Sometimes, we want to bring our readers some of the joys of our parks, not just the threats to them. Besides being our green spaces and forests, they are the habitat for all kinds of wildlife.

Watch this happy coyote having fun with a ball and a stick! It’s a delightful 3 1/2-minute short film by Wildlife photographer and coyote champion, Janet Kessler, who has spent the last ten years observing and documenting coyote behavior in our parks. It was shown at the Bernal Heights Film Festival, and is linked here with permission.

When we asked if we could use it, Janet had a message for us: “These animals need their habitat left alone. They need the thickets — that are being removed and thinned by the Natural Areas Program — as safe-havens and harborage areas.”

[The Natural Areas Program has renamed itself the Natural Resources Department.]