On a walk recently, we saw three coyotes traversing together: it was a family, possibly returning home from a twilight hunt for gophers. There was a dog with us which was totally disciplined: it kept to the owner’s side as was demanded.
First we saw one coyote, on the path about 100 feet in front of us. It looked at us, curiously, but shyly stayed back. Then it approached a few paces and hid behind a tree — all except its face! I’m wondering if we were not supposed to see it! We all, including the dog, were looking at this young coyote. We found out that it was not alone when the mother appeared, interjecting herself right into our view. I’m sure the mother wanted to break the focus of attention on the younger coyote, because she appeared in her defensive stance: bent over with teeth showing — “Hey, please note that I’m here.” Her attention was on the dog.
Now, of course, our attention was on her, which is what she wanted. Since we have seen this family a number of times, we have come to know who they are and they have come to know who we are, as they have come to know everyone in their park, even when the “observed” were not aware of the observer. The mother calmed down when she saw that the dog was not interested in pursuing them — the dog was not a threat.
We watched as the first shy little guy dashed off to a high rock to watch us from a safer distance. A sibling then appeared out of nowhere up even higher on a cliff. Mom kept her eye on both, looking up at one, and then down at the other. The sibling then came running down from the cliff to be with mom, and they both then kept their eyes on the shy guy. Ultimately, the shy guy hurried off, and the others followed.
———-
A few days afterwards, we saw the same family dynamics: the family was out on a path, purposefully going somewhere. The mom and sibling kept track of the shy guy, they waited for each other to catch up, and they seemed to communicate through their glances, through eye contact.
In this second case, mom soon ran up to a high ledge where she watched the youngsters head to a lower area. Here, the two youngsters kept track of mom by continually watching her, but they also watched and listened as walkers arrived below on a path. The arrival of the walkers was the sign that they should depart, which they did.
The mother, as is her habit, waited to depart. But instead of remaining on her high ledge, she actually hopped down to a lower rock where she watched a “regular” group of unleashed dogs and walkers as they approached in her direction. I wondered why she had hopped down — I was afraid she might have “something to say” to these dogs, such as “remember that I am here”, by appearing in their path. But no, when they got within about 100 feet, coming into view from around some trees, she scurried down from the rock and hurried off into the distance.
So, here are a couple of instances when the members of this coyote family stayed together as they traversed a park: they kept track of each other, they followed each other, they waited for each other, and and they communicated with glances. I noticed several greetings between them: they seemed to smile at each other or touch noses. These are the dynamics of a family group.
