Adoration On A Foggy Day

09 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in affection, bonds, communication, coyote behavior, family interactions, feelings & emotions, greetings

There is no other term — just look at the photos: adoration. I’ve known these particular coyotes for a while now. They have a very close relationship: a mother and her two-and-a-half year old son. The jumping for joy, touching, wiggling and squiggling, hugs and kisses were absolutely overwhelming displays of affection — it lasted about 25 seconds. This greeting was an intensely demonstrative one, though there were no accompanying squeals and whining which often go along with greetings.

Almost all of the affectionate display came from the younger male. Mom seemed just as happy to see the son — after all, she is the one that came up to him; he had been standing there and eating — but hers was less demonstrative and much more of a solid and dependable Rock-of-Gibraltar affection. This is how I saw it, based on many hours of previous observations of their behaviors.

After this intense “greeting”, they both ran off  together, and out of sight. It appeared to me that Mom had come to “fetch” the younger one — and he seemed ready to go with her, though, until she appeared, he seemed in no hurry to go anywhere. He had spent the previous hour hunting and eating a number of gophers. They both then headed for a denser growth area in order to “turn in” for the day. I did not see them again.

More Squiggling, Kisses and Falling Over Each Other

04 Aug 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in bonds, care for the young, communication, coyote behavior, family interactions, greetings

So, at the risk of being repetitive, I watched again as a mother came to “collect” her family to take them off to a safe place. I had passed two young coyotes earlier, full of beans and play and maybe some mischief, chasing each other and joyfully running up a path. They stopped to watch a dog walker. I sat down to talk to my dog walking friend. Soon, we realized, that we were being investigated — not us so much as the dog. That is always the case.

And shortly, as might have been expected, the mother came running up and so did a sibling. At first our investigating coyote did not notice them, but eyesight, smell and hearing are keen in coyotes, and this one soon turned its eyes in their direction. Immediately he headed for them. Here are photos of the happy and affectionate greeting that I have come to know is a constant occurrence among members of a coyote family. The mother then, with the displays of affection continuing, led the pack off.

I have noticed that the only truly wary coyote of this group is the mother. The younger ones on their own would linger and investigate right in the open if it were not for the mother appearing to lead them away. On many days they do linger and I worry that they haven’t learned what they need to in order to survive in an urban area. I’m wondering how they might learn this. Coyotes who have grown up in an urban park have few dangers presented to them: they’ve learned to avoid dogs. But they need to keep more hidden.

Return of a Prodigal Son: MORE Joy & Affection

11 Jul 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in affection, bonds, coyote behavior, family interactions, feelings & emotions

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23 SLIDES IN THIS SEQUENCE

Well, he was actually right there, not far in the distance, where the other two could see him. But you wouldn’t have known this from the all-out affectionate welcome he received!! Here are more photos of an affectionate family.

Waiting, Greetings, and . . . Could It Be Just A Smile?

23 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in affection, bonds, communication, coyote behavior

I watched a mother coyote walk around anxiously and finally settle down, up on a ledge, where she stayed. However, she remained anxious, looking around with jerking motions — she was looking for something. Finally, she got up quickly and trotted down the path to where I saw her greet another coyote. This coyote is what she had been waiting for. They kissed and rubbed muzzles — it’s not a calm greeting, it is very active and intense. This time the younger one, a male, put his paw up on his mother’s muzzle during the greeting. I thought, “whoa!” Is this some kind of sign of dominance from the younger male? The other pup — there are two and they are both males, a year old — has the habit of mounting his mother and she allows it, at least for a few minutes. I thought dominant females were, well, dominant. I wonder if she was teaching them things, or maybe keeping the family intact? Or, could there be other things going on?

After the greeting, they started walking down the path in my direction — I moved off quickly. The mother waited for the younger one to follow. My photos reveal BOTH coyotes, as they proceeded, with the exact same open mouth at the same time — it is very similar to the smile I see in the two young pups when they play. And then, a minute later, the mother again has the same open mouth/smile but this time with her nose pulled way up, as if to make sure to reveal the upper canines?  Right after this lip-raised smile, the mother stopped and “licked her lips” though she had not been eating anything. Otherwise, there were no real tongue-tips visible this time as I have seen before. I’m wondering if the open mouth, especially with the nose pulled up and back, has significance beyond the possibility of a contented smile? I’m finding that EVERYTHING, ultimately, has significance, even though I’m not able to decipher it right away!

One Coyote Filching The Other’s Lunch!

20 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in bonds, coyote behavior, curiosity, group activity, hunting

Ever have your hard-earned spoils swiped? Today I watched two young coyotes, buddies, trot together, then stop together to hunt. There didn’t seem to be any possessiveness about who found the hunting place. I’ve seen this “hunting togetherness” often. Results from this hunt were not immediately forthcoming, so one coyote gave up and walked on. But the other stayed and caught a very small vole. Instead of gobbling it down, the coyote ran off to a more protected area to finish killing the rodent and then to eat it. But the other coyote was right there watching. The successful hunter dropped his prey several times. The second coyote just watched at first, but then went for it.  The vole wasn’t dead yet, it  still moved, so I suppose instincts caused both coyotes to try to grab it. Both coyotes then did grab it together, because next I saw them both clenched on the prey, each trying to pull it away from the other. It was a minor struggle, but the guy who originally caught the vole was not the one who ended up with it. That the hunter gave it up so easily was kind of interesting, and points to harmony as being very important in coyote social relations. I’ve seen harmony take precedence all the time.

Continued Camaraderie Between Siblings & Yelping

11 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

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

Today I passed two one-year-old twin brother coyotes. What stood out is the amazing camaraderie between them. I’ve seen these two alone individually about the same amount of times that I have seen them together. When they are together they seem totally involved with the other, keeping track of what the other is doing and “joining in” with the other if it looks like fun.

These two noticed me and then ignored me, as usual. One continued walking, but since the other stayed behind to observe, the first came back rather than go on. They both then wandered around separately within my view. One pooped on the trail and then entered the tall grass where he apparently looked for food. The other walked by, and, seeing the one in the tall grass, “pounced in” after it — it was an enthusiastic leap. The grass was tall, so this coyote could not possibly have seen prey from his location, but he pounced in anyway to be with his brother, I think. They both then hunted together. I didn’t see that they caught anything at all. One then came out of the grass and walked a way on the trail. The other then came out, smelled the poop left earlier on the trail by his brother, and then headed away from me down a path, then waited for the other, and the other ecstatically followed.  Further on, where the path diverged, one kept going and the other turned off, but kept his eye on the first. This is when I lost track of both of them.

An hour later I saw their mother in this same location: coyote family life and mutual support is very strong, even after the pups reach a year of age. I wondered if she were looking for them, or monitoring for dog activity. Suddenly I heard a “group yelping” that I had never heard before. Although it sounded like five or six coyotes, I know that it could only have been the two young coyotes I had seen earlier. The minute the mother heard them, she was off in their direction. So this “yelping” was a communication — different from the “barking” which had not elicited a behavioral reaction from other coyotes except for a mild perking up of the ears.

Yelping. The “yelping” was not the “barking” that we are so used to in our urban parks. The “barking” has always been a result of having been chased by a dog: a complaining and possibly a statement of “leave me alone”. This “yelping”, on the other hand, lasted only a minute and had a distinct tone of complaining: could it have been that they, the comrades, were fighting over some food? According to Wyman Meinzer, it is at food caches that hierarchies between coyotes are broken and new orders are established. I wonder if this is what might have been going on? I went to the area where I thought the yelping might have come from, but couldn’t find the coyotes. I then walked along the street where I asked a man if he had heard them. He had just come back in the car from walking his dog and had not heard them, but his wife had. Her thought was that after a “kill” this is how the coyotes called the others. Hmmm. I myself have only seen gophers and voles become prey. I’m wondering now about this “yelping” as communication/calling, and if possibly it might have involved a larger animal of prey such as a skunk? The mother definitely had responded to the “yelping”, whereas I have seen her totally ignore “barking”  from another coyote — each had communicated something totally different.

Amazing Maternal Care & Affection: A Typical Example

30 May 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in affection, bonds, care for the young, communication, coyote behavior Tags:

What a thrill I had today as I observed coyote behavior.  The intricacies and depth of care, and the bonds and affection within a coyote family I am finding to be very profound.

This morning the moon was full, bright and overpowering. So I sat down to photograph it. I was hoping to get the details of moon topography which my camera is so good at picking up — not so my naked eye! As I was doing this, yes, a coyote wandered by, looked at me, went further off, came closer and then wandered on. What a nice opening for my day!  I then continued my own walk, not needing to see anything else at all that day.

An hour later, on my way back on one of the looped footpaths, I saw the mother coyote headed to where I had seen the other one earlier — the other one being a year-old offspring of this one. I followed at a distance in hopes of picking up some interesting tidbit of behavior. This coyote kept stopping, looking around and then moving ahead, rather purposefully. Then, right at the edge of some tall grass I could barely discern some activity: there were two coyotes now, falling over each other with joy, kisses and hugs. Yes, that is how I would have to characterize it. This greeting lasted about 8 seconds — I only got one bad shot of it. The one photo I have does not convey the intensity and warmth. I have never seen two dogs greet this way, and seldom have I even seen a human and dog greet in this manner. I think the greeting must have also imparted a message to “come with me”, because the mom seemed to lead the way and the younger one followed, back in the direction from which she had just come. Whenever the younger one stopped to examine something, the mom stopped and waited — sometimes sitting patiently while doing so. When the younger coyote appeared in the path in back of the mom again, they walked on.

They soon veered off the path, and proceeded over rocks, tree trunks and overgrowth. I followed as best I could and did end up where they did. The mom trotted on and junior followed. He had been led to food: mom had fetched him to take him to this food. The young one began eating and the mother moved out of sight and into the further distance. I was too far away, with shrubbery in the way, to be able to tell what was being eaten: it looked like soft food, such as a pear or potato.  It was not of animal origin. Possibly there is a pear tree in the area? Or, could the mother have retrieved this from someone’s garbage? The other possibility is food left by late night revelers — of which there are plenty in the park as attested to by the beer cans we find on the weekends.

When all had been eaten, the younger coyote urinated on the food spot, looked around, and moved into the brush area where its mother had gone. I went to the spot where he had eaten to check it out, but nothing remained. So I continued to follow. At this point I could see the mother coyote waiting up on a hill, continually looking in the direction of the younger one. I assumed the younger one was supposed to follow. But the younger one continued to hunt in the area, and then I lost vision of it. The mother obviously was waiting for the youth to follow her. When he didn’t appear, she went looking for him!! The mom began a fairly intense search, trotting this way and that, looking and smelling for clues — even looking down an escape path which I have seen coyotes use. She finally disappeared into the underbrush. I returned to find the young one in the area where I had last seen it. When it saw me this time, it took off into the underbrush, too.

So, this very purposeful family interaction was very rewarding to watch. The sequence included the mom’s initial search for the younger coyote, the super-affectionate greeting, her waiting for the younger one, leading him some distance to food, her going off to wait while he ate, and then her searching for him when he was supposed to follow. The entire series of behaviors constitute a thrilling show of family interconnectedness, care and affection. In coyotes, the family, with all of its attendant interactions, appears to be what social structure is based on.

Grooming Shows Affection and Care

11 Apr 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in affection, bonds, coyote behavior, grooming Tags: ,

These two coyotes were out looking around: a mother and her yearling pup. They were together, but one would go off to explore separately and then see the other, or even look for it, and then trot over to be with it. They kept tabs on each other and looked for each other after being apart only a few moments. One reached this rock first, and then the other joined. Immediately the mother began grooming the younger one’s back. Could it be that she was taking off a tick? I say this because it looked like there might have been a tick on the younger one’s eyelid earlier on. After the grooming was completed, and it lasted only a minute, both coyotes continued to look about.

Grooming serves both to get rid of potential health hazards and to strengthen social bonds. There is a lot of affection between this pair of coyotes. Coyote family life is as intimate and as involved as our own.

Recognition of individuals, bonded, walking home

08 Jan 2010 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in "home", bonds, coyote behavior, reactions to a human Tags: , ,

It was still dark as two coyotes ran by in a hurry — it was hard to see them in the dim light. I looked far up the hill to see a group of walkers and their unleashed dogs — the coyotes were evading them. The coyotes kept their eyes on the group, but then stopped and looked at me. I always stand still when I see coyotes. The coyotes stopped fleeing and hung out for a moment some distance in front of me. But the walkers could then be seen again, and a woman from the group was yelling at her dog. The coyotes must have sensed danger to themselves because they then headed off and disappeared into the brush. I don’t think the group of walkers or dogs were aware of the coyotes.

The walkers moved, temporarily, out of sight and out of earshot. When I got over the crest of a hill I saw both coyotes walking slowly and calmly, and exploring the ground together. When the walkers could be heard again in the distance, the coyotes stopped their activity and looked up. When the walkers became visible again, the coyotes continued walking away from the group and in a direction I have seen them walk before. I’ve seen them walk in this direction often at about this same time — they gave the feeling that they were walking “home”. The coyotes were not in a hurry — they were far enough away from the group to know they could get away if they had to. They crossed the path, out of sight, avoiding detection by the walkers who then came down this same path.

I’ve been able to see that these particular coyotes distinguish me from groups of walkers with dogs. Through their behavior, one can see that coyotes can recognize and distinguish certain groups of dog walkers, certain dogs, and, yes, certain people.

Of note is that these two coyotes, nine-month-old siblings, tend to stick together most of the time — they appear to have a strong bond. One is definitely the leader, the other, the follower. I see them less and less often with their mother.

And the third observation that I’ve been becoming aware of, is that these coyotes were actually walking home — a direction in which I’ve seen them head, shortly after dawn, where they probably remain until dusk can camouflage them again. These coyotes are not out during daylight hours. “Home” may be a den area or close to a den area, or it may just be a place where they feel comfortable, safe and at ease: the same as what we use our own “homes” for — a place we head for at the end of a day.

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