In case you haven’t seen one, here is a family rendezvous that consists almost entirely of mutual grooming.
The family here includes Mom, Dad, a one-year-old yearling, and a two-year-old yearling. I’ve seen the young pups born this year, but they have not been part of the nightly rendezvous yet in this location because they’ve been raised some distance away due to disruptive dogs here: so the rendezvous at this location consists only of the adults to date. The adults in most families sleep during daylight hours away from the pups. The pups would be five months old in this video — they will have attained a pretty good size by now. After the rendezvous here, these adults then go trekking into the distance beyond the safety of this park where they meet up with the youngsters. Please remember that each family is different — this situation with pups ensconced further away is different from what I normally see.
The reason I’ve posted this video is to show how much grooming is going on between each of the individuals: this amount of grooming, in fact, is quite normal. I’ve broken it down in italics below if you want to know who is grooming whom. Basically, the yearlings groom each other, everyone grooms Mom. . . . . Knowing who is who is unnecessary for appreciating the mutual grooming, but If you want to know who is who, here is the breakdown.
Video begins with two year old son to the left; one year old daughter, Dad, and then Mom to the right: Son begins grooming Sister and then both youngsters groom Dad with Daughter moving over to the right at about :42.
At :52 Son and Daughter groom Dad with mom in the background. At about 1:00 Daughter begins grooming Mom.
At 1:05 Son reaches between Mom and Dad to groom Daughter on the right as Daughter grooms Mom and Dad looks at us.
At 1:34 Son stops to scratch himself and Daughter continues to groom Mom and then grooms Dad as the video ends.
Grooming serves multiple purposes: to get rid of bugs, it confirm ranks and it strengthen bonds. The grooming went on for about 20 minutes — this is just a short section of that session over a month ago (8/25)
Apr 10, 2024 @ 23:56:57
do coyotes leave fur behind after grooming? There is a spot nearby that has clumps of fur left several times a year. Always in the exact same place. (Sorry if this is a repeat )
Apr 11, 2024 @ 04:57:46
Yes, they would, especially starting more or less at this time of year because they are shedding. So when this winter fur detaches, as they scratch it can come off in clumps. But note that humans often groom their dogs out of doors in the same spot: could be dog fur!
Apr 11, 2024 @ 05:14:02
Thanks for your response. Definitely not dog! Wish I could attach a photo. It’s amazing— always in the exact same spot.
Apr 11, 2024 @ 05:18:34
Yes, that it is always in the same spot is interesting: I can’t think of any reason for this except habit. !!