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- pup protected by thicket and Mom out front
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- Mom out front watching
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- pup further back in the thicket
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- pup emerges from thicket
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- Mom leads the way off
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- pup ignores her, sitting to watch rather than follow
Here a coyote youngster backed into a thicket area for protection after a dog had tried coming after him. Mom had been close by and ran to the rescue. She positioned herself out front, where she sat vigilantly, just in case another dog tried coming up again. These two coyotes remained like this for over five minutes: the mom out in front on guard, and the youngster curled up in the background, protected, within the edge of the thicket.
When the dogs had moved on, the youngster decided to emerge, at which point Mom began walking away, leading the way as if she expected the youngster to follow. But no. The youngster planted himself close to where his mother had been, and continued watching for another several minutes. When no more dogs appeared, the younger coyote, too, moved on.
