Leaps n’ Bounds
20 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in coyote behavior, exploring, hunting
I guess something exciting caught this fellow’s eye as I followed his movements from across a street. Whatever it was, it got away! The coyote ambled on, as he had been doing before the leaping began. Better luck next time.
Scouting Around A Log
15 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in coyote behavior, curiosity, foraging, hunting, Uncategorized Tags: coyote, coyote hunting, coyotes, urban coyotes
A coyote stops at a log to scout for a possible meal. The scrutiny was intense and thorough, but yielded nothing! I didn’t start the video until most of the exploring was already over, but you can see from the stills I took before the video that the coyote was all over the log. I didn’t see any digging, just poking and sniffing, so I assume it was scent and not sound that drew the coyote to the log.
There Is Something Exciting In There
11 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in coyote behavior, coyotes and dogs, hunting
This bush is actually called Coyote Brush! The coyote stopped when he got there, sniffed it, then got up on its two hind legs to reach higher. But that did not help accomplish anything. So finally the coyote leaped up to get even higher, and repeated this several times, falling to the ground rather clumsily after each leap! There must have been something pretty exciting in that bush. However, the coyote’s efforts ended there because a dog from a distant path spotted the coyote and came bounding up in pursuit. The coyote fled the scene. The dog, too, then became interested in the bush and sniffed it intensely for a minute, but the dog was not as resourceful as the coyote had been in his attempts to reach whatever was there. When the dog’s owner called, the dog returned to the path. I later returned to the bush to try to figure out what had been there — whatever it was, it was long gone, so it will always be a mystery.
Coyotes Like To Check Things Out Thoroughly
04 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in coyote behavior, curiosity, exploring, hunting
Here a coyote is stretching up high to check out a tree stump — coyotes are very curious and inquisitive, and they can be very purposeful. They normally trek along, sniffing at ground level or at eye level, but I also have seen coyotes climb the lower branches of trees when they’ve seen a squirrel there, and I’ve seen them jump high onto an unlikely rock ledge to check out a sound, smell or something they saw. Here, the coyote headed for the tree as if it knew what might be there, and scrutinized it intensely — he seemed to know exactly what he was looking for at that particular spot. He spent over a minute engaged in this activity. However, he left as empty-mouthed as when he arrived. I later checked out the tree stump for myself. There were two large hollows where the coyote had been exploring. One was about a foot deep and the other was about two feet deep. Each was about 8 inches across. Nothing was in those hollows — and they were too close to the ground to serve as wise critter nests.
My thought is that the coyote had found something very interesting there before, or maybe another critter had recently visited this spot leaving its scent there? Seeing this coyote check out the tree reminded me of how keen the memory is for canines. My own dog remembered the exact tree, way off the beaten path, in a heavily wooded area that we had visited only once a year or two earlier. At that time, a raccoon had run to that tree for protection. My dog had followed and watched the fellow watch him from the crook of the tree. Memory of the raccoon incident, and its exact remote location in the middle of nowhere, from a single incident long ago, astonished me because I had totally forgotten about it until my dog ran up to that tree again.
Kickin’ High
26 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in coyote behavior, hunting Tags: coyote, coyote behavior, coyotes, urban coyotes
This coyote is totally absorbed in the job at hand, totally focused. The high-strung tension is palpable as he hesitates and wavers. He holds back, preparing for his big move. He finally lets go like a wound-up coil when he thinks the time is right. Watch those legs fly! In spite of the effort, the vole evaded capture.
Tip Toe!
22 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in coyote behavior, foraging, hunting Tags: coyote, coyote behavior, coyote hunting, coyotes
Hunting takes planning and in this case that plan included moving ever so slowly, and ever so carefully and ever so softly. The coyote had been sitting watching one spot for several minutes, then got up and tip-toed to a better spot where it stood quietly and calmly for a long time — sometimes staring at the ground and turning its head, and sometimes just looking into the distance. Nothing came of it — the coyote was not rewarded for its quietness and patience. I’m posting just a short clip with the careful tip-toe. I cut out the rest because I know the coyote has more patience in waiting for its meal than we might have in observing it!
Nose Punch
26 Sep 2011 1 Comment
in coyote behavior, coyotes, hunting Tags: coyote, coyote behavior, coyotes, urban coyotes
A hard and fast “punch” is delivered at the entryway to the burrow of a little critter that will become the coyote’s prey. It’s part of the cycle of life. Coyotes sometimes use their two front paws which they stiffen for this purpose. In this case, the nose is used to deliver the hefty punch. From what I have seen, this punch disables or weakens the critter. Most of the time, as here, it is followed by probing and digging before the prey is actually captured. The coyote regularly looks around to check out the safety of his surroundings.
A Feast For One At A Time
09 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in coyote behavior, coyotes, group activity, hunting Tags: coyotes, urban coyote behavior, urban coyotes
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- looking away while the other feasts
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- Peeking at the eater
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- onlooker diverts face to avoid gaze when faced directly by the one feasting
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- onlooker keeps eyes off of eater
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- eater gives a warning to onlooker
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- onlooker gets severe warning
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- onlooker growls back defensively
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- onlooker moves away
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- feasting coyote gets to finish undisturbed
This posting shows two coyotes feasting on a larger prey than normal. It is a skunk which, when I came upon the scene, was already dead. The above sequence of photos shows only the first coyote eating. The other one hung around, avoided looking at the one feasting, succumbed to looking, tried moving closer. The feasting coyote then warned off this onlooker. She was going to have her fill before allowing the other one to come in and she became nasty about it to make him understand, showing her teeth and pulling back her lips. This part of the sequence I’ve posted in the above gallery.
The gallery below shows the second coyote who decided to move about 50 feet away from the feasting coyote. At this distance of removal, he briefly, and jealously, glanced back at the one feasting before settling down. He then kept his gaze away from the feasting coyote, appearing disinterested, but in truth, patiently waiting his turn to eat. When the first coyote had finished and walked off, this second guy immediately hurried to feast on the second pickings. He ate a bit and then dragged the carcass off before eating some more.
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- departed coyote moves off 50 feet and looks back
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- departed coyote waits patiently looking the other way
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- feasting coyote departs
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- departed coyote returns quickly
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- the second coyote now eats
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- second coyote drags the carcass off
Triangulation, A Dive, And “Darn that Log!”
31 Aug 2011 2 Comments
in coyote behavior, hunting Tags: coyote behavior, coyotes, urban coyotes
To note, especially, is the way the coyote cocks its entire head back and forth, triangulating, in order to precisely locate through sound where its prey is. The dive ends with a powerful “punch” delivered by the forepaws aimed right at the prey. Also note the coyote’s extreme patience and concentration. The video originally was about six minutes long. I’ve spliced out four minutes so that you won’t need a coyote’s patience to watch it!
A Foot Is Put Down
25 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in coyote behavior, hunting Tags: coyote behavior, coyotes, urban coyotes
holding a foot down
The vole was caught, but it tried to get away, of course. As it reached the other side of the path the coyote extended a foot and put it down on top of the prey, pinning it down, trapping it and sealing its fate. The coyote stood up and kept its weight on its prey for a full ten seconds — an incredibly long period of time when life and death are concerned — standing absolutely still and looking off into the distance. I actually could not tell that this is what was happening until the coyote finally bent down to pick up in his mouth what was under his foot and run off with it before eating it.
In most instances that I have seen, a coyote will scramble quickly to get a firm hold of its prey in its mouth to prevent it from slipping away. But this time there was a calmness as the coyote stood there with his weight on the vole. Had he been squeezing it to death — preventing respiration –on purpose, the same as the hawks do? I have seen hawks hold onto and squeeze a rodent over what felt like a long time, but in fact was only about ten seconds, while looking calmly off into the distance, exactly as the coyote had done. It points to a behavior and a use of the legs which I have not seen before.
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- vole gets away
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- trapping vole with paw
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- standing calmly with weight on vole
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- continuing to put weight on vole
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- picking up the lifeless vole
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- running off to enjoy a meal
