SEE: Coyotes On Campus Inspire Awe And Curiosity At UCSC

SANTA CRUZ, CA — Sure, the University of California, Santa Cruz is all about the banana slug, a species endemic to the Golden State. But ask around and you'll learn that there have been several sightings of a feared and revered species that frequents the campus: coyotes.

Students who report seeing the campus coyotes on Reddit say they often see the animals after dusk or in the early hours of the morning. Coyotes have been around the campus for at least the three decades that Michael Bolte, a UCSC astronomy professor and wildlife photographer, has spent with the university.

Bolte said he's become known as "the coyote guy" on campus. People send him emails with information on coyote sightings. UCSC shuttle bus drivers fill him in on coyote encounters during his commute.

"I have kind of a biased point of view, but I think overall people ... (are) excited to see coyotes," he said.

Some 20 or 30 coyotes tend to traverse through UCSC, with about nine regulars that Bolte sees fairly often. Coyotes look alike upon first glance, but the high-quality photos he takes allow him to differentiate between animals' spot patterns.

The young coyotes are playful and can be seen laying on their backs.

"They're just kind of like big puppies," Bolte said.

Watch: UCSC coyotes playfully greet each other

Coyotes grow up pretty quick. They tend to mate in January or February, have a short two-month pregnancy and give birth to pups in March or April, he said. People tend to see coyotes more often around fall, as coyote parents keep pups hidden in dens and forage for food to bring back for their young.

They hunt all day long, relying on their ears for signs of prey, Bolte said. When they pick up on something, coyotes pause and tilt their heads, moving their ears to hear at different angles.

Bolte feels that people are more afraid of coyotes attacking small pets than they need to me. They more often eat small animals or crickets.

Three main coyote clans tend to gather on campus, on the Great Meadow, Mima Meadow and meadows at the north end of campus, up from Empire Grade. Bolte believes the coyotes use the campus as a means of getting from one open field to another.

It's hard to get a good count of the coyotes on campus and determine whether the local population has grown, Bolte said, but he suspects that coyote sighting reports have become somewhat more common.

Documenting coyotes on campus is important as Santa Cruz becomes increasingly urban, Bolte said. He worries that coyotes will lose quiet, safe places to den.

"As we start to eliminate (open spaces) by building more and more, that's hard on wildlife," he said.

And coyotes aren't the only wildlife at UCSC — students report seeing deer and turkeys. Bolte has even caught mountain lions on some motion-activated cameras he's set up on campus.

The campus community must coexist with its coyote neighbors and do its part to ensure that the animals don't get too comfortable with people, he said. People should treat coyotes as wild animals. If animals get too close, make noise, raise your arms to look threatening or do something to scare them away.

But if you're at a safe distance, take a moment to appreciate the playful prowess of the UCSC coyotes. You can admire Bolte's photos of Santa Cruz coyotes and other animals in the slideshow above to on his Flickr profile.

Watch coyotes play and howl: