is a “safety zone.”

We encourage you to visit CDFW’s Keep Me Wild page where you’ll find information on how to best coexist with coyotes and prevent attracting them in the first place. You can also reach out to CDFW’s regional offices or submit a Wildlife Incident Report online if you’re experiencing conflicts with coyotes in your community.

Legal buck?

Q: This past deer season, my hunting friends and I got into a heated debate about whether the buck in the photo would be legal to harvest. What would CDFW say? The photo is from a trail camera on a ranch where we have permission to shoot.

A: Great question! Thanks for the photo. Yes, the buck – or male deer – in your photo is legal to take during deer season with a proper deer tag for the zone and a valid hunting license. A California deer tag that allows the harvest of a buck has a minimum requirement of a buck that is forked horn or better. California Code of Regulations, Title 14, section 351 defines a forked-horn buck as a “male deer having a branched antler on either side with the branch in the upper two-thirds of the antler. Eyeguards or other bony projections on the lower one-third of the antler shall not be considered as points or branches.”

While the deer in your photo is missing an antler on one side, it clearly has a branched antler on the other side with the branch in the upper two-thirds of the antler, which makes it legal. If the buck is still out on the landscape, he will likely look much different next season. Male deer shed their antlers annually and regrow them through the spring and summer. Deer antlers get bigger each year so this should be a fine-looking animal if you’re lucky enough to encounter it next deer season.

Spearfishing

Q: Can I spearfish in freshwater inland lakes, streams and rivers?

A: There are only a few inland waters where spearfishing is allowed, and the species that can be taken by spearfishing is limited. Information on location and species can be found in CDFW’s California Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations booklet.

The definition of “spearfishing” comes from California Code of Regulations, Title 14, section 1.76:

The taking of fish by spear or hand by persons who are in the water and may be using underwater goggles, face plates, breathing tubes, scuba or other artificial underwater.

Locations for spearfishing can be found in California Code of Regulations, Title 14, section 2.30. Spearfishing is permitted only in:

1. The Colorado River District for carp, tilapia, goldfish and mullet, all year.
2. The Valley District and Black Butte Lake (Tehama County) for carp, tilapia, goldfish, striped bass, western sucker, Sacramento blackfish, hardhead, Sacramento pikeminnow and lamprey, from May 1 through Sept. 15, except that no spearfishing is permitted in:
   • Shasta County (see Section 2.12).
   • Tehama County except Black Butte Lake.
   • Butte Creek (Butte Co.).
   • Feather River below Oroville Dam (Butte Co.).
   • Designated salmon spawning areas (See California Fish and Game Code section 1505).
3. The Kern River from the Kern-Tulare county line upstream to the Johnsondale Bridge for carp, goldfish, western sucker, hardhead and Sacramento pikeminnow, from May 1 through Sept.15.
4. See bullfrogs (Section 5.05).

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Featured in photo: CDFW Environmental Scientist Ed Roberts
Photo credit: E.W. Roberts IV

Crab traps

Q: Are recreational crab traps allowed to be fished once Dungeness crab season ends?

A: The Dungeness crab recreational season will close statewide Saturday, July 30. Once the season ends, crab traps to take crabs other than Dungeness are allowed north of Pt. Arguello (Santa Barbara County) to the Oregon state line.

As a reminder, the crab trap rules that went into effect November 1, 2021, would still apply and can be found on this flyer (PDF).

We also have some useful FAQs regarding these new crab trap rules.

Stay tuned in October for notices regarding the use of crab traps prior to the start of the 2022-23 Dungeness crab season currently scheduled for Saturday, November 5, 2022.

Nesting birds

Q: How do I protect nesting birds while pruning or removing trees and vegetation in my yard?

A: To protect nesting birds, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) recommends working in your yard outside of nesting bird season which for many bird species in California is February through August. However, nesting season can vary based on location and species of bird, and in some parts of the state, birds nest year-round. If you must work when birds could be nesting, consider hiring a consulting biologist to conduct a nesting bird survey before doing any work. If nesting birds are present, a biologist can recommend an appropriate buffer area where you can refrain from doing yardwork. You could also delay your yardwork until nesting is complete.

CDFW genuinely appreciates you thinking of nesting birds while managing trees and plants in your yard. Many California birds do nest in backyard trees, bushes and even on the ground. Nesting birds are particularly sensitive to human disturbance and may abandon their nest, eggs and/or young due to human presence and noise. Additionally, pruning or removing vegetation can inadvertently crush, destroy or remove active bird nests.

The California Fish and Game Code (FGC) contains several sections outlining protections for birds, their eggs and nests. FGC section 3503 covers unlawful take, possession or needless destruction of nests or eggs of any bird. FGC section 3503.5 covers unlawful take, possession or destruction of birds of prey or their nests or eggs. FGC Section 3513 covers unlawful take of any migratory nongame bird. In addition, the California Endangered Species Act, beginning at FGC section 2050, prohibits take of threatened or endangered birds. Nesting birds may also be protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the federal Endangered Species Act.

Coyotes

Q: What can I do to scare aggressive coyotes away from my property? My neighbor told me it is illegal to do much of anything to haze them away.

A: A great place to start is CDFW’s Keep Me Wild: Coyotes web page, which has lots of good information on how to prevent coyotes from being attracted to your property in the first place. CDFW also helped produce this short video about living with coyotes. CDFW’s goal, and an important part of our mission, is to help people and wildlife coexist — and that includes native predators like coyotes. Coyotes occupy an extremely important niche in our ecosystem. They help keep rodents under control and regularly scavenge carrion (remains of dead animals), which helps keep neighborhoods clean. In California, people can legally haze coyotes away from themselves or their property if approached. We recommend standing tall and shouting aggressively at an approaching coyote or one that is too close for comfort. Using an airhorn, whistle or shaking a can with small stones or coins can also scare a coyote away. Remember to remain calm and slowly back away from the coyote, but do not run. California FGC section 4152 does allow landowners or tenants to lethally remove coyotes that pose a risk to public safety or cause property damage, but actions must comply with all local and state laws, including county or city prohibitions on the discharge of a firearm. Also see FGC section 4004 and California Code of Regulations, Title 14, section 465.5. If there is an immediate danger to public safety, or if a coyote has bitten or scratched a human, please take whatever measures are necessary to get to a safe location and call 911.