Curiously Following a Leashed Dog

20 Mar 2012 2 Comments

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

This coyote has, twice now, casually, nonchalantly, but curiously and interestedly, followed this dog and walker. I’ve seen this behavior before with other dogs: the coyote seems to actually pick a particular dog and walker, and just saunters along behind — trailing at 50 to 100 feet —  and curiously watching: “What are you doing and where are you going?” When the walker stops or turns around to face the coyote, the coyote freezes in it’s tracks but does not flee, or it heads for some bushes but still watches.  When the walker and dog pick up again, the coyote lingers for a moment, but then carefully follows again. After several hundred feet the exercise peters out and the coyote ducks into the thicket and out of sight.

In this case here, the walker was charmed and amused by the coyote’s curiosity towards him. He had no problem with what was happening, but did keep turning around to make sure the coyote kept a safe distance away.

If you feel intimidated by this particular coyote behavior, or if a coyote gets too close, you need to let it know that you don’t like it around. You need to shoo it off and then keep moving on. The easiest way to shoo off a coyote is to face it and yell at it to go — do this in a manner that conveys that you really mean it.  Whispering “shoo” or waving your arms isn’t going to do a thing. An even better technique is to lean down as if to pick up a pebble — most coyotes know what this means. And if you need to, really pick up a pebble and toss it in the coyote’s direction (but never at the coyote). You have not accomplished anything unless you have caused the coyote to move off, so you need to persist until it does so.

Carefully Investigating from a Safe Distance

01 Feb 2012 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, coyotes and dogs

This resting coyote — hidden from view — perked up when a dog and walker went by. A number of dogs had passed, so I don’t know why this one was of particular interest, but  the coyote felt that an investigation was called for. As I’ve noted before, the interest is often about “what are you doing and where are you going.” The coyote followed, ever so carefully, at a fairly long distance, keeping an eye on the dog and owner who walked in the vicinity of hedges where the coyote had been resting.  At several points, the coyote stopped to wait for the walkers to move way ahead, and then followed at a distance that just allowed it to keep the wakers in sight, yet not be seen. When the coyote stopped and stood still, it was almost undetectable. Then, when the dog and owner finally headed off for good, the coyote just sat down and watched them leave. The activity, from start to finish, lasted thirteen minutes, and the dog and walker never noticed the coyote.

I don’t know how this dog might have reacted had it seen the coyote.  Some dogs can smell coyotes from afar and know they are around, even if the coyote can’t be seen. Some dogs are either oblivious or don’t care, even when a coyote can be seen. And there are some dogs that show real respect for the needs of wildlife, leaving them alone and giving them their space on purpose.  But most dogs have no such comprehension and think coyotes are to be chased.  The chasing sets up a precedent which the coyotes then come to expect. Most often, the coyote will just flee. But it could stand up for itself by messaging its needs to be left alone or to leave its territory. This could entail charge-and-retreat sequences, or sometimes even nipping at a dog’s behind, cattle-dog fashion, to get it to leave. Keeping your dog close to you and leashed can prevent such incidents.

Coyote Interrupted

14 Jan 2012 4 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, dog reactions to coyotes, oneupmanship, video Tags: , , , ,

Sirens set this coyote off, with long drawn-out howls and barking, and pauses in-between.  I’ve only included part of the recording here. During one of the last pauses you will hear, unusually, a dog’s response, which surprises the coyote who stops to carefully listen. “What the. . . . . who does he think he is?”  Anyway, the interruption seems to tick off the coyote who throws herself into the next howl with a spirited leap, howls some more, and then hurries off to a place where she might get a view of her competitor. I don’t think she saw anyone. The coyote continued to howl, but the dog did not, and the siren had long since ceased, so things quieted down fairly quickly.

Grunting More Than Huffing Here

10 Oct 2011 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs Tags: , , ,

This video, again, shows the reaction of a coyote to a hostile dog appearing on a path about 200 feet away. Coyotes seem not to be bothered by dogs that have never bothered them. So when a dog appears that causes a coyote to react this way, it is because of the dog’s previous behaviors — a coyote always remembers each dog and its behaviors, be it a blatant antagonism, or something more subtle like a “dirty look”.  I’ve seen this over and over again. By the time I got the camera set up, most of the grunting was over — it had gone on for over a minute.  The grunts are very audible in this video. Fortunately the walker and his dog veered off the path and left the area, so the grunting just petered out, as in the last video I posted. The coyote  took the opportunity to lie down right there where it was camouflaged by the tall grasses. Coyotes frequently are right there in the open, but you can’t see them!

Shortly after this grunting episode, another dog and walker — with a history of being hostile and antagonistic towards coyotes — appeared in the distance. The coyote heard them coming and stood up, waited until they were in sight, and, before being seen by them, trotted off into some bushes rather than wait for the possibility of an encounter. I’m sure if the coyote had stayed down, it would not have been seen, but it chose not to take this chance.

One might wonder why a coyote would be out when dog walkers are out. Do  rodents tend to stick their noses out more during certain times, making hunting more successful at these times? I don’t know, it’s just a guess. Also, though, coyotes seem to want to get a glimpse of what is going on in “their” territories before hunkering down for the day.

The Huffing Continued

07 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, huffing, video Tags: , , , , ,

This is actually a continuation of the last posting on “Coyote Huffing”. I should have included it in that posting. By the time I took this second video, the coyote had sat down. But you can still see the movements of her throat, huffing and puffing, during the first 13 seconds of the clip. The activity is very quiet, barely audible, if at all in the clip, but nonetheless audible in real life. In this case, after the huffing stopped, at 13 seconds into the clip, the coyote calmed down and the matter was forgotten for the time being. The coyote soon got up and continued her slow trek towards one of her snoozing spots.

Coyote Huffing

04 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, huffing Tags: , ,

The coyote was minding its own business, looking for a possible meal on a grassy area. Occasionally she would look up to watch walkers in the distance. Then, suddenly an unleashed dog caught her eye. The unleashed dog glared at her giving her a feeling of uneasiness. This dog has regularly chased the coyote in the past, and, of course, the coyote remembers all such incidents. Fortunately, the owner saw what was happening and was able to grab the dog.

However, the coyote remained upset — it is not easy for anyone to turn around their fears and uneasiness on a dime. After running over to a bush, she watched as the dog and walker left, but her emotions were running high. She sat there, huffing her discontentment. Notice her throat area which shows the huffing after she reached the bush. Very often, this kind of soft huffing segue’s into a loud and distressed barking session. It did not happen this time probably because the dog left, though that is no assurance that the barking won’t happen anyway. This adult coyote, whom I have seen and know to be an “alpha” coyote — was openly displaying her feelings. In fact, whenever you see a coyote in some kind of fired-up state, it is expressing its feelings — and these feelings are a reaction to the situation at hand.

Sniffing For, then Scratching At an Irritant

13 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in communication, coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, coyotes, dog reactions to coyotes, oneupmanship Tags: , ,

This fellow had been relaxing when he suddenly bolted up and looked into a neighbor’s yard, then trotted over and stood behind some thick growth and sniffed intently, with his nose high in the air. He spent a full minute doing this, closing his eyes sometimes as if to really savor what might be in the air. He was in an overgrown empty field, and directed his sniffing towards the yard next door where several dogs lived. These dogs were never out of their house without their owners. However, I had seen one come over to the overgrown field to do its business and I had seen this particular coyote sniff out these messes and urinate on top of them. Also, I’ve seen one of the dogs chase this coyote, though not in a very intense manner. These dogs are particularly acute at either hearing or smelling coyotes that come to the property: at the slightest hint that a coyote might be around, one and then all of them will begin barking together. I think there are four dogs who live there, on and off.

On this day, no dogs were around. The coyote sniffed carefully from a long distance away, and then slowly trotted closer to the hedge which divides the properties — yawning on the way over. I think coyotes sometimes yawn to maintain a casual-calm mood for themselves. At the hedge-line, the coyote stopped and stretched its neck up to get a better view. Again, no dogs in sight, and no barking.  So the coyote carefully and slowly entered the yard, walked around casually, found the smell he was looking for, urinated on the spot, and then kicked and scratched that area of ground where he had urinated.  The coyote had probably found a spot where one of the dogs had urinated.  “Take that!” It was one of those “oneupmanship” behaviors directed towards the dogs which have been an irritant to the coyote. When done, the coyote exited the yard and continued trekking through uninhabited areas before disappearing.

Mom Rushes In, by Charles Wood

30 Aug 2011 1 Comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, group activity, video Tags: , ,

Monday my Los Angeles area coyotes were less congenial than on Sunday.  Mister showed up first and started barking.  Then Mom and Dad arrived.  I didn’t see any others.  Perhaps they acted differently for the three having time on their hands while waiting for the others

In the video, Mister first solicits play from Mom.  She refuses and Mister turns to Dad who also refuses.  Mister comes toward my dog Holtz and me.  Note that Holtz, sixty pounds, stood to my immediate left wearing his harness attached to a fully retracted and locked leash.  Mom joins Mister who steels himself with a stretch and a yawn and then comes closer while Mom and Dad watch from behind.

Holtz had been sitting quietly, paying more attention to his itches than to the coyotes.  A little late seeing that Mister was now close by, Holtz rises to bark.  Mister flinches.  On Holtz’s first bark, Mom set her left rear foot.  Mom might have ignored one bark.  To one bark, Mister might have replied with dirt scrapes and yips.  As it was, Holtz barked more.  Mom’s exaggerated run towards us was intended to give Holtz pause until she arrived in position.  Holtz’s excessive ruckus decided Mom’s course.

Mister’s course was decided after his parents refused him play.  Holtz didn’t notice.  Mister had reinforcements, yet Holtz’s position was superior to the three because Holtz had me.  Holtz didn’t notice.  Holtz was reactive.  In contrast, the coyotes were acting out a plan, a plan that allowed for the contingency of Mister needing help.  The coyotes wouldn’t have acted out a plan had I left when Mister began to bark or left when later they started to warn me with stares.  They see Holtz as a serial intruder into their home range and don’t want him around because they perceive Holtz as a potential competitor.  To a coyote, showing one’s self to a lingerer is supposed to be enough to cause an intruder to leave.  In fact, Holtz had wanted to leave well before Mister showed himself, having planted his feet and refusing to go with me towards the brush out of which Mister later emerged.

After Mom joins Mister her eyes follow Holtz.  Mister moves right, perhaps too soon.  Mom waits and continues to study before deciding to approach on our left.  She made an assessment and a decision based on how we were physically positioned towards her.  I didn’t notice what tipped her to our left.

Mister draws in behind Mom and they rush in.  Holtz barks and then whines in frustration at my restraining him.  Mom and Mister stop short and withdraw.  They meet up with Dad who comes to them from within the bushes.

Still King?

In the past, Dad has been the one to message Holtz and me in the way Mom and Mister did today.  I don’t know if Dad’s health doesn’t allow it or if the parents think it good experience for Mister.  If Dad is losing it, Mom is stepping in to fill his shoes.  It isn’t my experience of Dad that he hold back or prefer greetings, scratching and play to messaging Holtz and me.  My goal is to find him alone in order to better assess his temperament and health, to see if he still is the king I’ve known him to be.

Posting written by Charles Wood. Visit Charles Wood’s website for more coyote photos: Charles Wood. His work is copyrighted and may only be used with his explicit permission.

Chased Into A Hollow

28 Aug 2011 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote barking, coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs Tags: , ,

Being out at twilight in a park allowed me to glimpse an owl hunting — I don’t see this often. It was quiet and it seemed at first as though no one was around, but I was wrong. Soon a dog appeared, and the owl took off as it and its owner got nearer.

As I watched the owl fly away, I heard another man yell sharply at his dog. That was the tell-tale sign that alerted me to the possible presence of a coyote on a trail.  As I headed in the direction of the voice, I began to hear two coyotes bellowing out their distress at having been chased.  One coyote must have run off, because its barking receded into the distance.

However, the other coyote was very close by, in the bushes. I could not see the coyote at all — so, to begin with, I just took a photo of where the sound was coming from. It was in a hollow right next to the trail — not, as usual, up high and away. Although at first I had heard two coyotes barking together, the barking pattern changed when one ran off.  The barking began alternating between them, one after the other, taking turns, seeming to answer each other, until the far coyote stopped altogether. The nearer one continued a little longer and then also stopped.

Within a short time, the closer coyote must have sensed that the danger had passed — the dog and walker were long gone — because it came out to inspect it’s surroundings, looking around carefully before trotting off to continue what it probably had been doing before the dog arrived: hunting for voles and gophers.

I’m including the recording in which you can hear the near and the far coyotes’ barking. Unfortunately the recorder picked up the sound of my walking as I was trying to visually spot the coyotes!


Dad Ten Days Later, by Charles Wood

18 Aug 2011 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, video Tags: , ,

It is hard to believe I haven’t seen Dad for ten days.  Wednesday I went into my Los Angeles area coyotes’ field hoping to come across one.  Dad was in the rendezvous area, apparently alone. He saw my dog Holtz and me before I saw him.  Dad approached us and I pulled Holtz closer with his leash and made him sit.  I stepped towards Dad and he backed off.  I then began to video.

The video shows a fairly low key Dad.  Near the end of the video he scrapes with his head pointed toward me.  Usually that’s when he starts to approach.  I didn’t want him to come closer so I put my hand into my pocket for a clicker.  He ran off as I fiddled with my pocket, not waiting for the clicker.  I’ve never used a clicker before.  A few times in the past I’ve reached into a pocket for a golf ball to lob at him.  I’m pretty sure he suspected that I was going for a golf ball.  I took my eyes off him to reach into my pocket.  When I looked up a moment later he was gone and I had to play the video to see how and where.  He watched Holtz and me as we left.

The previous day as I sat under the bridge I heard Dad’s pack howling.  They were in the nature preserve hidden in the distant trees.  Their calls echoed faintly under the bridge and were muffled in part by the sound of traffic passing on the street above me.  The howling stopped and I didn’t see any coyotes.  Several minutes later several teenage boys on bicycles rode towards me out of the nature preserve.  I asked them if they had heard the coyotes.  They said yes and that although they hear them frequently, they have never seen them.

Posting written by Charles Wood. Visit Charles Wood’s website for more coyote photos: Charles Wood. His work is copyrighted and may only be used with his explicit permission.

No Wiggly Squiggles For Me, by Charles Wood

26 Jul 2011 1 Comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, oneupmanship

Mister runs

Monday my leashed dog Holtz and I went into my Los Angeles area coyotes’ field.  A man headed toward the east end of the field with his dinner.  He asked me if the coyotes were still coming in there.  I said they do and that I had seen some last night.  He walked on in and I got settled.  Mister and one of his siblings soon came north towards me.  Mister wasn’t happy and immediately ran towards me.  My friend Lynne and her dog were watching from the bridge.  It unsettles me to see one of my coyotes running towards Holtz and me.  I know they are going to stop short, yet I still feel a little like turning and running.  I wonder if an intruder coyote would turn and run upon seeing Mister’s territorial display.  Mister stopped short, as they all have in the past, and delivered a message.  He hovered over it for a long while and I had thought he was heaping on a lot more.  He wasn’t.  Although his eyes were on my friend, his ears were on Holtz and me, which I think was an interesting choice.

It is hard for me to reconcile Mister’s warning behavior with his rendezvous joy.  Is this tough guy the same coyote that wiggly squiggles with his mom and dad?  He is tough with me.  After giving us his message he ran back south some.  Then he started barking and yipping, doing so until I left.  Meanwhile his companion was hidden.

When I disturb a pair, one typically warns while the other either hides or backs off a bit.  I don’t think the one that doesn’t warn lacks courage.  I think it waits as a reserve force.  I think so because when meeting paired Mom and Dad, they trade off as to who warns and who holds back.  Whether Mom or Dad, the one who warns is probably the one who feels the most irritated by me that day.

Mister dumps

A few years ago I ran into a fellow in a wetlands area.  He told me he had once been surrounded there by eight provocative coyotes near where we were standing.  Feeling uneasy, I asked him what he did to get out of that situation.  He said he picked up some rocks.  I looked around and didn’t see any rocks handy.  I asked him where he got the rocks.  His girlfriend’s jaw dropped, her eyes bugged out and she stepped back.  The fellow’s answer was embarrassed and vague.  I didn’t believe his story.  In fact, in that same general area, I once did happen upon a number of coyotes (I didn’t count them).  One came forward to bark and yip while several waited to its rear.  It was easy to walk away with leashed Holtz and none of the coyotes followed.

I’m not sure who Mister teamed with Monday, its photograph was unclear.  Yet it seemed to have Mister’s lower lip black bubble, which I thought was a trait shared only with Dad.  Yet Mister’s Monday companion almost certainly wasn’t Dad, the size and the eyes weren’t Dad’s.  So who was it?  To confuse me further, the coyote in my April 21 video post I first identified as Bold and subsequently as Mister.  It isn’t Mister, the lower lip isn’t right.  Yet I’m not sure it is Bold either.  Bold’s conformation is superior and the April 21 coyote’s isn’t.  That its body shape was lackluster made me think it Mister, but I missed that the lower lip wasn’t Mister’s.  I wonder if there are four, perhaps five of the seven last year pups still with Mom and Dad.  If there are more than three yearlings in there, I may never really know it to a certainty, and if there are extra yearlings in there, I don’t really know if they are siblings to the others or not.  What I do know is that this group is pretty good at delivering confusion.

Posting written by Charles Wood. Visit Charles Wood’s website for these and more coyote photos: Charles Wood. His work is copyrighted and may only be used with his explicit permission.

Warning Bark at a Den Site

20 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in communication, coyote barking, coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, pupping, video

We noticed a lone coyote hurrying away, way down the path ahead of  us. There were just a few of us on the path, but there was also a dog. The coyote obviously saw us as threats so it hurried up to a lookout, where, half-hidden, it proceeded to warn us off with its bark for about 20 minutes. A couple of people hung around to watch, as did their dog: they had never heard a coyote barking and were very excited and exhilarated by the experience.

I always suggest to people that  it’s best to move on if you have a dog: this is the reason the coyote was barking. Having said that, I’ve noticed that coyotes will continue barking for a considerable time, whether the threat has departed or not! I took this video at the site of on den way back in April. Other people saw the pups, but I did not. On the video, you’ll hear lots of birds, a human voice and a San Franciscan fog horn in addition to the coyote’s barking!

Why Isn’t Mom Around?

14 Jul 2011 3 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in care for the young, coyote behavior, coyote living areas, coyote reactions to dogs, curiosity, dog reactions to coyotes, family interactions, individuality, pupping

Hi Janet:

Last evening my husband, Bud, and our dog were walking on the nearby trails and saw a coyote pup about 150 feet ahead zigzagging back and forth on the trail.  He stopped, remembering that I had told him that coyotes are very protective of pups.  Our dog has a bad sense of smell so didn’t notice the pup.  Then another pup comes out of the blackberries and then a third.  They were very curious and moved about 50 feet down the trail toward Bud and still our dog did not see or smell them.

Bud was delighted but also concerned and was ready to turn around when the little yapper dog who lives much further up the hill but next to the trail saw our dog and came down the trail full throttle and barking loudly.  He was not at all interested in the pups but he did scare them and they dashed into the blackberry bushes.  Bud continued up the trail and only when he got to the spot they disappeared into did our dog smell them.  He then went nuts of course.

Is this normal for pups to be exploring without an adult near?  We knew that there was a den closeby that area because of the amount of scat on the trail.  We have noticed pup scat lately also. We also suspect there is another den about half a mile from this one.  How much area does a group of coyotes claim?  Or do they claim it at all?

We have many black-tailed deer in the area and many fawns each spring.  I have been curious about the possibility of coyotes killing very young fawns that are left in hiding while their mothers graze elsewhere.  I have never seen any evidence of this happening.  Does it?

Thanks for all you do for coyotes!  Ginny

~~~~~~~

Hi Ginny –

Thanks for sharing your concerns — it’s a very interesting situation. From my own experience and from what I have read, coyote pups are keenly watched by their parents — either by one or by both parents. Even if a parent is not apparently around, the parent/s are always close by and ready to defend the pups if necessary. I should add that I have seen a mother coyote keep an eye on her brood from a huge distance away — she kept an eye on them as she relaxed in the sunshine. And then I saw her dash off in their direction, but I do not know why. Mothers do leave their pups when they go off to hunt, but she tucks them away in a safe spot where they normally stay. 

Other possible explanations for pups without a parent close by, include an overtaxed single parent who happens to be in hot pursuit of prey nearby, or a parent holding off another dog which had chased it in hopes that that dog wouldn’t find the pups. Worse would be if the parents have been injured or are ill and unable to defend their brood, or if they’ve met an untimely death.

More than likely, the pups just strayed from where they were supposed to stay put. But it wouldn’t hurt to check on them.

Maybe you could take walks in that area of the woods for the next few days until you can figure out the situation? Whatever you do, don’t get too close to the pups and don’t try picking them up — a parent coyote may come out of hiding to ferociously defend its young. If you continue to see the pups without a parent, you have a dilemma: I’m not sure the pups can survive without their parents, however anything you do to interfere is going to alter their natural lives forever.

If you see the pups alone again, you could call the humane society. If they are progressive, they would help raise the pups in such a way so that they won’t become habituated and so that they can be released again into the wild. Most humane societies are not equipped to do this.

You could also leave the pups to see if they make it on their own — maybe the humane society could suggest a way for you to help these pups without actually intruding on them or overtly interfering so as not to habituate them or alter their wildness?

As for the fawns, coyotes tend to look for the easiest prey to catch. Voles and gophers work fine in my area, but they also eat skunks, raccoons and squirrels here. Yes, coyotes are known to prey on newborn deer. I’ve read where newborn deer are protected by their lack of odor — I don’t know how much protection this offers against coyotes. But also, coyotes are known to be very individualistic in their behaviors and just because coyotes in one area eat certain prey doesn’t mean they do so in other areas. So to find out what yours specifically are up to and what their eating and preying habits are, you would need to explore for such activity.

You said there was another den only half a mile away from this one. A coyote family normally has more than one den which it moves the pups between. Moving the pups diminishes flea infestations and also it  serves as protection against predators.

Also, it is not unusual for coyotes — including very young ones — to be curious about walkers and dogs, and follow them.  However, a parent — if he is around — may decide that this kind of behavior calls for disciplinary action: see Charles Wood’s posting  More Dominant Male/Father Coyote Behavior .

I hope this helps a little. Please let me know, and please keep me posted on what you find out!  Sincerely, Janet

~~~~~~~

Thanks for your reply Janet.  Bud went to the same spot tonight and didn’t see the pups.  There is a lot of underbrush and blackberries everywhere along the trail except where it has been removed as invasive species.  Coyotes are not seen often because of this.  Lots of people let their dogs run loose on the trail but Bud did not see anyone else yesterday although it is a fairly large, heavily wooded area with several trails.

Regulars on the trail only see coyotes a few times a year.  Most of the trees are deciduous so I really tried to spot them during the winter but no such luck.  I think they are very used to the dogs and walkers and so know where to locate so they are not within view.  We will keep an eye on the situation as best we can.  The city only removes invasive species by hand so they do not have funding for much work.  They primarily remove the holly trees hoping to attract songbirds.  There are some songbirds there but also in residence is a Cooper’s Hawk(s) who dines on those same songbirds.  Ginny

Dad In Charge, by Charles Wood

06 Jul 2011 1 Comment

by yipps:janetkessler in care for the young, coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, group activity, pupping

Dad stops

Tuesday I saw Dad at the east end of their east west dirt road, as was Mom Saturday.  Both Mom and Dad, Saturday and Tuesday, respectively, appeared east and headed west.  Last Thursday, Bold instead moved from west to east on that road to arrive at the eastern spot where I had seen Mom (and Dad Tuesday) start out.  Mister frequently heads from west to east on that road, as did Bold last Thursday.  Dad and Mister recently headed together from west to east, which I read as Mom having the puppies somewhere else.  (All this activity usually takes place in the hour before and then during dusk.)  Last Friday, Mom and the three yearlings were together a bit west of that area.  They appeared to be waiting for Dad to come west to them.  I reasoned that he must have had the new puppies with him, though I couldn’t confirm it because he didn’t show up while I was there.

Nor could I confirm on Tuesday that Dad had the new puppies in tow.  Interestingly, once he spotted me, he turned around and trotted back to the cement ditch, exasperatingly out of my view, from which he had just come.  Then he trotted out again to stare and to sit.  He had a view of both me and the ditch.  My thinking is that he had run back to another adult coyote and messaged it to not bring the puppies out.  I guessed there was another adult coyote there because last year, Dad was not by himself able to stop an avalanche of marauding puppies in tow.  The puppies were always slow to recognize his danger messages, mostly glares and grimaces, placed on the puppies once he would spot me.  Last year it would take him time and effort to corral them and move them away from me and into safe brush.  The puppies were slow to glean his meaning, mostly taking an inordinate amount of time to respond appropriately, even at six months of age.  Tuesday, if indeed he had gone back to warn, his orders were followed instantly, something I only conceive of an adult coyote being able to do.  Once he sat, he was in control of both me and his presumed followers.

Dad down

Once I’m spotted, the only activity I generally see are waiting, watching, leaving and/or warning me.  Consequently, Tuesday I moved west to wait for Dad to proceed.  A few minutes later, Dad came along, defecated and then sat staring at me where I was on the bridge.  A rabbit cavorted in front of him just a bit away.  Then Dad bolted to the east, scaring the bejesus out of the rabbit who ran into the brush!  It needn’t have worried at that point.  Things to the east had evidently gotten out of hand and undistractible Dad went back presumably to reassert control of his pack for their own good.  Just after Dad headed back east, another coyote came from the north and went south under the bridge where, once in the field, it headed east to where Dad had bolted.

It is starting to look like a part of my coyote pack takes the new puppies into the nature preserve for at least the afternoons, leaving it for their field around twilight, rendezvous time.  Fortunately for my coyotes, the nature preserve’s boundary road, a major Los Angeles/Orange County east west running street, has two large drainage culverts under it as well as a utility road running under the bridge I stand on.  My coyotes make good use of those safe passages under a heavily trafficked street to go back and forth between the nature preserve and their field.  If I am able to confirm that the puppies are being schooled in the nature preserve in the afternoons, then that is a break with last year’s afternoon use of their field as a puppy school.

Dad ignores rabbit

I hope I am able to convey in the foregoing some of the competence I see displayed by Dad.  The “Dad Stops” photograph reminds me of many of his good qualities.  Among them, total information awareness, his eyes on his present object of interest, his ears perked to assess where he has been and where he is going;  decisiveness in action, where he acts with confidence and competence, Tuesday to make his space safe for himself and his progeny;  he commits entirely to a course of action and doesn’t quit until he has achieved his aims, seeming to know from start to finish what is required of him;  and he digs in and he takes the initiative, sometimes making a stand, sometimes instead taking to the brush.  All of which qualities in the same degree I have also observed in his mate, Mom.  I’m fairly certain that the yearlings are learning some of their final lessons before dispersing, lessons about guarding and secreting puppies, the tactics of how to fully inherit their “ghost species” legacy.

Posting written by Charles Wood. Visit Charles Wood’s website for these and more coyote photos: Charles Wood. His work is copyrighted and may only be used with his explicit permission.

Distressed Barking After Interference From A Dog

05 Jul 2011 3 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in barking, blatant visual message, coyote barking, coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, video

He could have been belting out the Star Spangled Banner, holding the notes perfectly — after all, it happened to be the fourth of July!

I started taking the video as an Irish Setter spotted a coyote trotting down a hill. It was a chance encounter — a mere momentary brush-by — but a surprise for both. The dog turned to go after the coyote, but stopped in an instant response to his owner’s “no”. Nonetheless, adrenalin was already flowing, and the “I’ll get you” look had already been exchanged between the canines, so the coyote ran to an out-of-reach spot and began its distressed and upset barking. The owner and dog left immediately, which made no impact on the coyote who kept barking away for about 20 minutes to an audience of no one. However, as the minutes ticked away, the intensity of the initial barking subsided — I’ve posted a second video of the next part of this same barking session — to be continued on the next posting.

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