-
- watching the park activity
-
- this one descends to a lower perch
-
- this one descends following the first
-
- from this lower perch the first one moves even lower
-
- and the second one follows
-
- a last look from several hundred feet away before “going in”
I have noticed that the coyotes are a little more “purposefully” active lately — this is after several months of being much less so. Whenever I spotted a coyote during the previous few months, it was not so “out in the open” and its behavior was not so “purposeful”, but rather “lazy” and “ho-hum.”
Within the last two weeks this seems to have changed somewhat: I’m seeing more intention in their behaviors when I see them and slightly more activity. Could this be a seasonal phenomenon? Could it be that hormones have changed, whether or not there are new pups involved? For instance, roaming seems to be done more as an adult family unit — a pack — with the attendant “watching out” for one another. Also, although the “dog watching” continues to be infrequent and sporadic as it has been in the last few months, when I do see this, it appears to be more intent: there is less intermittent dozing when they do watch or monitor the dogs in the park, and they sometimes hurry to better viewing spots, even though these new spots bring the coyotes closer in to the dogs — maybe 200 feet away.
Again, here it is important to keep our dogs leashed, both for our dogs’ protection and for the coyotes. We all want to avoid encounters which might lead to possible injuries. The animals are just doing what their instincts demand of them in warding off each other. Only we humans can prevent the closer interactions by keeping the animals apart. Please read the “Coyote Safety” posting at the top of the page.
