Stalled by Curiosity in the Middle of the Street
12 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in coexisting with coyotes, coyote behavior, coyote living areas
Fortunately, it was very early so morning traffic had not really begun. The one and only other car that went by was going at a very low speed. Rather than run for safety as the car approached, the coyote just stood there and stared as the car passed within only a few feet of itself.
As the photos show, this coyote began crossing the street, and then got stalled right in the middle at the double yellow line. There was some odor that caught its attention and it had to check it out. But even after that task was completed, the coyote just remained close to the center double dividing line where it looked around and trotted back and forth — acting a bit confused and bewildered in that large and open asphalted space. It was in the street for a total of about a minute, but it seemed much longer than that. Finally it crossed to the other side, urinated, and then, unbelievably, it did the same thing coming back. Luckily no more cars appeared.
Please watch for ALL wild animals on all roadways. Roadkill can be prevented if we keep our eyes open. The highest cause of death for coyotes in urban areas is being hit by a car.
Youngsters Are Emerging — Please Keep Your Distance!
16 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in care for the young, coexisting with coyotes, communication, coyote behavior, pupping
Youngster -- about three months old
Few people will ever see very young coyote pups due to the coyote’s secretive nature and to the extraordinary care of the parents. But, then again, you might be lucky. Until now, they have been kept well-hidden, but now they are beginning to move around in wider areas as they learn from their parents how to hunt and take care of themselves.
IF a youngster sees you, it is likely to flee quickly. But sometimes curiosity causes them to peek out and watch what is going on. Or, you might catch a family on a twilight trek.
Parents can be particularly edgy at this time of year if you get too close. If you know you are in a coyote area, please keep your dogs leashed and be ready for a protective mom. If you have a dog, it might be a good idea, for a while, to avoid areas where you have seen coyotes in the past. Dogs are the chief threats to coyotes and their pups.
It is best not to linger in their presence and to continue moving AWAY from any coyote you see. This allows them to feel that you are not after them — it allows them to feel safe. If a mother or father feels that their brood is endangered, they have ways of communicating this to your dog: they’ll put on ferocious displays to warn you and your dog off — this is their first line of defense — a scare tactic. Most of it is bluff, but please take heed, because mothers WILL defend themselves and their pups if they are, or feel they are, intruded upon or threatened in any way.
Yearling -- a year older
Coyotes are territorial, so they feel protective not only towards their families, but also towards their spaces, especially during this time when pups are beginning to explore the wider world. Coyotes treat “outsider” coyotes and dogs in the same manner and for the same reasons. Please let’s understand them and respect their needs!
Parenthood Confers Alpha Status, Not The Other Way Around, By Charles Wood
19 Apr 2011 1 Comment
I am writing this post to offer some ideas about the lost alpha status theory Janet proposed as a possible explanation for why her mom coyote didn’t have puppies this year or last. I also thank Janet for discussing this topic with me via email and for providing me with more information about coyote alpha behaviors.
My thinking is that alpha status is conferred by parenthood, that is, a coyote acquires alpha status by having children. Consequently, to say an adult coyote lost its alpha status is to say an adult coyote doesn’t currently have children. Lost alpha status describes an adult coyote that doesn’t have kids around. Yet it is not an explanation for why an adult coyote doesn’t have kids around. My thinking is that a coyote doesn’t require special status to be eligible to breed. Instead, a coyote who successfully breeds thereby obtains the special status of being a parent. As a parent it has the status of being an alpha to its children. These ideas are based on newer research done on the pack life of gray wolves, research that I am generalizing to the pack life of coyotes.
The term alpha male/female as applied to gray wolves is currently regarded as simply denoting a breeding gray wolf pair whose pack members, in most instances, are the children of the breeding pair. My understanding is that DNA analysis revealed a gray wolf pack to typically be a wolf nuclear family. Discredited is the notion of a dominant gray wolf pair suppressing breeding among its lower ranking pack members. Instead, generally speaking, the children comprising the gray wolf pack are simply not of breeding age. Even the usefulness of the term alpha is currently questioned.
“According to wolf biologist L. David Mech, “Calling a wolf an alpha is usually no more appropriate than referring to a human parent or a doe deer as an alpha. Any parent is dominant to its young offspring, so “alpha” adds no information”, however, there may still be a use for the term “alpha” in rare cases involving large packs, “The one use we may still want to reserve for “alpha” is in the relatively few large wolf packs comprised of multiple litters…[i]n such cases the older breeders are probably dominant to the younger breeders and perhaps can more appropriately be called the alphas.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack_(canine)
Perhaps a change is in order for the language used to describe coyote parent/child interaction. For example, descriptively I could say “certainly mom was perceived as alpha by her two boys for two years, hadn’t lost her alpha status. She had lost her mate and had become a single alpha mom.” Another way to say the same thing is “mom lost her mate and was the sole parent to her boys for two years and hadn’t lost her status as a parent”. To say it thus is to show that in this particular context the word alpha doesn’t add any information, as Mech opines.
I am also suggesting that mom doesn’t need any special status to be eligible to breed. The idea of having to have high status in a pack in order to be eligible to breed is part of a discredited view of how things work in a gray wolf pack. To breed, mom simply needs working equipment, a mate and some territory. To say it another way, she doesn’t need to be an alpha to breed. Instead, the fact of breeding successfully makes her an alpha. Rephrased, the fact of breeding successfully makes mom a parent. Parenthood (alpha) doesn’t precede breeding. It is the other way around.
The same would hold true for those ‘other’ coyotes rumored to be in the area. The other male and female needed no special alpha status to be eligible to breed. They only needed each other, working equipment and some territory. ‘Alpha status’, in the sense of ‘eligibility to breed’, probably never existed as anything other than human misconception.
Janet has mentioned that current literature on coyotes does use the term alpha. I find the term useful in explaining to dog owners why my dog Holtz pushed and shoved their dog around on a first meeting. It makes more sense to say “oh, he is an alpha” than to say that he has leadership skills. I do think the term has utility in describing a canine that by inclination tends to be dominant among its peers. In other contexts the term alpha may indeed carry additional information. The context where the term seems to have become inappropriate is in expressing “the idea of an aggressively dominant “alpha wolf” in gray wolf packs” (wiki/Pack canine link above), and if extension is allowed, to coyote packs as well.
Keeping A Safe Distance And Watching
03 Apr 2011 2 Comments
in coexisting with coyotes, coyote reactions to dogs
Here is a relaxed coyote watching dogs and walkers from a safe distance in one of our parks. Coyotes are curious and can be especially so about dog activity. Interest for this coyote perked up whenever there were dogs in the distance. The more active the dog, the more intense the interest. Very active dogs running off leash put the coyote on alert for fleeing, but as I watched, this time, the coyote never had the need to run off. Some people and dogs saw the coyote as it sat there, and some were totally oblivious to it. If this had been a mom with pups, and had she been chased, she might have felt the need to chase back and “herd” a dog away from herself or a pup with warning displays or even a nip to the butt.
Most hikers I’ve spoken to have told me that they actually look forward to seeing wildlife during their walks, including coyotes. The most responsible dog owners will glimpse a coyote and then head back, rather than get any closer to one who is out: this is to prevent the possibility of any antagonism developing in the first place, especially if they know young coyotes are around.
In some parks coyote activity dwindles to almost nothing at this time of year. I’m supposing that this has to do with it being pupping season. Extended coyote family members are all busy contributing to a new family by bringing food to any new moms. But even where there are no new pups, the coyotes are keeping more hidden at this time. However, last year at this time, we noticed that for the previous year’s litter, which were a year old — “teenagers” — coyote activity continued as usual! Teenagers of all species like to be out exploring and testing their environment! It’s part of the learning experience and part of growing up!
Meet The New Guys On The Block: Urban Coyotes
10 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
in coexisting with coyotes, coyote behavior
Please see WildCare’s February eNewsletter which has published my most recent article: Urban Coyotes Have Lives.
“The Last Lions” – Thoughts & Advocacy
09 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
in coexisting with coyotes, coyote behavior Tags: The Last Lions, The Last Lions Review
We just saw a special screening of The Last Lions. It opens on March 5th in Bay Area theaters, and February 18th in some other locations. It’s riveting!
The film-makers were able to follow and become familiar with lions as individuals, and as distinct personalities. More of this approach is needed if we are ever really to appreciate the rich and fascinating lives that wild animals have. Each individual animal has its own very personal story. Discovering some of these individual stories will help open up our own interest and understanding of them. This is what I, too, am attempting, with my own look at coyotes.
In telling this particular lion’s story, the film-makers reveal the lion’s depth of awareness, deep emotions and finely-tuned intelligence. Real animal intelligence is revealed in their daily lives and in their own environments — not as Time magazine might have you believe, in laboratories or in artificial human settings where we teach animals to mimic our own intelligence (“What Animals Think”, Time, August 16, 2010, pp. 36-43). What these scientists test is how many symbols an animal can learn and manipulate — and many animals are able to learn our system and manipulate a great quantity of symbols in complicated ways, revealing very complicated thought processes; but such tests reveal more about humans and our own limited human standards for understanding intelligence — as if language and symbols were the highest method by which animals might think or communicate. An animal’s true intelligence is going to be revealed in his own environment and in his own social system and with his own language; maybe we need to learn theirs.
We need more Jane Goodalls, who can help us figure out the depth these animals have, within their own environments and within their own social systems — interfering as little as possible so as to reveal them. This movie does just that.
The movie’s drama unfolds as, due to land scarcity caused by human encroachment — there are almost 8 billion humans in the world — a pride of lions takes over another’s territory. The movie’s development reveals much about depth of awareness, wisdom and intelligence of wild animals — a “sapience” few of us really appreciate to the extent we should, and few of us want to attribute at all to animals. For instance, animals have their own vast communication systems. They can minutely “read” other animals’ individual and group behavior, body language, vocalizations, emotion displays and gazes, and the ability to understand a situation and plan ahead for their own and their family’s survival. There is much going on far beyond what meets the human eye. There is a lot of fascinating drama out there in the animal world!
In the movie, you’ll see mutual affection and care between lion mates, and between a lion and her cubs — in particularly wrenching scenes the lioness searches and calls out for those she loves. In stunning and beautiful footage you will see rivalry, hostility, and the ability to form alliances. You will see leadership quality and the ability of others in a pride to “read” this quality and rally and work together when the time arrives to do so.
The talk afterwards by the film-makers, Beverly & Dereck Joubert, was as fascinating as the movie – and just as relevant to a coyote’s situation. Most importantly, they talked about the human tendency in Africa for “retribution-by-killing” whenever a cow is taken from a farmer by a lion. The same occurs with coyotes here, for instance when a farmer loses a goat to coyote, or when a cat disappears and is never found. This is when the call for culling coyotes begins anew, even though it is a policy which we’ve discovered in fact upsets a stable population and increases their numbers. Other solutions exist.
The big difference between lions and coyotes is that coyotes are not endangered. But humans have encroached on all territories so that both species are pressed for space. Each has its own way of coping. Coyotes are finding that, if they want to survive, they need to move into the same environments that we occupy — coyotes are coming into urban and suburban areas. Not all humans are happy with this. Because of fear and hate, often due to lack of knowledge, harmful rumors take hold which many humans are quick to believe and spread — upping the ante in human/animal confrontations each time, rather than verifying the facts.
Many of us look at wild animals — in real life or in pictures. But few of us have the patience or opportunity to stop and really observe what is actually going on. And here is the clincher for me: as I watched this movie, I could see that the fascinating full capacity for life which applies to individual lions is the same as what applies to our individual coyotes’ lives. We need to give these animals credit for these qualities — not something most of us are willing to do or even think too much about. Maybe doing so could help overcome the biggest danger to both of them: human fear and hate.
Please donate to the cause for which the movie was made: preservation of our vanishing lions whose population has fallen in just fifty short years from 450,000 to 20,000. Contact National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative, at www.causeanuproar.org.
Crossing A Busy Intersection Intelligently
06 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
in coexisting with coyotes, coyote behavior, coyote paths
I watched a coyote cross the street this morning. The coyote was very intelligent about it. There was a stop light. The coyote didn’t cross when all the cars were fully stopped at a red stop light. No. The coyote just stayed back and watched from the grass beyond the sidewalk. Then the traffic started up again, moving en masse, almost as one big object. The coyote crossed the street when that burst of cars had passed — it had waited on purpose for that moment. I was amazed! I’ve heard of coyotes using crosswalks and stop lights to cross busy streets. This one used the traffic lights, not as we might have, but nonetheless in a way that worked!
This individual coyote knows how to handle traffic and obviously has had plenty of luck doing so, at least lately. Two years ago this same coyote was struck by a car. I didn’t see the accident, but I did see the severe limp which lasted for well over a month. But an acquaintance actually saw the accident. We both immediately knew it was the same coyote because none of the others ever showed this kind of injury. One of the chief causes of death in urban coyotes is being struck by a car. Just a couple of days ago, at about 7:00 am, a coyote was fatally struck by a car as it wandered into the street. Please keep your eyes out for wildlife as you drive!
Eyes And Ears, by Charles Wood
02 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
in coexisting with coyotes, coyote behavior
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- newone
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- shyyounster
Today Holtz and I came across a new coyote. We were all in an easement north west across the river from my Los Angeles area coyotes’ main field. I’ve seen members of my group only occasionally in the easement I visited today. Holtz was off leash as we walked. A little ahead of me, he spotted something close by and out of my view. Holtz made a dash for it. I called him back, leashed him and walked over to see what, on the other side of a large tumbleweed, he had encountered. I saw a female coyote, older and larger than any of mine, exiting the easement to trot off south down the riverbed. We followed her for a block and a half as she boldly traveled the asphalt path along the river. A jogger was ahead of her, and the “New One” photograph shows her as a confident animal who continued to move toward the stopped jogger as he, well, what?
I was in that area earlier in January with Holtz off leash. He was to my north foraging in brush, out of my sight, when he started barking. I recognized his bark as the kind he uses on dogs. In mid bark he yelped once and went silent. I called him, moving north. He didn’t come. I stopped and wondered which way to go. I worried. Holtz then came out of the brush to my south, pleased with himself. I wondered how he got to my rear and why. I guessed he had encountered a coyote and found it wasn’t intimidated by his bark. I guessed that he learned a coyote can quickly maneuver and inflict a thump. I believed my calls and movement encouraged the coyote to run south. Holtz probably chased the coyote at the pace Holtz uses when he really doesn’t want to catch up.
It is difficult to interpret canine sounds, especially when they aren’t in view. Today Holt’s demeanor suggested he saw a coyote and I was able to confirm such by sighting it myself. In contrast, with only my ears to rely on, I can only speculate based on how well I know the meanings communicated by my dog’s various vocalizations. When the event is over the only debriefing I get from my dog comes from trying to assess his body language.
After we stopped following the new coyote today we went to my coyotes’ field. I was lucky enough to spot the smaller of the two youngsters. It’s timid and upon seeing us headed straight into the brush. I last saw it six weeks ago, which was also when I last saw Mom and Dad. The larger youngster I saw three times a week or so ago. Apparently there is a place in this world for large bold coyotes and small timid ones. Who could have predicted that of the seven pups these two so very different ones would become the survivors?
Posting written by Charles Wood. Visit Charles Wood’s website for these and more coyote photos:Charles Wood. His work is copyrighted and may only be used with his explicit permission.
“Coyote Behavior And Peaceful Coexistence With Humans And Dogs”
11 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in coexisting with coyotes Tags: coyote behavior, coyote coexistence, coyote peaceful coexistence with dogs
This article by me has been making the rounds!! It appeared in Jake Sigg’s Nature News on November 22, on the SFGate Peninsula Blog, and most recently in the December issue of the Marina Times, here in San Francisco, both in newsprint and in their e-edition!
FIRST: Coyote Coexistence Guidelines
15 Oct 2010 8 Comments
in coexisting with coyotes Tags: coyote behavior, coyote coexistence guidelines, coyotes, urban coyotes
Click on posters to enlarge them for easier reading.
