Coyote Yipps

This information was sent to me with big questions: WHY did it happen? No one I have spoken to ever heard of such behavior. In fact, the only expert that might have come across this kind of behavior, Walkaboutlou, whose many articles have been posted in this blog, was as baffled by the story as the rest of us. His input is as follows:

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Hi Janet,

That is something I could only guess at without knowing absolutely for sure the background.

Dogs, coyote, and wolves out here have all killed strange pups. It does happen. I’ve never experienced a family pack kill their own pups. Perhaps there are dual litters and there was a rare intra-inner dynamic that led to this. Within a family group this is extremely strange. Illness could play factor though I doubt it. The pup being dispatched looked very much like a territorial killing of stranger. The wolves and coyote here have done it … again to pups of other packs, as have dogs.

I’ve never seen siblings attack younger pups. Even if overwhelmed with feeding pressures … the adults might stop feeding certain pups or outright leave them to own device … but to kill a sibling … I’ve not ever had a hint of it.

So much goes on we don’t know. I feel somehow those were pups of another litter, or they somehow someway stopped being a member. Or … the adults became aberrant. 

I’ve found that usually … coyote packs are extremely devoted to each other and especially pups.

So this makes it all the more a shock.

Thx for sharing. The next few months of the remaining pups … would be interesting to see. 

Lou

After we learned that there had been a fight between adults in the family, Lou offered further insight:

Hi Janet … yes indeed. Under “aberrant” adult behaviors displaced aggression is plausible. Though I’ve never seen it in a true fam pack taken that far. I have seen some terrific fights among ranch packs or LGD packs where social tensions and up on youngsters.

Also … youngsters that physically are imbued with scent of a [foreign coyote] can be at risk. There have been wolf pups that meandered to stranger pack … but innocently merged with other pack’s pups. The other pack..accepted the questionable but newly scent anointed pup. 

Conversely, pups whose Father was wolf non grata (he fathered pups but not a member) would have his scent on them when he snuck visits. Babysitters quick to scene would sniff over the pups … rather angrily … but not hurt pups. 

Sometimes instincts go awry or behaviors go abnormal without true explanation. 

Undoubtedly fighting and some sort of trigger made those pups no longer protected. Very bizzare. But it happens. 

Thx again,

Lou

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VIDEO of the EVENTS

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Background & Intro, May 9th:

We’re hoping you might be able to shed some light on a situation we’re having right now. We have a bonded coyote pair living on the field and they recently had 10 healthy pups.  Also included with this family are two of the yearlings from last year’s litter. Everything has been fine for the last 6 to 8 weeks. But this morning two of the pups were killed by the pack. One of us was on site when it happened and took footage. And we’re wondering if you know anything about this. The killings happened within an hour of each other. One pup was completely guided and then taken back into the spring area by the dad. The second pup was killed by the yearling while Dad and Mom were in sight. We’re wondering if there’s some outlying thing that’s causing this or if there’s anything that could prevent further killing of the pups.

This is the second litter we have monitored from this alpha pair.  They had pups that contracted mange last year: we were able to successfully treat that litter. 

This year’s pups all appear healthy, no mange. We have cameras on the den and only saw one nursing female — Mom — go in and out: the ten pups were not a case of den sharing.

The field is an overgrown abandoned one where wildlife can live. There are transients humans that go through the area and do scare the coyotes: last night two adult men were in the spring area and only four pups were seen later that evening. Might this have created/contributed to the situation? Not really sure.

Would appreciate any of your insight to the situation.

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Sequence of Events:

First Killing:

Hi Janet, 

Thanks for helping us try and figure the coyote situation out. Very bizarre behavior. When I saw the first pup carcass, a female, Dad was standing over her body. When I got out there it was Dad who ended up taking the carcass into their den area in the bushes — an area where the family has been staying the past two weeks. We didn’t see this first killing.

I think there was an important piece to the puzzle that wasn’t shared with you yesterday. I apologize. Before the yearling attacked the male pup [the second killing], there had been a fight that took place between two coyotes. It was over in the area near the den, not far from where the attack happened. I saw it from afar and headed over to check out what was going on. By the time I got over to the coyotes, the fight had ended. One of the coyotes took off down the trail and didn’t come back while the other, who I suspect is the yearling, hung around with Dad, who was also at the fight scene. That was about a half hour before the male pup was attacked. I’m attaching footage of the coyotes after the fight. [second video]

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Second Killing:

Then about a half hour later an attack on the male pup by the yearlings took place, the yearling I call Sitter. I’m 90% certain it’s him. There was a second adult watching it — Dad — and a third — Mom — that came out of their den area to see what was going on but neither of those adults intervened. Mom soon went back to the den area.

Footage of the second part of the attack can be seen in the attached video.

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After the attacks:

After the attack I went over to the area. The yearling moved off but Dad hung around, as you saw in the footage. Dad was kicking up dirt at me not the yearling. 

I went back out about a half hour later and the carcass was still there with Dad nearby — 20 yards away keeping watch over it — also in the footage. He was annoyed with my presence and settled back down near the pup after I left. He wasn’t too pleased with me checking in on the carcass but didn’t show signs of aggression, just annoyed I was there. I went back by a few hours after that and the carcass was gone. Dad was bedded down under a tree near the den area, panting heavily. 

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The only other coyote killing of its own species that I, Janet, know of, which occurred here in San Francisco, involved two full-grown coyotes pursuing a third full-grown coyotes for several days in a row. Then the body of that pursued coyote was found on the street, not hit by a car, but with its jugular torn out. I don’t know if the victim was an outsider or a brother. I know that male yearlings, when they come of age, develop intense antipathy for each other: the fights are severe and usually cause for the underling/s to flee the area for good. I was able to record such a fight back in Sibling Best Friends Become Arch Enemies: https://coyoteyipps.com/2018/08/09/sibling-best-friends-become-arch-enemies/

Other postings involving intra-family fighting — always full grown coyotes:

Family Infighting Leads to Dispersal: https://coyoteyipps.com/2022/05/26/family-infighting-leads-to-dispersal/

Territorial Fighting Can Be Vicious: https://coyoteyipps.com/2018/10/06/territorial-fighting-can-be-vicious/

Pack Clash, New Behaviors, by Walkaboutlou: https://coyoteyipps.com/2023/06/28/pack-clash-new-behaviors-by-walkaboutlou/

Beatings: Rank Issues Lead to Dispersal: https://coyoteyipps.com/2017/10/20/beatings-rank-issues-leading-to-dispersal/

And here is a mother punishing or attacking her 9 month old female pup extremely harshly: https://coyoteyipps.com/2013/11/09/punishment/