Pups Born Just A Few Months Ago Join Mom, Dad and the Fire Engine Sirens

30 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, family interactions, group activity

Only mom is barely visible in the distance. Most of the sounds are coming from the bushes!

Mom leads the chorus

Of this group chorus, only Mom can be seen — barely — in the distance. She’s far away, and it’s dusk. I’ve had to enhance the photo to make her really visible. Most of the sounds are coming from coyote pups hidden in various spots within the bushes! It sounds like the bushes are singing!

[audio https://yipps.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/pups-join-the-chorus-7-21.mp3]

These pups were just a little over three months old when I made the recording — close in size to those in this photo below, taken elsewhere and at an earlier date: note that this litter in the photo consists of five pups, which is not unusual for coyotes, though many youngsters don’t make it to adulthood.  I don’t know how many pups are in the pack I heard singing: remember that a few coyotes, with their different pitches, can sound like many more than there are.

Of course, coyote pups begin singing at an even younger age than three months, but they sound more like squeaky toys than real coyotes! If you want to hear what the youngest coyotes sound like, click this link: http://youtu.be/xKksJ3fvB1Q

Three Month Old Pups

Three Month Old Pups

Hey, Mom, Wanna Play?

25 Jul 2013 3 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in communication, coyote behavior, family interactions, mother coyote behavior, mother/pup learning, parenting, playing, pupping

Mom enjoying a moment of rest
Hey Mom, wanna play?
Please? . . . NO!
Pup withdraws hand as if it’s been slapped
Okay, BE that way!
I’m outta here!

How could anyone not want to be with such adorable pups, you might ask. But mothers need a break from their kids sometimes. Just look at the video, Meet The New Kids On The Block, to see what a coyote mom has to put up with! It looks like an incessant onslaught!

Kids of all species LOVE to play with their parents and want their attention! In the sequence of photos above, the kid comes up to Mom  for fun and games — he doesn’t seem to realize that she’s resting. But she does not want to be pestered here. “Beat it” is what she is saying.

1) Mom resting
2) Hey Mom, wanna play?
3) Please? NO!
4) In this slide he has withdrawn his hand as though it’s been slapped
5) Okay, BE that way! [The “kid” does a funny little twisty dance here!]
6) I’m outta here! Maybe Dad will play.
 

Moms often need free time away from the family.  Below she’s gone off some distance for a break, but she’s keeping an eye on them from her high vantage point, and will rush down to protect them if that is needed.

Mom rests on a knoll in the distance

Mom rests on a knoll in the distance

COYOTE MAN, A Creative Piece by Charlotte Hildebrand

19 Jul 2013 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in Uncategorized

Sitting at my table, with the windows wide, I hear my neighbor talking to the coyote, who has suddenly appeared in her backyard. “Come here, come here, my beautiful boy!” she murmurs. But I don’t believe her; it’s not a boy and she knows it. The coyote started coming around a few years ago, after her husband died, looking for handouts. I never thought about it before, but of course! It makes perfect sense. The coyote isn’t a boy, it’s her husband.

2013-07-17 (2)My neighbor used to feed the wild animals at the edge of the forest during the war. As a young girl, she left bread crumbs behind, when the family was forced to flee as refugees. Here, on the edge of the city, she feeds the coyote, skunks, possums, stray cats, raccoons. She feeds three fat crows perched on top of her garage, carrying on like the Marx Brothers. They hop around, cawing ceaselessly, then down to the ground next to the bowl of cat food and chase the cats away. These crows are as big as dogs; the cats don’t stand a chance.

At first i thought my neighbor must be feeding all the animals cat food, but the more I observe her, the more I think it’s real meat. Tonight, for instance, i could sware she fed the coyote a steak, specifically a rib-eye. Her husband used to love those steaks.

2013-07-17 (3)After dinner, my neighbor comes out with a mat and places it on the grass. Come here, come here, she begs her husband and pats the mat. I think she’s going to lie down, but she steps away. I turn my back and when i look again the coyote’s lying on the mat licking its paws, giving my neighbor moon eyes, following her with his gaze around the yard. They’re bonded to each other in a very deep way, these two. This man and wife.
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2013-07-17At 7pm, the lights go out, another brownout up here on the city’s edge. An hour goes by, it grows dark, I can’t see a thing. Then as my eyes adjust, I see some shadowy figures take shape next door. The skunk that comes around this time of night, and the coyote a little off to the side, dancing around each other. Coyote sits still and watches the skunk freak out, with its tail straight up in the air. Skunk keeps one eye on the coyote and one on the food bowl. I’ve seen this dance before, the coyote letting the skunk come and go, not at all interested.

2013-07-17 (1)Perhaps the coyote has already forgotten his wild ways, although, if it’s true he’s my neighbor’s husband, he’ll rip your throat out faster than a surprised skunk can spray, faster than crows can caw, faster than a coyote can turn into a man and back again. I wouldn’t call that exactly tame. You can never be sure with wild animals.

[Charlotte Hildebrand is an artist and writer. This original piece can be found on her blog, The Rat’s Nest, along with more of her creative writing]

Healthy Spooking

19 Jul 2013 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, pupping

spooked and running for cover

small pups are spooked and running for cover

Three times in the span of half a morning, I saw coyote pups spook and run for cover! They have good instincts, or they have been well trained.

The first time was when they became aware that I was focused on them. That stopped their play dead and they ran into hiding. I left, but found another more hidden spot from which to watch them later on.

trying to ward the dogs off

mother coyote trying to ward off two dogs

The second time they spooked was when Mom appeared in the distance — it was the far distance — keeping two dogs at bay and eventually running from the dogs as they chased her. The pups had been romping and playing on a hillside, but again, they looked up and froze in their places when they saw the scene, being instantaneously alerted to danger, and they ran for cover, not to emerge for several hours.

pups saw this chase

pups saw this chase — dogs after their mother

Later on, they were again frolicking behind some bushes when another dog started barking. All action stopped, even though the dog was nowhere in sight, and they ran for cover, not to emerge again while I was there.

In fact, right after this, this litter of pups was moved from this location and I have not seen them out in the open since this time.

Facilitating

17 Jul 2013 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, hunting, parenting

I spotted this mom close to where I’ve seen her family several times. Coyotes maintain several safe spaces which they move between if they need to — for example, when they feel endangered, or if the fleas get out of hand. This was one of them.

Here, there is a small worn figure “8” path which is bare of foliage — an area I’ve seen traversed by pups playing. It is also a place where adults lie down to watch. She picked the crossing of the figure “8” for her scheme. She carefully dug a hole and buried the prey she had carried home, using her snout to push the soil over the prey. When she was finished, she trotted off into the distance. Before she was out of sight, small pups appeared. Had she called them? How did they know to come?

She continued on to a hilltop to watch and monitor. The pups alternated their attention between watching her leave and sniffing the burial spot. Then, suddenly, they ran off. Had they been spooked?  Had the prey moved?  They then turned around and kept their eye on that patch of earth, but nothing happened. Soon they became distracted by the need to play, and the buried treasure was forgotten about.

two pups out and about
sniffing out the “spot”
finding something 3 feet away

Fast forward 24 hours when I returned to the spot the next day. As I waited, two pups appeared. The two pups again sniffed the area without finding anything. Had the treasure already been found? However, one of them did uncover prey about 3 feet away — looks like it had also been left there by mom since there was no struggle to capture it — it was just “there”, ready to be picked up by a pup.

Looks like Mom is making things easy for the kids — first attempts at hunting are a piece of cake!  I find it amazing that such thought-out schemes are used by coyote parents to facilitate the training process!

Addendum: I wonder if the same thing, facilitating, was occurring in this posting about the papa coyote several weeks ago? Pups were only a little over one month old at the time, so maybe papa coyote was “jumping the gun” so to speak??  Blue Jay “Buries” P-nut in a Four Foot Bush; Coyote Reburies His Find

Territoriality in the Wild

15 Jul 2013 1 Comment

by yipps:janetkessler in territoriality

skydiver

skydiver

Antagonism over territory is commonplace in the wild. People might get upset at a coyote displaying territorial behavior, but the wild is a place for constant territorial disputes within, and between, species.

I’ve seen ravens go after hawks, an entire flock of small birds go after owls — even in flight, coopers hawks go after red-tails, red-tails go after each other. I’ve heard loud complaining  in the form of squawking from ravens, squirrels, blue jays, or howls from coyotes when any species they consider threatening is in their immediate area. It’s how they ward off the threat and warn others of possible imminent danger.

Yesterday, it was a sweet little hummingbird. Sweet? Hmmm. There probably was a tiny hummingbird nest close by with eggs or with penny-size baby hummingbirds. Even this one ounce bird was doing its best to ward off a threat from an area it considered “his” or “hers”.

Anyway, I became aware that territorial behavior was being displayed when an incredibly strong “whirring” sound startled me right at ear level. “Wow! What was that!?” The hummingbird creates the sound with its wings as it darts past whomever it wants to warn off. It happened again. The message: “Leave! You’re making me anxious”. I heeded the message and moved off.

That’s when I saw the same tiny hummingbird skydive a little sparrow. The hummingbird did this three times as I watched. The small sparrow saw the bird coming each time and ducked at the onslaught. He, too, ended up moving away — about 50 feet. This wasn’t enough for the hummingbird who skydived again and succeeded in bouncing the little bird out of a bush. The sparrow flew off further (but only temporarily. I saw sparrows all over the place two hours later).

Then, it was the blue jay’s turn. Blue Jays are constantly screaming/squawking at cats, people, dogs, hawks or coyotes. This time the tables were turned: one became the target of the tiny little skydiving hummingbird. I couldn’t tell if the Blue Jay left because he was going to anyway, or because he was being harassed like the rest of us.

When another hummingbird appeared next to the first one, I wondered if they would now work together. But no. That was the end of the attacks. Had the new hummingbird messaged the attacker to “knock it off”?  Anyway, all was quiet now — no sign of any of the victims. They had all fled, and so had the hummingbird.

Meet the New Kids on the Block!

14 Jul 2013 3 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coexisting with coyotes, coyote behavior, family interactions, playing, pupping

July Seventh – sent to me by my neighbor

Personalities Emerge Early

13 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, individuality, intelligence, personality

rough and tumble and playful

rough and tumble — they’re playful

There’s an array of trait possibilities which form our personalities and make each of us unique. This is as true for animals as it is for humans. Pet owners will tell you that dogs from the same litter can differ tremendously: each pup brings its own unique combination of characteristics into the world.

And coyotes, too, are unique individuals.  I’ve seen this particular litter three times now and I’m seeing behavioral differences which distinguish each pup.

The top photo shows pups who are rough and tumble and full of play. They like to run pell mell after each other — tumbling over each other and getting all tangled up is part of the fun.

reserved and careful and even a little bit dainty

Diametrically opposed is a very little reserved and careful pup. This one sat back and watched as the others roughhouse and play fearlessly. When she noticed me, she hid behind a tree. She? Of course I don’t know, but that would be my guess based on her comparative smallness and daintiness. I wonder if she is a runt.

the adventurer

the adventurer

And then, there’s the adventurer who is curious and explores far-off distances alone — probably unbeknownst to his parents who are still trying to keep the pups’ existence a secret.

I’ve caught him — he stands out as being larger and stronger than the others — on my field camera not anywhere near where I’ve seen the others: exploring and examining the territory, totally on his own.

I’ve also spotted this one sleeping on his own out in the open, which is something his parents do, but not his siblings. This one seems to be exceptionally bright, inquisitive, and self-sufficient — at least comparatively. Just hope he doesn’t get himself into trouble early on by wandering so far off from the rest of them in this litter.

Foxtail Season

10 Jul 2013 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in Injuries, urban coyote ailments Tags:

fox tail

fox tail

Foxtails tend to go one way: IN. The pointed quills make it very difficult for them to be pulled OUT.

I’ve had quite a time removing these from the soft lining in my boots. They become embedded and without a lot of effort, won’t come out. And they hurt!

Dogs frequently get them embedded in their noses or in the webbing of their toes, and it is only by going to a veterinarian that they can be removed. In fact, I know of a vet that wore a beautiful gold foxtail pendant around her neck. She said it was given to her because these beautiful little foxtails are what she made her living off of: extracting them from pets!

coyotes hunt and rest in foxtails

coyotes hunt and rest in foxtails

Our wild critters don’t have the benefit of a veterinarian who could help them, but I’m sure our coyotes are as affected as often as the rest of us. I’ve seen them attempt to pull things from their paws — probably foxtails, and I got a photo the other day (darn, can’t find it — I’ll add it when I find it) of a foxtail stuck to a coyote’s nose, which is what made me think of creating this posting.

Question: My Dogs Are Chasing Coyotes

09 Jul 2013 9 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coexisting with coyotes, coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, dog reactions to coyotes

2013-07-09

Hi Janet,

I found your blog Coyote Yipps when I was looking on the internet, as I have a question on Coyotes and my dogs. Its really wonderful what you are doing for Coyotes and I loved reading through your postings. However, I’d like to ask a direct question about a situation with my dog(s.)

I live in Topanga Canyon in Los Angeles and my house backs on to the state park and hundreds of miles of the santa monica mountains. I have taken my dog Krissi out the back there for nearly a year hiking trails and have occasionally seen coyotes, but we have always kept a respectful distance. I do have her off leach as this is her home, but she is well trained and rarely goes far from me. When we are at home, she does jump the fence and has free access to an area she seems to stay in. I have seen coyotes on the ridge above our house. Krissi has been keen to chase these coyotes off ‘our patch’ if she senses them within theses boundaries. She is a german shepherd/ healer mix and is very quick and smart, but also very gentle. Not at all agressive. I have always felt a bit nervous of her going out there and have kept a close eye out, but I trust her and she seems to be clear within this boundary.

In the last weeks I have been dog sitting another young dog, 2 year old, Lady. She is a hound mix, with some pit bull in her. Krissi has now got much more confident, and is leading Lady off on adventures, where they have been gone for up to an hour and come back exhausted.

This morning, they were keen to get out at around 7am for a pee, but they jumped the fence and went high tailing it up to an area above the house. I heard what I am sure was a coyote squeeking/yelping and both girls went off in what sounded like hot pursuit. I called and whistled and they came back 10 mins later, Lady with no collar on, and they were both panting, elated and thirsty. There was no signs of a fight or any blood or anything that led me to think there had been a conflict of any kind.

I am about to go out and look around the area I saw them go to, which I think might be a coyote home? I wonder if coyotes would be making a home so close to where a dog lives? or if the coyotes are watching out for them? or if they are just hunting for food themselves? (There is a small enclave of cabin houses where I live.)

It is a dilemma for me, because I obviously want to protect wild life, but I also want to give my dog(s) freedom to be able to explore and be free. I dont want to leach them all the time and I cant fence the property.

Can you let me know your thoughts, as I dont feel right that they are chasing or harrassing Coyotes.

Thank you for your time.

With best wishes, Sandy from Topanga

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Hi Sandy

Thank you for contacting me. Mine are all “urban” observations and have to do with pets/coyote interactions in the city under human supervision: in these urban areas, dog predatory behavior is kept in check by the presence of alpha humans. In rural areas, when humans aren’t around, anything goes. I’ve consulted a wildlife behaviorist for input here.

Since the size of your dog is large, it can hold its own against any coyote.  Please realize that the behavior of your dogs away from home can be quite different in how they interact with other smaller animals. The breeds you mention have a high prey drive. Left to their own devices, it is highly likely that they will chase and they could even kill coyotes and other animals.

Most dogs look elated after a predatory chase and a kill. That the collar was off suggests that there may have been a struggle. Shepherds’ and Pit Bulls’ mode of dispatching other animals is to grab and shake — and it doesn’t necessarily draw blood. Two dogs have now formed a pack, making them more dangerous to wild animals. And both dogs outweigh coyotes — there is no contest.

I’ve read and heard about dogs which have established respectful relationships with coyotes in rural areas  — they read each other well, and they respect each other’s boundaries and keep their distance. If your dog is exhausted and happy from running, it doesn’t sound like this is what is going on. In city parks, I have never seen coyotes and dogs frolicking together just for fun. In the parks, a “truce” between the animals is maintained through respecting critical distances and keeping dogs away from coyotes. Alpha humans are always there to moderate the dogs’ behavior. Dogs and coyotes don’t really like each other.

Also, if there is a coyote pack/family, they could get fed up with what they consider to be harassment within their territory, especially when your dog is alone. If there are “raspberry” abrasions on Krissi’s legs, or a nip on the haunches, these constitute clear messaging to your dog from the coyotes that they want your dog to stay away.

So, although this might be an unhappy solution for you, my suggestion would be to not to allow your dogs free reign in this area. Hope this helps!

Janet

__________________________

Hi Janet,

Apologies for the very late response and for your time in answering my then, current issue. I’d like to share briefly the outcome of the story.

Unfortunately, due to fencing costs, the amount of land that I have and my adjacency to the state park, I was not able to stop my dogs from running off the property. What I did, was to be vigilant about them staying close to me over a month or so and to train them to come at my call. I kept them in from ‘magic hour’ before the light changes at dusk, or from going out early in the morning, unless accompanied. Since that initial incident, there have been no such behaviors of chasing, or any nicks or bites to my dogs.

What I can report is an interesting incident after one of my dogs had caught a rabbit and brought it down to the house. The rabbit was fully in tact, and seemed to have died of a heart attack. I left the rabbit by the edge of my property that night and in the morning I went out with the dogs, only to be greeted by a very large coyote just beyond my property line. My dogs and he circled each other, but at a respectful distance, whilst I shouted at my dogs to come back. Neither the coyote or the dogs listened to me, they were in a kind of territorial dance and the coyote ended up leaving, with much strength and at his own pace with my dogs staying with me. It was interesting to say the least and very unexpected. I felt like they knew each other and I had been the only one in a panic. (I carried the dead rabbit up the ridge and left it for the coyote as a peace offering.)

I have not seen the coyotes near my property since and my dogs have not been out on any ‘hunts’ as far as I can see. The coyotes used to come right into the garden and close to the house, as I caught them on my wild-life camera. My dogs have been staying at a closer radius to home. It seems the game is over.

My conclusion is that there was indeed a dialogue between them, the coyotes very clearly showing they did not want the dogs in their area and it seems the message got across and an agreement was made.

I am putting up the wild-life camera again to see if the coyotes are around further up the ridge, so I’ll see what is happening, if anything.

Best wishes and thanks again for your time.

Sandy from Topanga

2013-07-09 (1)

Malicious Poisoning on SF’s Twin Peaks

04 Jul 2013 1 Comment

by yipps:janetkessler in human behavior, Injuries, poisons

photo of the poisoned meat balls found on Twin Peaks

photo of the poisoned meat balls found on Twin Peaks

There are people in the city who don’t like coyotes. Were coyotes the intended target of this malicious poisoning act?  So far, two poisoned dogs have been reported and treated by the Animal Internal Medicine and Specialty Services and the SPCA.

One of the owners found baited meatballs in her neighborhood and it has been confirmed that they are what the dogs ate. This was in the Twin Peaks/Diamond Heights area, on Crestline and Burnett Streets especially.

The dog owner has gathered all the meatballs she could find — about 50 of them, but there is no way to know if she got them all.

It appears that the poison is strychnine. Dogs and coyotes exposed to strychnine show agitation, tremors, seizures, hyperthermia and trouble breathing. Strychnine is a poison that afffects the action of glycine in the brain. Glycine acts to turn down activity in the brain, without which a brain becomes too excitable, producing hyper-excitability and seizures. If caught soon, dogs can recover with medical attention. A coyote will just die a horrible death.
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We’ve been told that occasionally individuals will lace meatballs with strychnine in a misguided attempt to control wildlife populations, including skunks, gophers and COYOTES. Hopefully this is an isolated incident.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_23597722/?source=inthenews
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Kiah is a victim

Kiah is a victim

UPDATE: I met Kiah on a walk today. She is one of the victims of the meatball poisoning — she ate two of them before anyone had any knowledge about what was going on. She’s under medical care and her outlook is good. The meatballs have now been found in Cole Valley, Hayes Valley and the Bernal Heights neighborhoods, and it appears that the target of this hideous crime is dogs:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/poisonous-meatballs-sickening-dogs-in-twin-peaks/Content?oid=2497582
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Pups Spied: Showing Themselves When They Shouldn’t

03 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote parenting, greetings

I watched two pups come out of hiding to join their mum as she waited for dark to fall in order to take them on an outing. Only they were not supposed to do that: they were exposing themselves to danger. She was the one who was supposed to get them when the time was right. Rather than happily greeting them with squeals and kisses as they approached her — this is what she normally would have done — she hurried right past them as if they didn’t exist, hoping they would quickly follow, into some denser brush that would hide them! The trick worked! Coyote parents put exceptional effort into protecting their young.

Puppy Spied: Out Alone in the Wider World

01 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, playing, pupping, video

This puppy was out, all alone, without a parent in sight, nor were there siblings around. I’m sure the family was close by, but I didn’t see them. I suppose he’s the little adventurer of the group. I have two videos starring this little fellow, one taken right after the other. One is his explorations on and around a log. The second is some solo hunting practice! Last, I’ve assembled some stills from the same photo shooting session.

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