Hi Janet,
It’s technically late spring but we are in summer mode, and so are local coyote. One single mom we know of has typically picked unlikely spots raising her 5 pups.
Her 1st pick to birth was a dried log jam by a creek. She spent about 3 weeks here.
Then she moved pups about a mile to a road maintenance quarry, and kept pups in discarded drainage pile. Why and how this pile of rusted metal made sense…she knows. But it provided a safe labyrinth for her growing pups.
Presently their late spring rendezvous is now…a cattail marsh. You cannot enter it without knowing the maze of little islands and tussocks. It’s mud is deep, smelly and full of leeches. However..within that green shield there are sizeable little islands, dry and formerly used by ducks to nest.
When we become aware of denning areas we leave them for weeks to come. We have a whole region to pick and choose areas, and a lone mom raising pups on voles and mice from scorched lands..is admirable and has my empathy.
Never saw log jams, junk pile or marsh used to raise pups. But she’s got a healthy litter that says her choices were sound if even unpredictable.
Lou
Jun 19, 2024 @ 02:01:09
Great report! Coyotes are endlessly adaptable, it seems.