Coyote Yipps

Found your website while trying to research coyote behavior. We are regularly observing some very interesting behavior in our backyard (Sierra Foothills). I would love to know if anyone else has observed coyotes burying rocks. This particular coyote carried a large rock (about 7″ x 4″) from some distant location and then buried it in the ground (!). The coyote did all of this in a very casual and deliberate manner. After placing the rock in the hole, the coyote covered it completely by pushing dirt with its nose. Then it walked away. Can anyone explain this?

There are more details to this rock story:

The area where the coyote put the rock was used by a squirrel just a few days earlier.  It had been an especially hot few days (100+ degrees) and the squirrel wasn’t looking healthy to me.  In any case, the hole (more like an indentation) was near the base of a tree in soft, dark dirt.  This is also in a shady, currently-dry gully. The squirrel had been stretching out with its entire belly flat on the soil — as if cooling itself?  Then, maybe 3 or 4 days later, the rock incident occurred. It’s been a few days now since the rock burial, and maybe I should see if the rock is still there?  Mostly, I just observe from my windows and don’t bother the creatures or their habitat even though they are clearly in MY yard. It’s only across a small lawn. Maybe another subject line for the Rock Burial could be “Coyote leaves gift for ailing squirrel?”

Great blog, you have.  I’m glad Google pointed in the direction, and I hope to hear if others have ever witness this rock burying behavior or even carrying behavior.