More Rendezvous Behavior: Fussing Over His Pups, Grooming & Intimacy

29 Oct 2013 5 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in affection, bonds, care for the young, coyote behavior, family interactions, father coyote behavior, greetings, group activity, mother coyote behavior, parenting, pupping, rendez vous, rest and sleep, reunion, social behavior, social interactions, squealing

Charles Wood and I both have written a number of postings on coyote rendezvous behavior.  Coyotes are social animals who, except for transients and loners, live in nuclear families. They mate for life — coyotes are one of only 3-5% of mammalian species that do so — and the family is what centers their lives. Hey, not so different from us!

I recently wrote about a coyote mated pair — one with a den full of infant pups — who took off to rendezvous at dusk — like a couple on their way to a tryst in the dark.  Mated pairs are special buddies, and you can see it in that posting. I’ve also assembled a photo essay for Bay Nature on “Raising Kids in the City” to let people know about how social and family-minded coyotes are.

Today’s rendezvous was a family one. Mom and two kids were out lolling around on the hidden side of a hillside, waiting for dusk to get a little heavier.

Dad gets up & stretches

Dad gets up & stretches

After seeing them, I kept walking and found Dad sleeping in a little ball, about 400 feet away from where the others were. I settled down to wait for some activity. Suddenly Dad sat up, as if he knew that the others were waiting for him. What was his cue? He hadn’t seen the others — they were within his line of sight, but he had not looked in their direction. I’m sure he hadn’t heard them or smelled them. Maybe it was a cue in his circadian rhythms, much like our own, built in and influenced by daylight hours, or possibly by the movement of the moon?

He allowed himself a long stretch, and then scouted the length of a path before walking slowly into a clump of bushes which were in the direction of the place where the other family members were hanging out.

rendezvous begins

Rendezvous begins with Dad’s arrival

Mom relaxes a few feet away

Mom relaxes a few feet away

Since I could no longer see Dad after he disappeared into the bushes, I headed back to the hillside where I had first spotted the 3 other coyote family members. By the time I got to the spot where I could see them again, Dad was there. His arrival had sparked great excitement. Tails were wagging furiously. All coyotes, except Mom, were falling all over each other and doing their little wiggle-squiggle thing that they do when they greet one another.  Mom hadn’t moved from her sphynx-like pose, arms extended and crossed,  a few feet away. Now three pups were visible, but the shyest scurried behind a bush when she saw me.

three coyotes look up at an owl.

Dad fusses over the first pup, stopping only to watch an owl pass overhead

As the excitement of the greeting calmed down, Dad approached the two remaining pups, one at a time. The first one he nudged in the snout, and then he poked his own snout into its fur, over and over again, twisting his head this way and that, in a grooming sort of way. The young pup closed its eyes and let itself enjoy the affectionate massage which went along with the grooming.  After about four minutes Dad moved over to the second pup. The first pup got up to follow and stuck its snout under Dad to smell his private parts. Dad did not like this and must have given a sign, because the pup turned away quickly and moved off.

Then Dad groomed the second pup: repeatedly nudging the pup’s head, licking and cleaning it. He then moved to the pup’s rear area and seemed to do the same, though I was on the other side so I could not see exactly where the licking was occurring.

fussing over the kid’s rear end

Dad fusses over the second pup, spending lots of time licking and grooming the head and end of this 6-month old pup

Then my Canadian friend walked up, and I explained to her what was going on. We heard a siren in the distance. All coyote activity ceased and there was silence. I suggested to my friend that we might be in for a great family howling session, and I set my camera into “record” mode in preparation. Sure enough, the howling and squealing began, with the entire family joining in, AND was there another pup in the far distance adding its voice to the fabulous chorus!? Then all sounds ceased, after about 2 minutes. All the coyotes ran off, with happy flailing tails, in a single file, into the darkness and out of sight. There was no longer enough light for my camera to focus. My friend and I departed, too, delighted by how magical this had been. Here is the recording:

A Dad Doesn’t Share

21 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, family interactions, father coyote behavior

That’s a Dad rolling and rubbing himself on an old, smelly tennis ball — most likely covered with grimy dog saliva. Isn’t that what tennis balls are for?

When the kid comes by to check it out, Dad doesn’t let him.  Dad wants the ball for himself — at least until he finishes his rubdown. When he’s through, he abandons the ball, allowing the kid a turn.

But the kid was only interested in it while Dad had it. He follows Dad, giving the ball only a short sniff  as he passes it.  Maybe he’ll try rolling on it another time.

Bay Nature: Coyotes Raising Kids in San Francisco

16 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in affection, bonds, burying, care for the young, communication, coyote behavior, coyote parenting, coyotes and dogs, coyotes defending themselves, family interactions, father coyote behavior, father/pup learning, feeding, feelings & emotions, greetings, group activity, hunting, parenting, playing, pupping, social behavior, social interactions, video

#68 BN6

Continue reading by pressing this link: http://baynature.org/articles/photo-gallery-coyotes-raising-kids-san-francisco/

Fatherhood

03 Oct 2013 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in care for the young, coyote behavior, coyote parenting, diet, father coyote behavior, feeding, group activity, parenting, Photos, pupping, video

Two youngsters dart in for food from Dad — the two very active coyotes in the video are pups who are approaching, but not quite yet, 6 months of age.  Dad regurgitates the food — it looks like whole voles — and the two pups feed in a frenzy. They continue to insert their snouts in his mouth in an attempt to get more food — it’s like an assault!  He gently and repeatedly clasps their snouts in his mouth: Is he indicating that there’s no more food to be had, and/or is he confirming his dominance?  Note at 42 seconds that a pup crosses Dad’s path by going under him!

It appears that Dad is the one to approach for food like this these days. I have not seen this set of pups approach their mother recently in this fashion. Rather, she sits in the distance and watches all the activity — safe from the onslaught!

A Father Coyote Feeds His Pups

23 Aug 2013 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, family interactions, father coyote behavior, feeding, Uncategorized

Here’s a series of photos I caught of a father coyote bringing food to youngsters.

*They see him coming and run towards him, knowing he has food for them.

*One sticks its snout into Dad’s mouth in an attempt to hurry up the process.

*Dad holds them off until he finds a spot accessible to both pups, where he regurgitates the food and then walks away.

*The pups anxiously eat up what has been brought to them.

*One pup then wants more and appeals to Dad by thrusting its snout into Dad’s, but Dad has no more to offer, so the pup returns to the “pile” of regurgitated food.

*When both pups are finished, Dad gives them each a snout squeeze with his own muzzle: this seems to be a mutually initiated behavior with pups thrusting their snouts into Dad’s mouth as he extends his snout to gently grab hold of theirs.  Is this a “thank you” from the pups, or “mind your manners” from Dad?

In addition to the coyotes naturally blending into the landscape with their camouflage coloring, the observation occurred at twilight when it was hard to see, so I feel lucky to even have been aware of the event. Interestingly, Mom did not participate, being too far away to do so, but she was within observing distance, and she was keenly interested in the goings on, as revealed by her focused attention during this feeding event. These pups here are approaching 5 months of age.

Pups Spied: Dad Minds The Youngsters!

26 Jun 2013 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, family interactions, father coyote behavior, pupping Tags: , , , ,

What a fantastic surprise to see this sight a few days ago on one of my extended treks through our various Bay Area parks! It looks like, true to reputation, coyote fathers spend their fair share of time minding the kids. Look hard, and you can see it’s the father. Here you see a papa coyote in charge of four youngsters.

Papa minds the youngsters

Papa minds the youngsters

Youngster sticks snout into Papa's mouth

Youngster sticks snout into Papa’s mouth

But fathers’ jobs include much more than childcare. Fathers keep pups fed by bringing them regurgitated food and small whole prey. And they also will help train them to hunt. Note in this second photo how one of the youngsters is pushing its snout into Papa’s: that is what normally elicits the reflux in the father — but it’s just play here.

The kids here were pretty calm, while Papa sat there, ever so proud of his large brood. He saw me in the distance, and stayed there only long enough for me to get a few nice shots. Then he headed them into hiding and away from view.

Playing and observing

Playing and observing

Papa Coyote Catches Another Meal For His Growing Family

19 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, father coyote behavior

This father coyote, almost hidden from view, was hunting for prey when I found him. He continued hunting, looking up twice to check on me. Then, after catching his prey, he came to the opening where I could see him, to show me what he got!! He was there only briefly, finishing off the job without putting his eyes at risk, before taking off, prey in mouth, to feed his youngsters.

I have seen dogs and snakes without an eye — always due to a rodent defending itself when it was caught as prey by these animals. Both cats and coyotes have developed a method of withdrawing their faces quickly after capturing prey and attempting to disable it in order to preserve their eyes. We humans call it “toying” with their prey, but in fact, it has a very valid purpose I’ve been told by animal behaviorists.

Blue Jay “Buries” P-nut in a Four Foot Bush; Coyote Reburies His Find

16 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, father coyote behavior

I forgot to post this two weeks ago, so I’m posting it now — oops!

During pupping season, in a family where I know there are pups, I wouldn’t expect caught prey to be buried. I would expect everything would be eaten or taken to the growing pups. Nevertheless, that’s what happened here. In fact, Dad Coyote carried the food to a great hiding spot in some bushes, but apparently didn’t like that spot, so he carried it off this time to some barren dirt. Maybe that first location would not do for his purposes. What was his purpose?

At about 7 weeks of age, pups are still being milk fed, but they are also receiving regurgitated food — baby food — from the parents.

Maybe there’s an overabundance of food around? Or maybe the prey was buried in an “easy to find” location — bare dirt — so that it will be easy to find by a youngster when they begin learning to hunt for themselves? Then again, maybe the coyote was burying it for himself for a rainy day? But, wouldn’t he have left it in the better, more discrete hiding spot had that been his purpose?

Anyway, today, also, I watched this blue jay fly back and forth with a large peanut in its beak. Was it feeding its young? Then it landed not far off from me. The bird explored the top of that bush before finding the perfect spot to stash its treasure. The peanut was wedged in, somehow, and, after a final inspection, the bird took off. I wonder if the peanut was wedged securely or if it fell to the ground? I should have checked. It is nesting season for birds, too, at this time of year. But, instead of being used to feed youngsters, it, too was “buried”. Was it “buried” for the same reason the coyote had buried his prey?

My dog used to bury bones and then forget about them — it must have been a case of instincts gone awry. She would walk to a spot, looking around to make sure no one was watching. If you were watching, she would go off a little further. She didn’t want anyone to see or know where she was burying it.  I’ve seen coyotes look around as they buried, as if to make sure no one was watching them. After all, you might hurry over to the spot and unbury it. Only in this case, after seeing me, the coyote continued to bury! It was a coyote I watch often. Maybe I don’t count?!

Coyote Parents Are Working Overtime

14 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, father coyote behavior, hunting, mother coyote behavior, pupping

At about this time of year, most coyote pups have been, or are being, weaned from their milk diets. But they aren’t yet able to hunt on their own — this will take training. So parents are feeding them with both regurgitated food and with entire small rodents which they bring home in their snouts. Pups are still being kept hidden — it’s too risky to bring them on hunting expeditions.

Today I watched this coyote pair as they went to work. One waited for the other for about 20 minutes as dusk fell. They normally wait for one another before going trekking. But this coyote got impatient and went on — the other would soon follow — they would meet up along the way to a hunting area. They took a route along the edge of bushes, hoping to avoid detection. When they got to a high open area, they scouted to make sure the way was clear and safe. Then they headed into an overgrown field of oat grasses which were about two feet tall. They wouldn’t be hidden there, but they would be well camouflaged.

The rodent population there was good because they each caught rodent after rodent and ate each one. She caught at least four in a row — he caught at least two. This was all within the space of about 20 minutes. As they wound down their hunting session, the male caught one last vole and tossed it up high in the air. He then tossed it in the direction of the female and then took it to her. She grabbed it from him and turned her back on him so that he could not grab it back. This vole — whole — would be good for training purposes for the youngsters at home.

10 heading home with food

heading home with food

So she looked around, saw that the way was clear, and headed over hill and valley with the prey in her mouth. The male followed: he was bringing home his share of the bacon in his stomach! And she had more in her stomach, too, for feeding the hungry brood waiting at home.

Some Mother Coyotes Are Still Nursing

05 Jun 2013 10 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, family interactions, father coyote behavior, mother coyote behavior, pupping

This mother coyote is in her 8th week of nursing

This mother coyote is in her 8th week of nursing

eating a rat

eating a rat

This mother coyote is still nursing, as seen by the photo. Her pups are in their eighth week of life already. Moms have to eat a huge amount of food to produce the milk necessary to feed the youngsters. But some of the food she eats will be regurgitated and fed as pablum — baby food — to the pups. The pups stick their snouts in the side of her mouth which elicits the necessary reflex for getting the food to them.

Dad Coyote brings home the bacon

Dad Coyote continues to bring home the bacon

Dad Coyotes continue to bring home the bacon, too! Some of the food helps to nourish Mom, but he, too, regurgitates food for the young ones. Soon, if not already, prey being taken home like this will be torn apart for the youngsters and fed to them in bits and pieces — that’s the next step after the “pablum” for them.

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