I was in the right spot to watch a coyote which was been intruded upon by a dog. The coyote had been hunting close to a path when it stopped to observe the walker and his dog approaching. This was in an area of the park where few others had yet arrived. The walker and dog have passed this coyote many times in the past: the dog and coyote normally observe each other but always appear to respect each other’s space, and move on without incident. The dog has never chased the coyote.
Today, when the dog got within about 30 feet, the coyote became agitated: it scratched the ground, hackles up, bared its teeth and after a minute of this it ran off into the tall grass where it began its distressed barking. I have only seen a coyote bark after it has felt intruded upon. Although the owner has always remained on the path, the dog sometimes wanders off a short distance, and it may be that having done so in the coyote’s direction is what caused the coyote to react this way. Maybe there was more going on, such as intense eye contact. Intense eye-contact constitutes a challenge. I was not able to see this, so will never know if this was part of the equation.
This is a display. It is meant to look scary, otherwise it would not be effective. It is meant to ward off the dog. Cats engage in very similar displays when they feel threatened — just think of the classical Halloween cat: arched back, fur on end, up on its hind legs, teeth showing. The message is “get away from me.”
