-
- I found a stick
-
- I found a softball
-
- I like your softball better
-
- keep away from my softball
-
- finder of the softball snaps at sibling
-
- there is a second snap; the intruder avoids the snap
-
- finder keeps the ball; sibling looks on
-
- finder gives another warning to sibling to keep off
-
- sibling heeds the warning & moves off
-
- sibling looks back longingly
-
- finder enjoys his prize
-
- finder enjoys his prize
-
- sibling lies close by, but looks away
-
- sibling looks back longingly at the ball
-
- sibling resigned to not having the ball
-
- the winner is happy
“Look what I found!” “Ah, but I found something better!”
Coyotes like to play: they like to play with toys and they like to play with each other. These two coyotes stick together a lot of the time and keep tabs on what the other is doing, so of course, when one found something, he looked over to see what the other’s reaction might be.
Today, almost simultaneously, each found something exciting, and each deemed one of the finds superior to the other. The old softball became the item of attention and desire. The coyote who found the stick immediately dropped it and was drawn to the softball. Some finds are deemed more valuable than others. Coyotes can be possessive of their finds: here there was a need for the “finder of the prize” to guard his newly found treasure and not to share it. I watched this sequence unroll this morning. The ball was chewed and torn apart by the coyote who found it: that is what you do with softballs if you are a young coyote!
