Low Key Rendezvous, by Charles Wood
29 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in coyote behavior, family interactions, greetings, group activity, video Tags: coyote behavior, coyotes, urban coyotes
Sunday I videoed my Los Angeles area coyotes as they met up for the evening. In the video, Dad and Mom stand in the back while Tom wanders and Mister sits. About a minute into the video Mister appears to ask Mom for a kiss. I believe there was a fifth coyote hidden in the brush. It may be the one that ran to catch up with the other four.
It was nice to see Dad and the others practically indifferent to Holtz and me. Their stares were low key and they were relaxed enough to instead be attentive to each other. Mister didn’t feel he had to prove something to everybody, even stopped staring. Only Mom felt strongly enough about us to mark. Their tails said to me they were ready to explode in joy except for the man and dog. Sunday the five arrived at approximately the same time, greeted and then moved along to where they go most evenings. They had a place to be off to and each knew it as they met.
Mom Sentry
At times one or two show up ahead of the others. Mom did a few days ago while teenage boys were spray painting under the bridge. She sat on higher ground and watched the boys while watching for her pack to gather. When I arrived there I pointed her out to their amazement. You just never know who is watching you tag.
Posting written by Charles Wood. Visit Charles Wood’s website for more coyote photos: Charles Wood. His work is copyrighted and may only be used with his explicit permission.
Three Coyotes, by Charles Wood
21 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in communication, coyote behavior, family interactions, video Tags: coyote behavior, coyotes, urban coyotes
Saturday Dad and Mister were waiting in the rendezvous area and didn’t like it when Holtz and I showed up. Soon Mom with her cauliflower left ear arrived. Mom muted their exuberance in greeting her, showing even Dad her teeth. Dad took a break to roll in sand. They all went up the hill to wait. Eventually Dad and Mister came down while Mom watched, prone on the hill with her head on her paws and a bored expression. The last scene shows Mister intently staring while Dad messages and then walks off camera to scrape dirt as Mister takes a look around. Eventually they all went to their nest area.
Dad’s stint in the sand was typical of how they, when engaged with me, will frequently get distracted. They get distracted by their fleas, each other, by pack members possibly hiding from my view and by sounds from farther away, to name a few. They don’t forget that I am there, yet intruder notwithstanding, Mister on Saturday allowed himself a moment to read his father’s ‘tea leaves’, so to speak. Likewise, Dad seemed ready to openly cavort though he couldn’t get Mom to forget just for a moment about Holtz and me. Dad seemed disappointed with her rebuff, licking his lip and quivering his head from side to side in order to come to terms with what to him may have seemed as a pointless refusal by Mom to play. For a second, Dad almost looked like he felt he did something wrong. I’m tempted to give Dad a voice in the video at the point just after Mom shows her teeth: “What! Teeth? Oh yes, the man, of course, and the dog, well, they are still there, I see that, yes, of course Mother, but, you know, they haven’t moved, never do really move you see: they don’t, haven’t that is, the dog is sitting after all and not even looking exactly at us. But I see what you are saying, of course, of course. Well then…we’ll see, what to do about it and when; when is important, so let me… oh! I itch, first things first then.”
I did notice in a photograph I took that Dad’s four lower right premolars are worn to nubs. I’m beginning to accept that he is a beat up old coyote. Would that Mom would cut him some slack.
Posting written by Charles Wood. Visit Charles Wood’s website for more coyote photos: Charles Wood. His work is copyrighted and may only be used with his explicit permission.
Family Play Scene
18 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in coyote behavior, family interactions, identifying individual coyotes, playing Tags: coyote behavior, coyotes, urban coyotes
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- Ma in back youngster in front
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- Pa holds down the fort in his own way
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- Ma and youngster horse around
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- Ma and youngster play
The most obvious sign of a family is when what you thought was a twosome suddenly shows itself to be a threesome or a foursome! We had only been seeing two coyotes at this site, an older male and a young female. After identifying them, I stopped looking closely at these individuals, because it was so easy to distinguish them.
Then we came upon this family play scene. Ma played with a youngster, while Pa curled up to hold down the fort in his own way — with shut eyes. He’d glance over at the play now and then but didn’t want to be a part of it. Dozing off, away from the others, but within view of them, was his idea of fun. Pa is substantially older than Ma in both his appearance and in his energy level.
Playing between Ma and the youngster consisted of chasing, tumbling, leaping and wrestling, with continual forays in our direction to check us out. The youngster also kept looking off into the distance which made me think that maybe there was a fourth coyote who we did not see — and one of the photos certainly made that a possibility — though it could have been the lighting that prevented definitive identification. I only actually saw three coyotes at any one time.
Interestingly, we could have predicted that there were young ones in this area because of Ma’s unceasing guarded and anxious behavior whenever we saw her, and because of her seldom leaving her protected area unless no people were present. It turns out that we’ve actually been seeing this youngster at various times without knowing it: somehow I mistook him for his Pa since we only ever saw two coyotes at any one time, and I assumed the lighting was causing the slight difference in appearance which I saw — it is easy to mistake the identity of coyotes under poor lighting conditions. However, once you definitively identify a coyote, it is easy to go back to the older photos to distinguish what you couldn’t before, and I can now see that the youngster has been around for many months.
Rendezvous, by Charles Wood
24 Jul 2011 4 Comments
in coyote behavior, family interactions, group activity, pupping, video
Saturday at dusk Mom sat watching me when Mister, her yearling son, came towards her down their hill. His dad approached Mom, coming from the east. Mister burst towards them and the three had a rendezvous. Near the end of the video, Dad works to settle Mister down. A little after that Mom shows Mister some teeth and he drops onto his side: almost as if Mom shot him dead!
These three, after the rendezvous, tried to cross under the bridge into the nature preserve. However they wouldn’t go under the bridge with me standing there. While waiting to pass, they began to yip, the upset kind. I left so they could continue on their way.
Significantly, Mom and Dad were together without their new puppies. Are there new puppies this year? If so, were they at dusk Saturday unattended or being cared for by one or both of the other yearlings, Bold and Shy? If either alone or being cared for, where?
I don’t know. Last year Mom and Dad raised their puppies without help. Last year when I saw puppies, Dad was with them. At times I saw Dad alone without either Mom or puppies. Seeing solitary Dad meant to me that Mom must have been with the puppies. This year there are too many full grown coyotes around to allow such guesswork. Yearlings may make life easier for Mom and Dad, but they make my life, though richer with coyotes, harder.
Posting written by Charles Wood. Visit Charles Wood’s website for more coyote photos: Charles Wood. His work is copyrighted and may only be used with his explicit permission.
Why Isn’t Mom Around?
14 Jul 2011 2 Comments
in care for the young, coyote behavior, coyote living areas, coyote reactions to dogs, curiosity, dog reactions to coyotes, family interactions, individuality, pupping
Hi Janet:
Last evening my husband, Bud, and our dog were walking on the nearby trails and saw a coyote pup about 150 feet ahead zigzagging back and forth on the trail. He stopped, remembering that I had told him that coyotes are very protective of pups. Our dog has a bad sense of smell so didn’t notice the pup. Then another pup comes out of the blackberries and then a third. They were very curious and moved about 50 feet down the trail toward Bud and still our dog did not see or smell them.
Bud was delighted but also concerned and was ready to turn around when the little yapper dog who lives much further up the hill but next to the trail saw our dog and came down the trail full throttle and barking loudly. He was not at all interested in the pups but he did scare them and they dashed into the blackberry bushes. Bud continued up the trail and only when he got to the spot they disappeared into did our dog smell them. He then went nuts of course.
Is this normal for pups to be exploring without an adult near? We knew that there was a den closeby that area because of the amount of scat on the trail. We have noticed pup scat lately also. We also suspect there is another den about half a mile from this one. How much area does a group of coyotes claim? Or do they claim it at all?
We have many black-tailed deer in the area and many fawns each spring. I have been curious about the possibility of coyotes killing very young fawns that are left in hiding while their mothers graze elsewhere. I have never seen any evidence of this happening. Does it?
Thanks for all you do for coyotes! Ginny
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Hi Ginny –
Thanks for sharing your concerns — it’s a very interesting situation. From my own experience and from what I have read, coyote pups are keenly watched by their parents — either by one or by both parents. Even if a parent is not apparently around, the parent/s are always close by and ready to defend the pups if necessary. I should add that I have seen a mother coyote keep an eye on her brood from a huge distance away — she kept an eye on them as she relaxed in the sunshine. And then I saw her dash off in their direction, but I do not know why. Mothers do leave their pups when they go off to hunt, but she tucks them away in a safe spot where they normally stay.
Other possible explanations for pups without a parent close by, include an overtaxed single parent who happens to be in hot pursuit of prey nearby, or a parent holding off another dog which had chased it in hopes that that dog wouldn’t find the pups. Worse would be if the parents have been injured or are ill and unable to defend their brood, or if they’ve met an untimely death.
More than likely, the pups just strayed from where they were supposed to stay put. But it wouldn’t hurt to check on them.
Maybe you could take walks in that area of the woods for the next few days until you can figure out the situation? Whatever you do, don’t get too close to the pups and don’t try picking them up — a parent coyote may come out of hiding to ferociously defend its young. If you continue to see the pups without a parent, you have a dilemma: I’m not sure the pups can survive without their parents, however anything you do to interfere is going to alter their natural lives forever.
If you see the pups alone again, you could call the humane society. If they are progressive, they would help raise the pups in such a way so that they won’t become habituated and so that they can be released again into the wild. Most humane societies are not equipped to do this.
You could also leave the pups to see if they make it on their own — maybe the humane society could suggest a way for you to help these pups without actually intruding on them or overtly interfering so as not to habituate them or alter their wildness?
As for the fawns, coyotes tend to look for the easiest prey to catch. Voles and gophers work fine in my area, but they also eat skunks, raccoons and squirrels here. Yes, coyotes are known to prey on newborn deer. I’ve read where newborn deer are protected by their lack of odor — I don’t know how much protection this offers against coyotes. But also, coyotes are known to be very individualistic in their behaviors and just because coyotes in one area eat certain prey doesn’t mean they do so in other areas. So to find out what yours specifically are up to and what their eating and preying habits are, you would need to explore for such activity.
You said there was another den only half a mile away from this one. A coyote family normally has more than one den which it moves the pups between. Moving the pups diminishes flea infestations and also it serves as protection against predators.
Also, it is not unusual for coyotes — including very young ones — to be curious about walkers and dogs, and follow them. However, a parent — if he is around — may decide that this kind of behavior calls for disciplinary action: see Charles Wood’s posting More Dominant Male/Father Coyote Behavior .
I hope this helps a little. Please let me know, and please keep me posted on what you find out! Sincerely, Janet
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Thanks for your reply Janet. Bud went to the same spot tonight and didn’t see the pups. There is a lot of underbrush and blackberries everywhere along the trail except where it has been removed as invasive species. Coyotes are not seen often because of this. Lots of people let their dogs run loose on the trail but Bud did not see anyone else yesterday although it is a fairly large, heavily wooded area with several trails.
Regulars on the trail only see coyotes a few times a year. Most of the trees are deciduous so I really tried to spot them during the winter but no such luck. I think they are very used to the dogs and walkers and so know where to locate so they are not within view. We will keep an eye on the situation as best we can. The city only removes invasive species by hand so they do not have funding for much work. They primarily remove the holly trees hoping to attract songbirds. There are some songbirds there but also in residence is a Cooper’s Hawk(s) who dines on those same songbirds. Ginny
Adoration On A Foggy Day
09 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in affection, bonds, communication, coyote behavior, family interactions, feelings & emotions, greetings
There is no other term — just look at the photos: adoration. I’ve known these particular coyotes for a while now. They have a very close relationship: a mother and her two-and-a-half year old son. The jumping for joy, touching, wiggling and squiggling, hugs and kisses were absolutely overwhelming displays of affection — it lasted about 25 seconds. This greeting was an intensely demonstrative one, though there were no accompanying squeals and whining which often go along with greetings.
Almost all of the affectionate display came from the younger male. Mom seemed just as happy to see the son — after all, she is the one that came up to him; he had been standing there and eating — but hers was less demonstrative and much more of a solid and dependable Rock-of-Gibraltar affection. This is how I saw it, based on many hours of previous observations of their behaviors.
After this intense “greeting”, they both ran off together, and out of sight. It appeared to me that Mom had come to “fetch” the younger one — and he seemed ready to go with her, though, until she appeared, he seemed in no hurry to go anywhere. He had spent the previous hour hunting and eating a number of gophers. They both then headed for a denser growth area in order to “turn in” for the day. I did not see them again.
Rendezvous, Almost – by Charles Wood
02 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in coyote barking, coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, family interactions, reactions to a human, video
Friday I saw four of my Los Angeles area coyotes, all more or less together. Before twilight, Mom and Bold headed north from the nesting grounds to the rendezvous area. Then Mister showed up to bark as I followed them. I hadn’t seen Mom since June 13 and at that time she appeared to be traveling alone, as did Bold on June 30. I often see my coyotes either singly or paired.
Although two coyotes together aren’t unusual, three suggests my pack may be gathering for a rendezvous. At dusk a fourth coyote showed up, Shy. Eventually the three yearlings moved out of sight, like Mom who hadn’t showed herself since before twilight. The only adult I didn’t see was Dad. I reasoned he must have been with the new puppies and hoped they would head towards us. They didn’t. Perhaps Mom went to join Dad and the rendezvous was rescheduled. Or perhaps there is another rendezvous area and I delayed them moving there to join Dad and the puppies. In any case, I didn’t see Dad and the puppies.
My presence is definitely seen by my coyotes as involved and the behaviors I see are mostly of their interactions with an involved human who brings his dog. It was my dog who introduced us, and my interest in coyotes sprang from my interest in their field as a playground for my dog: not a good start, a start that won’t be overcome.
Once I attempted to break Dad’s misimpression by playing tag with my dog while Dad watched. I was thinking he would possibly be persuaded that we were cool. There was no sign of reappraisal, his unamused glare embarrassed me. Mom expresses Dad’s view, as do Mister, Shy and Bold. If they have a theory of my mind, it wrongly informs them that I share my dog’s desire for their food. Yet admittedly, given certain hypotheticals, I would eat their food though they could hardly know I wouldn’t relish it. Then again, with a flame, ketchup, mustard, vinegar and a dill pickle I can conceive of their food as enjoyable. I concede they know me in my essentials as well as they need to.
Mister
From time to time I’ve seen coyote life seemly unaffected by my presence. For example, some crows once buzzed Mom. She moved her gaze off me and onto the crows, sauntered from the road into wild mustard and returned to gazing at me as the crows moved on. I had expected a more energetic defense by Mom. Later I realized that crows can’t fly through wild mustard and that her defense was elegantly parsimonious. My imaginary defense against buzzing crows, flailing wildly as I thought she should have done, would have been untutored. It didn’t occur to me that Mom knows crows better than I do.
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.
Adolescence, by Charles Wood
30 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in coyote behavior, family interactions, individuality
Bold on Saturday
My Los Angeles coyotes are certainly more available to me than they were over the winter. Yet I am only seeing Mister and Bold moving around.
A couple days ago at twilight Mister quickly trotted down their road, stopped in the brush to wait and then a few minutes later returned to where he had come. I believe he wanted coyote companionship because his gait was unusually brisk and because in the past I have repeatedly observed family members rendezvousing around dusk at the area he briefly visited. Twice this week I saw Bold travel from their nesting grounds to a marshy area a little north east of it. She seemed driven by an idea of where she wanted to go and what she wanted to do. On Saturday she found a spot suitable to urinate on and had her legs set in order to precisely aim while she stared at me. Her ears are deliberately positioned to sense any approach from her left or her right. She seems as a self-possessed young female who knows what she wants out of life and how to get it. Mister seems as a coyote who for now takes his anxieties a little too seriously, too quick to bark at me, too impatient for others to be there when he wants them to be. (Mom in contrast waits for others very patiently.) Shy for now seems to enjoy everything in too full a measure. Perhaps her wariness balances her and keeps her from getting into situations she isn’t yet ready to greet.
Bold on Thursday
I haven’t seen Mom or Dad for over a week. I speculatively attribute their absence to their being preoccupied with new puppies. I have been wondering how helpful the yearlings are with day care. It is starting to look like they aren’t all that helpful because what I have been seeing is them either playing or walking around absorbed in themselves. Still, the mere fact of their presence at Mom & Dad’s surely must make their home a more secure place for them all.
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.
Shy Wants To Play, by Charles Wood
25 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in coyote behavior, family interactions, playing
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- Let’s play
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- Come on
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- Uh-Oh
On Friday at dusk, Mister stood by himself staring at my dog and me as we watched him from the river bank. He then stretched and proceeded to defecate on his road. Done with that, he resumed glaring. Then Shy ran up to him. Mister had tasked himself with inviting us to leave, but Shy wanted to play. Mister kept glaring at us despite Shy trying to distract him. Then Mister gave Shy an “enough!” and she left him to his job. As I was leaving, Mister came half way closer and began to bark and yip. We stopped and he went back to the road and laid down. Then we left.
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.
Mister Reprimanded?, by Charles Wood
20 Jun 2011 2 Comments
in coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, family interactions, hierarchy
Dad and Mister
Sunday at twilight Dad spotted me as he was coming down his Los Angeles area road. I was on the bridge to his north about 225 feet away. He paused and then kept coming. He stopped again to sniff. In a moment, he resumed his trot and Mister came from the brush to join him. Mister is new to me though he has been with his parents and sisters all along. Dad made Mister get down as shown in the “Dad and Mister” photograph. Soon they were up and both trotted across my bow, Mister coming first. I had seen Dad first, Mister came out on the road and got in trouble, then Mister led them away, apparently doing as he had been told by Dad.
Was Mister truly in trouble? I can’t know. Until yesterday I didn’t know that Mister was there, had confused him with his sister Bold, and had thought he therefore was female. There is room for getting simple facts like gender incorrect, so my story of Mister and Dad’s complex behavior has plenty of room for other interpretations. For example, Mister may not have seen Holtz and me on the bridge and Dad may have been communicating my presence and a danger assessment to Mister. Both continued on, Mister in front. As they went camera left, both glared at me, Dad with his neck and shoulder fur flared to make him look big.
The one thing I consider clear is that Dad is in charge of his son Mister, whether reprimanding Mister’s misstep or warning Mister of what they both have come to regard as a concern: Holtz and me on the bridge.
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.
