Intoxicated North Bay Coyotes Aren't on ‘Magic Mushrooms'

Reports of dazed coyotes who may have ingested "magic mushrooms" prior to bizarre encounters with humans may be at least a little off-base.

The Pacific Sun reported that coyotes in West Marin who have recently starred in bizarre confrontations with humans in cars may have eaten fly agaric mushrooms, which contain a psychoactive substance called muscimol.

The story went around the world, fueling tabloid headlines like "Coyotes are allegedly getting high on magic mushrooms" and "Coyotes tripping on magic mushrooms?"

While the fly agaric mushrooms have hallucinogenic properties, they aren't part of the group of fungi that commonly referred to as "magic mushrooms," which is slang for a popular recreational drug for humans. Magic mushrooms typically refer to mushrooms that contain a hallucinogenic substance called psylocybin.

Both can reportedly be found growing wild in the North Bay through the spring.

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