News Release

Coyote struck by car, killed

Coyote on Badwater Road a few weeks before it was killed by a car.

NPS photo by Bill Sloan

News Release Date: December 29, 2023

Contact: Abby Wines

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. – A coyote was struck by a car and killed on Christmas Day in Death Valley National Park. The coyote had been begging for food along Badwater Road near Golden Canyon for the preceding months.

“We tried hazing it away from the road by shooting it with a paintball gun and pepper spray,” said Superintendent Mike Reynolds. “The only thing the coyote learned was to stay away from park rangers!” 

It is illegal to feed wildlife within Death Valley National Park. Feeding wildlife often later causes that animal’s death. Wildlife that have been fed by people learn to cross roads when they see a car coming. They learn that this behavior sometimes triggers the car to stop and feed them.