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- Mom, lying down, shows affection towards guy #1 who has come over to her for this purpose
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- another sibling, guy #2 approaches from behind guy #1 in a dominating posture
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- Mom doesn’t want any part of this and decides to move off
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- guy #1 invites Mom to enclose his snout in hers — he may be sorry that they upset her
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- sibling #1 continues to show affection & submission to Mom with his tongue out
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- Mom encloses snout of sibling #1 in hers: it is a peaceful confirmation and acceptance of her dominance
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- Sibling #1 passes below chin of sibling #2, very peacefully
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- Mom, in the middle, seems to show displeasure at a possible altercation brewing between #1 and #2
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- Mom now encloses snout of sibling #2 (the more dominant sibling) in hers
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- Mom continues to enclose snout of sibling #2 in hers, while sibling #1 watches more closely
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- Mom still enclosing snout of sibling #2 in hers, sibling #1 watches
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- Mom walks off and the two siblings banter amiably
A coyote social order is maintained by rituals which constantly confirm who fits where in a group. Here, Mom goes through the ritual of enclosing the snouts of both of her offspring, 19 months old, in her snout and the confirmation seems to be appreciated by everyone — they seem to have interjected their snouts into hers for this confirmation. The two siblings often battle — the battles are only a few seconds long, but they definitely are there. Here, sibling #2 begins to dominate, but Mom walks off at one point and shows her teeth in another. Sibling #2 keeps peace by walking under his dominating sibling’s chin. In the end, the two siblings banter amicably.
