coyote behavior | Coyote Yipps

Divided Litter

13 Aug 2023 Leave a comment

Above: two-month old pups in early June playing together when left alone; and playing with Dad when he’s there. Photos taken shortly after their move.

I was able to observe this coyote family move their pups when they were two months old — moving the pups at this age is not uncommon: they’ve been fully weaned by this time. This was very exciting for me because I was able to see Mom carry each youngster, one by one, in her mouth over 1/4th mile away. Half of the pups were moved at night, one right after the next, and the other half a full week later during the daytime — in fact, at noon! Essentially, for that week in-between, her pups were divided between two den locations about 1/4th mile apart. After the second *batch* of pups was moved, all pups again were all together in one location — for a while. At least that is what I thought.

But the *divided litter* story didn’t end there because one pup it turns out had remained at, or returned immediately to, the original den site. He was there alone for several weeks without any of his siblings, albeit with both parents coming and going regularly to be with him. At two months of age, I wondered: had he/she traveled there with a parent again, or had he/she remained there in the first place?

The initial move, when the pups were just two months old, of course was a decision made entirely by the mother coyote: she carried each pup. But after the initial moving, I’ve wondered if it was the pups’ or Mom’s decision as to where they stayed? Several weeks after that, and over the course of the next six weeks, some pups would turn up at the old home where they joined the one who seems to have never left, and some remained at the new home. In other words, the litter was now permanently divided between two locations, with pups seemingly having access to both, but fairly consistently remaining at one of the locations. When they travelled between the two locations, youngsters did so inevitably before dawn and after dusk.

Two-month-old pups explore the periphery of their den area and stick their heads out. Over the next month, some of them begin venturing beyond, initially only with their parents

*Three month old pups in July being babysat by Dad*

In mid-August, three 4-month-old siblings wait, then one squeezes under the cyclone fence. Almost all of the pups are now wandering beyond the 2 den areas (1/4th mile apart) to within over 1/2 a mile from “home”: they are reaching out further and further, exploring every inch of their territories including the neighborhoods.

After the Mom’s initially moving the pups, the choice of where to hang out during daylight hours was apparently influenced by immediate circumstances. For example, sometimes I would see a pup attempt to leave a location but then become thwarted by the appearance of a person or a dog, so that youngster simply turned around and remained wherever s/he was for the duration of the daylight hours. Pups at both locations were left to themselves for long periods of time during the day. In fact, parents often hung out at totally different locations from where the pups were, even though they were regularly visited by one or both parents. I wonder if the entire family ever gets together anymore as a whole?

During the timeframe between two and four months of age, Dad would regularly come to guard and play with the pups at each location, sometimes for as long as an entire afternoon, whereas Mom spent her daylight resting time at only the more hidden location.

Now, at four months of age, their range of traveling has more than doubled, and this happened rather suddenly, with some pups not returning to either of these earlier two den sites. They’ve been hiding out during daylight hours in out-of-the-way locations over 1/2 mile away and often alone, including in backyards and clumps of trees, to unite with other family members when the protective cover of dusk sets in again. If you see one pup wandering about alone at dawn or dusk, this is probably his/her situation. And here, I’m wondering if this early moving of the pups might encourage early dispersal? I’ve seen families where the den was not moved and noticed dispersal not taking place for sometimes up to two years.

Regarding their yips and howls: With pups distributed between a 1/4th mile or longer area, it’s logical that their howling and vocalizations are a family communication, possibly: “Where are you? How are you? or “We’re ready to get going!”” This makes sense within one territory where youngsters are fairly far apart. But I’ve also documented two territories — two totally different families — which are right across a roadway from each other, the dens themselves being only about 1/4th mile apart. In this case, howling would serve to proclaim their separate ownership there, and would be more of an oppositional type of communication rather than a family chat. More usually, dens on separate territories are over a mile apart: at this distance, I think howling can be heard only if conditions are right: if the evening is still, if the wind is traveling towards the listeners, if there are no sound barriers such as hills in the way. Coyotes’ huge ears of course can pick up what we can’t even fathom — but I wonder how much that is? And if one mile is within their range of hearing?

*Four-month-old pups, above; and playing together below*

Coyotes In The Neighborhoods

30 Jul 2023 4 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in cars, cats, communication, coyotes and children, denning behavior, Feeding, following, hours, investigating, reactions to a human, streets, territoriality, trekking behavior

[This has been written for distribution to several neighborhood newspapers and newsletters here in San Francisco. I’m posting here so it will be available to more of the same.]

Hi Neighbors!

This is Janet. I’ve been documenting our coyotes here in San Francisco for the past 16 years: their population, dispersals, family life, and behavior including their encounters with people and pets.

We have about 17 coyote families here in San Francisco, each living in a separate territory about the size of the Presidio (2.4 square miles): ONE family lives on each of these territories and have ever since I started documenting them in 2007. A family consists of the mated alpha pair — i.e., Mom and Dad — and then pups born this year, and possibly some of the yearlings born the year before who haven’t yet dispersed. All of these territories extend beyond the parks and include our neighborhoods. Sightings in neighborhoods is normal.

Territories: Most territories include a substantial sized park, or a number of smaller fragmented parks, but a few territories do not even have this. In other words, a couple of coyote families live in the neighborhoods and retreat for most daylight hours to small patches of green spaces. Their main trekking activity is through the streets where they become visible to human pedestrians and car traffic. Please note, there are no more coyotes now than there have been over the last several years, but some people are seeing them for the first time.

Exploring front door steps along the street

Trekking: *Trekking* behavior involves brisk trotting/walking around a dozen or so city blocks. The coyote — usually one at a time, but two together have also been spotted, and more rarely more together — is either moving to another resting spot within its territory, or he’s patrolling to find out what’s going on in his territory: he’ll do so through sniffing, looking, and poking around. Of interest to him is that no outsider coyotes have been around, what animals have been around, and where food scraps have been tossed. He’ll be on the sidewalks and zigzagging down the streets. He’ll enter driveways and alleyways. He’ll go up people’s front steps, even if those steps are steep and take him three stories up. He’s checking things out. He may take a shoe, a ball, or a newspaper. Sometimes he’ll sit and watch: I’ve seen him sprawled out on some dirt, just chilling for a few minutes.

Stopping to examine the terrain in his territory.

Main hours: His main hours of activity are between sunset and sunrise, so this is when you are most likely to see him — though note that they can be out any time of the day. All you need to do is always walk away from him the minute you see him. He’s not interested in any kind of confrontation with you and he’ll do his best to avoid you by going around and hurrying away. But dogs have always been an issue for coyotes. Dogs and coyotes are notoriously mutually antagonistic and need to be kept far apart. Part of this is for territorial reasons: coyotes keep other coyotes out of their territories in order to preserve the scarce resources there just for themselves: in other words, the territory is owned by the one family that lives there and they exhibit ownership behavior. Because of this territoriality, the population is consistent and stable which is what we all want. If you see them repeatedly, it’s because you are seeing the same coyotes over and over again, not different random coyotes from all over the place. These coyote territorial owners often come to know by sight — always at a distance — the regular walkers and dogs and vice-versa.

Interestingly, few people even know these coyotes exist here, and even fewer actually ever see them. Those folks who have seen the coyote — usually as they walk their dog — have seen a coyote 3 or 4 times during the past year, even though the coyotes are out daily. Unfortunately, several of those people have been spooked recently because the coyote approached or followed them. I’ll explain more about this below.

Dogs: Coyotes avoid and ignore most dogs, but they are suspicious of them all. They have a need to tell dogs that the territory is theirs, especially if the dog gets too close or is in the pathway of the coyote. Sometimes they do this through a sort of one-upmanship eye-to-eye communication most of which we humans are not aware of. But at other times it is more blatant, with the coyote actually approaching or following a dog. The minute you ever see a coyote, you need to always walk away, in the opposite direction, with a shortened leash. Your dog may bark and lunge towards him, so you need to drag your dog if necessary to walk away from the coyote. If your dog is small, he may become frightened, rightfully so, because coyotes have picked up small dogs. It doesn’t happen often, but it has happened. It’s a good idea to pick up a very small dog as you walk away from the coyote.

Examining debris, a newspaper and chilling in the neighborhood.

In approaching a dog, the coyote’s main interest is usually simple curiosity — they are sniffing to find out more about the dog: sniffing is how they pick up most of their information –dogs exude so many hormones and other chemical odors full of information about themselves — but also to test the dog’s potential reaction to themself. The coyote may then follow your dog: again, this could be simple curiosity, OR he’s ushering or escorting the dog away and making sure the dog is leaving. Just keep walking away from him. In rare instances, a coyote’s suspicion and even dislike for a particular dog (your dog or a similar dog may have chased him or lunged at him or snarled at him in the past, and of course any coyote would remember this) may cause the coyote to approach the dog from the back (where there are no teeth) and nip the hind side of the dog, cattle-dog fashion, to get that dog to leave. It’s not a frequent occurrence, but it has happened. You are unlikely to encounter any coyote regularly, so when you do, just follow these simple guidelines. IF you feel crowded by the coyote approaching or following your dog, you should face the coyote and angrily heave small stones or pinecones at his feet without hitting the coyote. You may have to do this several times. Making eye contact almost always stops a coyote from approaching any further: he’ll stop, and then you should continue walking away, keeping your eye on him.

It might be a good idea to actually practice this so that you know what to do — then, if the occasion should arise, you’ll know exactly what to do without thinking.

Dens: If there is a den within 1/4th mile of where you walk, you need to know that parent coyotes are very protective of their personal space, their areas, and their young and their suspicion of other dogs is compounded. A parent coyote can be persistent, insistent and intense in his communication to make a dog leave. I’ve been through it: it indeed is scary. The same guidelines should be followed: stay away and walk away when you see a coyote. If you are seeing a coyote regularly on your walk during denning season, you might consider taking a different route for awhile.

I am available in person to be there and help out. Also, if you have questions about *your* neighborhood coyote or coyotes generally, please contact me: janet@coyoteyipps.com

Summaries of easy guidelines

Cats: Cats, should not be allowed to roam free where there are coyotes — cats are at risk if they are accessible. Cats are not equipped to handle coyotes, dogs, or cars, ALL of which kill cats, with cars leading the list — cars kill 5 million cats a year. Dogs — because of their sheer number in our area — are the biggest issue when it comes to coyotes. It’s best to simply keep your pet as far away from a coyote as possible — this is easier to do with a leash.

Relocation: Some people have asked if coyotes can be relocated. They cannot by law. The reason for this is that moving them kills them inhumanely. But even if a coyote could be eliminated in some way — which the city does not do — its niche would soon be refilled by another coyote, and you would have the same dog issues to deal with as with the first coyote. Keeping your dogs leashed gives you control over your dog. Dogs love to chase coyotes, and a leash prevents this. Leashing keeps dogs safe from coyotes, cars, and others dogs. Over 3 million dogs are killed each year by cars; their second greatest killer is other dogs. .

Danger to humans: As for dangers to humans from coyotes, these are almost non-existent. The 17 — yes, only 17 or so — *scratches or bites* to humans from a coyote each year throughout all of North America have almost all been due to separating a dog from a coyote, hand feeding, or to a small child where feeding has gone on. Small children indeed have to be watched as carefully as you would watch your dog — but hopefully you do that anyway! Please compare this figure to 1000 dog bites to humans every single day of the year ending up in emergency rooms.

Feeding: Lastly, please don’t feed coyotes. Not only does it draw them to the area, it can cause them to hang around which increases the potential for pet incidents. Profusely fed coyotes become unnaturally docile and sometimes even get closer to humans in the hopes for a toss out. This is no good for the coyote or us humans or our pets.

*Trekking through a neighborhood street in San Francisco*

New Denbuilding on the Solstice

19 Jul 2023 7 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in denning, denning behavior, dens

This was a month ago, during the Summer Solstice, when pups were already 2 months old. They had been moved out of this construction site, one by one, carried in Mom’s jaws, to a location about 1/4th mile away. Mom and Dad continued to frequent this old denning location.

Then, suddenly, both Mom and Dad dug this new den at that old location. I didn’t put the camera out until I saw the hole there, which was on the second day the coyotes worked on this dugout den. One youngster was underfoot at the time. Possibly this youngster never left the old area. I would see him as he regularly crossed the path of this camera, but he actually only entered the den a couple of times. Within a month, I saw a few more of the pups crossing in front of the camera, as have the parents, sniffing and looking around, but never entering the den.

It does not seem logical that this den might be a purposeful deception for potential harmful predators — such as dogs or humans. For one, no dogs go into the area, and all humans there have purposefully avoided the coyotes, letting them do their own thing. The pups are almost four months old now and won’t be using dens from now on. Still, one has to wonder why the effort was put into digging this den away from where the pups generally hang out, and when the pups were already 2 months old.

Sparks Update, Summer 2023

08 Jul 2023 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, families, pups

Wired (left) is 6 to 8 years old. Sparks (right) is four years old now and on his 2nd litter. Notice the knot on his left arm — the broken bone he sustained in 2020 healed crooked leaving him with a detectable limp.

You may recall Sparks from my update last year — it’s been a long time since I’ve updated his developing story, so I’ll do that now and recount his past.

He indeed now is the alpha male at the Presidio and has been since last year. He may even have moved into that position the year before when the then-alpha male went missing, though those pups from two years ago were probably sired before this happened. Sparks most definitely could only have moved into the alpha male position there if it had been naturally vacated because with his healing broken leg, he was in no position to fight for it.

Sparks and his now-mate, I’m told, have four pups this year — only three of whom I’ve seen so far. Whereas last year there were a number of yearlings still living with the family and passing through the den area regularly, this year I’ve seen the alpha parents as the only adults around. Not having yearlings around to help puts an extra work burden and stress on parents.

There’s a long history associated with the alpha female who I call *Wired*. Briefly, we don’t know her origins and won’t until our DNA analysis is completed, though I suspect she’s from the North Beach coyote family. She was captured in the Presidio in January 2019 where tags were punched into her ears and a bulky radio-collar was clamped onto her neck. She became famous as her story intertwined with Scout’s — another female whose territory Wired tried taking over. But Wired moved on from this saga. She found a mate and ended up fighting for the Presidio territory where the previous alpha male had somehow succumbed and his older alpha mate was unable to defend her long-time territory alone. That older alpha female was forced out and fled south where she was eventually killed by a car — as per the Presidio ecologist.

Since that time, Wired has lost both of her ear tags — probably they were ripped out by something in the environment — you can see the scars left on her ears — see square image below — but the cumbersome collar remains attached to her, along with the all the grit you can imagine under it. She is unable to scratch or groom herself under it. The collar was supposed to self-release after a year for humane reasons, but it malfunctioned and so she’s stuck with it. It is much too difficult, and probably more damaging to her to try and capture her than simply to leave her alone with the collar on at this point.

*Wired: you can see the scars left from the torn off ear tags.*

As for Sparks himself — the now alpha dad on his 2.4 square mile territory — you may recall that he fully broke a front leg when he was a year old during his dispersal. It took him more than six weeks to recover to the point where he could at least hobble/limp, albeit badly, on it — there were Good Samaritans who allowed him the safety and calm of their yard during his recovery, where he slept most of that time, and was probably in great pain. He retains a large knot on his front leg, showing the deformity that resulted in the self-healing bone, and he runs with a limp which looks to me like he still feels the injury. This disadvantage has caused him to cultivate a much stronger wariness of people and dogs than he had as a younger coyote. In fact, he tends to appear inordinately stressed when he is alerted to danger, and stands back, whereas his mate takes on the front line.

Sparks turned four this Spring. Briefly, in his Glen Canyon birth family, (see genealogy), he was one of five siblings. He was the daring one out hunting and exploring his surroundings well before the others, and not terribly concerned with people watching him. I mention this because it changed. He developed a close bond with his litter-mate sister: the two of them actually *dispersed* together, but she eventually returned to her birthplace, whereas Sparks’ trajectory took him much further away. I had seen him living on the periphery of the Presidio for a period of time and wondered why the resident coyotes were allowed this. I’m also wondering if he sensed a weakening of the then-alpha male’s condition, and was waiting for the inevitable so that he could move in.

A few months before moving to the Presidio he was harbored by the North Beach family for several weeks: I’ve always wondered if this was because they sensed his injury and his plight and therefore didn’t see him as a threat. I had never seen this before.

I’ve posted some recent photos here taken in late Spring and early Summer of this year. On the first day I returned to hopefully see them, I saw Wired grooming Sparks affectionately — he closed his eyes and soaked in her warmth: it was joyful to watch. The next day I spotted him alone high on a knoll guarding his den from afar: so he is totally ensconced in warm family life right now! See photos.

I took a series of photos of one of the pups at two months of age. A month later, you’ll see three photos of two of the pups at 3 months of age. The bottom darkish photo was taken only a few days ago: in the dark, late dusk, I watched two coyotes hurry off together for their nightly trekking activity. I thought it was the alpha parents who would have tucked-in their offspring beforehand for safety. But when I got home and actually zoomed into the photos, I saw that it was two pups heading out on their own! These youngsters are growing up quickly.

Wired affectionately grooms Sparks

*Sparks guarding* *his densite from afar* *(above)*

Above: A two-month-old pup explores during the daytime and uses 8-inch open abandoned pipes to escape into.

Above: This most independent pup from the litter of four — we’ll call her Volt — at two months of age enjoyed her time away from the family: exploring, practicing hunting, sleeping. Each pup has his/her own preferences and personality and this one’s is coming to light early! She seems to be taking after her father. :)

Above: Pup buddies a month later at 3 months of age, slurping up the morning dew and just being with each other. These are the two that headed out alone together, depicted below..

*Here it is July 5th and two of the 3-month old youngsters are headed out at late dusk on their own to a known rendezvous spot. They really grow up fast!*

ADDENDUM of August 8th: Four pups at four months of age, with the den moved to a new location:

Landspeak, by Walkaboutlou

02 Jul 2023 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, environment, habitat, habitat issues

Hi Janet,

July update on Kinky and her family. She and her mate have moved the litter to this area. From the fence to the hills is the summer rendezvous. And it’s perfect for growing coyote to learn Landspeak.

Landspeak is what anyone who lives or spends long periods of time out here…learn to do. Animals do it automatically. But it’s possible for humans too. If you stay quiet and learn to listen and feel the land..it speaks.

So what did this land tell Kinky???

Well…she knows it. She feels good about it. And it serves her needs and instincts. Everything says..BRING PUPS HERE.

Ironically, it’s not an easy spot. Wolves travel thru here regularly, following the ever moving elk. It has humans that are not friends that pass occasionally. But…its dry hills hold a lot of hiding spots and lots of voles on eastern hillsides. There is a forested hill for the scorching afternoon. And it’s a land of choices. There is heavy cover to hide. Open ground to outrun enemies. There is a river in the ravines below. Riverbank are another wonderful place for pups.

So Landspeak here says this is where pups learn to become the coyote that survives here. This land is a good place to maximize the odds of litter survival. Voles, wild plum tree, berries, open land, deep woods, river and more.

It’s been noted these pups are very large and maybe are ahead developmentally. The dead cow of early spring and several road killed deer likely were part of that. They were literally fat pups. But now it’s vole and ground squirrel and berries. The pups are learning to hunt in earnest for vole.

One small female pup…hunts vole very well. She is serious about her hunt and quickly scoots for bushes etc to eat her meal. She’s def the best hunter thus far.

Landspeak says in this space the litter is poised to spend the fast summer and grow quick. I wish them lots of lessons and good growth.

Lou

Thank you, Lou! It’s too bad we humans — for the most part, though this is changing — stopped listening to the land long ago. Humans have not been so interested in being part of it as much as wanting to conquer and dominate and subjugate it to our own desires. I hope your post opens people’s mind to the fantastic symbiosis (not sure that’s the right word) of a species with its environment, as you describe it, through Landspeak.

Janet

Yes … as individuals, collectively and as a species … humans have literally lost touch with earth. It’s our bane. I’m not without hope. But I think mankind is in for some major shocks from earth in future.

It would not suprise me that coyote survive us and see us humbled by our own behaviors in regards Landspeak.

But in meantime … Kinky isn’t bothered by such thoughts. Too busy surviving and feeding pups. Lol.

Lou

Pack Clash, New Behaviors, by Walkaboutlou

28 Jun 2023 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, ranching coyotes

The same animal, whether from a ranch or city, learns and adapts to its given situation, each of which is unique. Each coyote reacts to what is presented to him/her. Hearing about different reactions and behaviors in different environmental situations gives us insight into the whole animal. Yes, I like it all up. As Lou says: “It’s great — it really is — how you like it all up. I think it’s important for your followers to realize that coyote live sometimes in polar opposites behaviorally. A Range Roaming Ranch Living Coyote is vastly different than a SF Park or City Coyote. But there are also parallel behaviors…and it’s all applicable and helpful learning to coexist with them. Keep roaming and looking.”

Hi Janet.

I wanted to share with you something I’m experiencing and sorting.

While out on ranch patrol recently the dogs and I experienced a pack of coyote rush in that was very fast and direct. I’ve never quite had that. It was…different. We’ve experienced scores of coyote encounters and as a pack we keep our center and via pack go fwd. The local coyote learn to respect us and more importantly….this time of year coyote pups learn about working dogs.

We are usually known by local coyote. This encounter..felt like new pack. New Coyote. New Behaviors.

I don’t encourage people with pets to do what we do. We are on vast properties where there are horizons to dodge. To learn. To evade and develop avoidance behaviors. My dogs an coyote skirmish quite a bit. But it’s canine name calling. Until recently.

The coyote clash we experienced was fast, intense, direct and bold. And it seemed..real numbers. Instead of a parent pair and yearling or two…it seemed like 5-7 rushing in very hard.

My pack reacted in coordinating our center and moving together fwd. On these ranges, the lesson and coexistence is loosely coyote have horizon or hills. Dogs have center. Converge is costly. The coyote master this lesson and so do my dogs. It’s worked many years.

Except these coyote barely acknowledged my pack and only grudgingly gave way mainly because I stepped fwd loudly..and they had pups to keep in hills.

The next few days of patrols are revealing more.

The Eve before our patrol…the night was full of coyote yips and vocalizations. Hours off and on. To the point the ranchers 3 dogs were very agitated and scented the air growling at distant hills.

The Rancher thought 2 packs of coyote fighting.

Next morning was my pack clash. And later that day a dead cow.

Also seen…1st time here ever…flocks of Ravens.

Trail Cams in wooded sections, 4 different wolves.

There is alot to sort here. But so far…we have found…

*Cow down of acute stress related pneumonia. It’s consistent with cattle not at their best moving too much.*

The cow died of acute stress related pneumonia. This happens more lately with weaker cattle. There is a connection with wolves moving thru and cattle stress. They don’t hunt the cattle as they seek elk and deer. But…they affect them. They move a lot. And some of the weaker develop pneumonia. They can’t keep up. Become isolated and more stressed and drop.

The trail cams reveal wolf movement weekly. And…another connection.

When wolves nocturnally move thru ranches..the local coyote are extremely agitated. And vocal. Which local ranch dogs hear. And join vocally.

The coyote are locally turning into 1st responders to wolf movement in hills.

Also very likely the coyote and wolves skirmish. Wolves will kill coyote any real chance. Coyote counter terrain allowing. 2 or 3 coyote will chase a wolf or 2. And scatter with a full wolf pack.

So…imagine all this activity going on…also with pups in tow…

And then here I come with my pack in patrol.

The new dynamics of wolf and coyote relationship and skirmishes means we are likely meeting coyote with new behaviors. It’s similar to cattle. Cattle after wolf encounters are way more skittish of ranch dogs. They are more combative of all canine.

It’s a sorting that varies…canine to canine..pack to pack.

But out here it’s very much pack to pack and intense in the dark hours.

Ironically…the rancher now values the coyote as extensions of wolf alert and values them. He realized they never bothered caused fear or stress among his herds.

Wolves ARE NOT hunting cattle here. But they do radically change behaviors in cattle and coyote. And do cause some stress in weakened individuals.

The coyote…as always..are a gauge of land by behaviors.

Ravens too. NEVER had flocks gather here. Until wolves recolonized. It’s just change and nature. And interesting.

Sorry for the ramble. ALOT going on. I’ll need more coffee and cake and thinking time.

Till Next Time

Lou

My dogs are trained to wait and stay out of way while vet does autopsy and professional tracker determines the events. It’s very much like a crime scene but no criminals.

Coyote aren’t culprits. And neither are wolves. But the Landspeak must be understood to realize…what wolves mean for the land. And how they affect..cattle, coyote, dogs, elk, deer, and how coexistence can keep being the goal. It’s a new balance not yet achieved.

But trying.

PS-coyotes seem blameless when wolves roam and rule lol. But wolf packs create a very intense coyote.

Ravens.
(Not crows)
We have never had flocks of Ravens here utilizing land like this. (Field of voles)

But since wolves returning..so did Ravens. Ravens don’t hang too long with Coyote. Coyote are too fast and opportunist. Tweak a coyote tail…you might be lunch. But they follow wolves and tease them too.

If you slow vehicle the slightest..the raven explode in erratic evasive flight patterns. This tells me they are hunted by humans and very wild.

If one is going to delve into the canine behaviors of your own working dogs, local coyote packs and regional wolves, I do advise the following.
A dependable high mileage vehicle and body. Care for both.

A LOT of time in contemplating thus mentioned canines realizing you need more time and patience and coffee and cake.

Endless hours out there in Landspeak and studying hints.
Accepting in the end we know very little but can witness a lot and share that while minimizing conflict.

The Move

28 May 2023 7 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in denning, denning behavior

Some coyote parents have pups in the same area year after year. Some move for a year — about a mile away, while still maintaining their home-base territory — and then return the next season. Some move far away to an entirely different territory for good — 5 miles away from their original long-term territory and remain here until a territorial battle drives them away. These are some of the situations I’ve documented. Every coyote family is as different as is every human family.

And I’ve seen numerous instances where pups are moved at about two months of age within an urban territory to about 1/4th mile away. That’s what this posting is about.

Two pups in a den under a house on a construction site

Denning locations in the city are chosen mostly for their inaccessibility to dogs. Dogs are intruders that coyotes detest the most. I’ve seen dens built right along the freeway, beyond a fence keeping dogs and pedestrians out. The noise is incredible — the whooshing by of car wheels on the freeway and force of the wind against those vehicles, in addition to all the motor noise, is deafening. But coyotes prefer this over dogs.

Construction site

Human activity, no matter how noisy, as long as it isn’t intrusive, is also preferred over dogs. Multiple enormous tractors with huge clanky digger-arms and noisy motors, along with a lot of activity and movement of this equipment have not stopped coyotes from denning at construction sites. And it is here, in the middle of such a site, under a tiny cement building, Mom had her pups this year. Mom and her mate along with a yearling could be glimpsed coming and going among the hubbub, and it was obvious that Mom was in a lactating state. And then one day, a tiny head popped out into the open from under the building. For several days we thought there was only one pup, but then a second one appeared. When pups are first born, they stay put, but after 6-8 weeks, they need to start moving — and a construction site was not ideal for them at this stage. Mom knew she had to move them.

It’s not uncommon for mothers to move their pups at this stage — six to eight weeks of age. If you are aware of it, maybe that’s all you see. But by focusing in, I could see all the intelligence involved: planning, forethought, knowledge and work.

Mom must have been planning this for some time. Weeks before moving, every night, she would slither under the fence to the new area and work on digging places where her pups could duck into and hide if they needed to. She worked at this in the thick foliage among a tangles of branches which would be difficult for dogs to penetrate. Remember that a coyote is only 30 pounds and with the bendability of a cat, allowing them to slither under and over things. Not so for dogs. I didn’t capture the digging, just the coming and going each night at that new location.

The time had to be right, and that time would be when the pups began following her around — the same as little ducklings follow their mothers. I caught what I thought of as them “practicing” their following skills, or, possibly Mom “testing” to see how well pups would follow. They did!

Practicing following

On the day of the move, Mom led them to the construction site’s fence line. However, she knew they might not follow in the street where there were too many new distractions. For the street part of the journey, she signaled one of the pups to remain quiet and stay put: it’s a signal all pups know. Meanwhile she picked up one of the pups by it’s back, and carried it out the gate and along the sidewalk, crossing a number of streets, and finally slithering under the hole of the fence to the new area. Within ten minutes of depositing that youngster, she headed back to get the other one, and returned with that one within 25 minutes.

Interesting is the time of day she did this. One might have expected her to make the move at night when no one was around. But she did not do that. One of the reasons may be that the fenced construction site could only be exited from the gates. She herself could slither under the gate, but only barely — the tiny opening under the gate probably was not high enough for her carrying a pup. I had actually seen her walk out that gate at around noon a number of times, probably practicing and assessing what the situation was at that time of day. Shortly before noon every day, even I was able to see that almost all dogs had already been walked, so few would be out to go after her, and traffic was at a low at that time of day. So, when Moving Day came, this is the time she chose: 11:45 for one pup and then 12:20 for the other.

One person saw her walk down the street carrying a pup, and a friend relayed this to me — thank you, Beth — I myself missed it, though I knew it was coming. But I had cameras set up at the hole under the fence at the new location, and that is what I have to show you, below.

Interestingly, this mother followed the exact same pattern two years ago, moving her pups on June 1st of 2021. This year it was on May 26th. Also of interest, only Mom moved the youngsters. She was not helped by Dad or her yearling daughter.

So, just imagine the planning and foresight involved: planning for contingencies on the street, planning her route, planning the time of day this would happen, making sure the pups were ready, planning that it would happen at all, preparing the new denning spot. I think you have to be pretty impressed with the capabilities of coyotes generally, but especially with the capabilities of coyote mothers!

Mom brings first pup in under the fence. Ten minutes later you see her patrolling the fence line before heading off to pick up the second pup and returning twenty minutes later with him.

This story has a sequel! See The Move, Part II posted on June 12, 2023

Cases of Both Mothers AND Daughters Lactating

14 May 2023 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, lactating mother

*Threesome raising a den of pups: Mom, Dad & lactating Daughter*

I have now seen four cases of both an alpha female mother AND one of her remaining daughters — always a two-year-old who has just come of reproductive age — both lactating on the same territory and in the same denning area. These four cases occurred in separate families and territories. The following names won’t mean anything to most people so I’m just putting them here to differentiate them for myself. 1) Tarn (alpha female), Pink (daughter) and Rookie (new alpha male) in 2022; 2) Chert (alpha female), Squirrel (daughter), and Rookie (new alpha male in 2021); 3) Scout (alpha female), Li’lGirl (daughter), and Skipper (new alpha male) in 2023; and 4) Ma’am (alpha female), unnamed daughter, and Blue (long-time alpha male) in 2021.

I have been attributing these “double lactations” to two different pregnancies due to the sudden disappearance of the resident alpha male and the quick appearance of a new male who moved into the vacated alpha position. This made sense to me, based on what I’ve read, that “when the alphas are killed, disorganization leads to more litters and the population increases.” [Bob Crabtree]. Indeed, the long-time alpha males totally disappeared in the case of #1, #2, and #3 above, which fit Crabtree’s conditions, but this was not the case with #4. But then again, I was only seeing the #4 family from a distance, and rarely at that, so I figured I was simply missing something from the situation.

So the obvious explanation for me was some sort of polygamy or harem situation. However, this runs in the face of what I’ve seen before over the last 17 years, and it runs counter to what we’ve been told about coyotes: that coyotes are monogamous. And also, younger females are known to be *behaviorally sterile* unless there is a disruption by killing (or a death) — and there was no disruption of this sort in family #4. So everything wasn’t aligned between what I knew and what I was seeing.

AND THEN, I read about pseudopregnancy in dogs which is apparently common phenomenon in canines. I got my information online from a 2017 paper by Robert A. Foster: Female Reproductive System and Mammae”, published in “ScienceDirect”: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/pseudopregnancy which is about domestic dogs, but I think it’s safe to assume that coyotes might exhibit the same phenomenon. For how the process works you’ll have to click on the article above, but the relevant information is this:

“It has been hypothesized that this condition is an adaptive response to allow non-breeding females to help raise offspring of the breeding female.54 Associated physical and behavioral changes are very broad in scope, ranging from none all the way to the equivalent of pregnancy. Included can be nervousness, guarding an area, making a nest (66.1% of nonpregnant females), abdominal distention, mammary gland development with or without lactation (78.6%)“

Through the 16 years that I’ve been observing, I’ve seen many yearlings help raise the young of their parents, but only within the last several years have I seen this “double lactating”. So, my question is, would these be double-pregnancies (and therefore polygamous situations), or are the yearling daughters just “helping to raise their mother’s new pups” by contributing to the milk supply, among other things?

*Coyote reveals her lactating state to me.*

My observations are all visual, and I never go close to densites, and so I wouldn’t be able to tell which of these two potential situations exists in these four cases: in all cases, the lactating daughter also swelled up in size — but as you have read above, this is a symptom of pseudopregnancy. However, based on case #4 where the long-term alpha remained and was not replaced, and based on what we know about coyotes being monogamous, I’m now leaning towards the belief that these daughters are simply helping their mothers. By the way, in the cases before 2023, all of the lactating two-year-olds dispersed when the season was over, except one who remained until April of this year before leaving. In addition, all of the alpha mothers were about eight years old..

I’ve asked Dr. Benjamin Sacks at UC Davis if he can provide me with his knowledge of, or references to, these situations. AND, since we have the DNA from scats from some of these situations, we’ll be able to tell definitively what the situation is for that family — these are still being worked on. I’ll be following up with more once I find out more, but I wanted to go ahead and post this today, on Mother’s Day!

Our Coyotes: Live Talk at Fort Mason

08 May 2023 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, presentation

I’ll be giving a presentation about coyotes at the Fort Mason Community Garden on Saturday, May 20th at 10 am. If you are interested, it will be a poster talk in lieu of a slides because projected slides would just be washed out in the midday light! There should be plenty of time for questions afterwards. The RSVP seems to be an informal request by the FMCG — so far, I see no place on their website to do so. I was told that most people don’t RSVP.

Denning Challenges and Choices. And Good Moms. By Walkaboutlou

03 May 2023 1 Comment

by yipps:janetkessler in care for the young, coyote behavior, coyote parenting, coyote resilience, denning, dens, intelligence, mother coyote behavior, parenting, ranching coyotes, territorial changes

Hi Janet,

I wanted to share with you a student’s observations and leanings. Which lead to more questions.

Kinky Tail continues to raise her very active litter. There are 7 now..so either there was a miscount originally or 2 have disappeared. They think 2 pups have disappeared because there is a local golden eagle who for years has been seen with coyote pups, fox kits and feral cats. It seasonally comes to this area during lambing and calving times. It has been seen daily flying over den areas.

That well may have encouraged Kinky to move pups as well as..ticks. Locally we’ve seen plague level numbers of ticks. And Kinkys grooming times with pups seemed very long last week. Her last den area was absolutely infested with 3 species of ticks. Ugh.

Now however, Kinky moved pups to a rendezvous of log piles, poison oak bushes, and grazing cattle.

The student says she doesn’t believe the location was randomly picked.

The abundance of poison oak keeps people out except rarely riders of horse or quads passing thru. Ranch folk.

The grazed range grass is short and doesn’t hold high tick densities compared with long grasses or brush areas.

And finally, having an entire cow to scavenge 2 miles away after move means less animals near pups (scavengers galore) and Kinky doesn’t have to hunt the longer grass fields for voles. Which mean tick pick up. She has the cow or many dozens of caches. Also discovered was she visits an orchard and gleans old fallen Apple’s from last Fall.

This Student feels Kinky’s choice of den was premeditated and thought carefully out. It has minimal tick numbers. Humans rarely come and pass quickly. It’s open with vast vistas and hillsides yet has hiding places for pups. The Longhorns don’t encourage canine visitors. It’s close to dead cow but far enough pups don’t meet scavengers.

She also is study wild turkey brood site selections and says the studies lend to each other. Wild Turkey Hens need to sit on eggs around 28 days. The picked site is obviously paramount. A poorly picked site is disastrous. There are hens that pick poorly or lose patience or dedication and leave eggs too long as well. Then there are hens that cover eggs while minimally foraging for bugs and food and rush back fast. How a Hen Broods means Everything. And not all hens are good moms.

She says it’s same for Coyote. Some mothers are functional but rather minimal. Or make bad choices. Some..seem to be absolutely dedicated mothers. She feels most coyote are very dedicated Moms.

So how much is choice and thought when picking a site to hide and raise your kids? She feels Kinky Tail is neighborhood cognizant.

In her words “No wolf gang signs. No noisy dog parties. No bad nosy people. Riding thru people that she’s known since pup and plenty of longhorns and poison oak seem the latest mood and pic”

Kinky is doing well. She has 7 very active very fat pups. She’s busy busy busy. By day she stays at den. At night it’s cow scavenging, cow caches and long long drinks. And some nights old apples. She grooms her pups even as she comes home bedraggled. Growls briefly but playfully at Mate as he leaves for day shift.

Real Estate Realities are working out for Kinky.

Lou

Old Habits, by Walkaboutlou

27 Apr 2023 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, intelligence, ranching coyotes

Hi Janet.

Kinky Tail moved her litter again and it reminded us of her Father’s moves and habits.

Her father in times of vulnerability and old age sought the company of a captive herd of bison. He not only found the stirred up voles easy meals..the bison seemed to keep canines away.

Kinky Tail’s observers feel she’s nervous more so with pups starting to dodder about. She moved them to a hilly area with cut wood piles…and smack dab in Longhorn pastures. These are range cattle held temporarily as they calve or get checked on. They aren’t afraid of wolves, bear, cougar…arent really fans of dogs but pretty much ignore coyote.

With such neighbors she can still easily go and scavenge her dead cow as live ones provide horned deterrents to any predators or dogs that pass close to her pup dens.

It could be coincidence. But it sure seems like her father’s moves. His last few vulnerable months were always with Bison.

2nd pic…white bull….pile of logs is one of the puppy dens.

Horns work!

Lou

Kinky and her Mate can move here and cattle won’t even look up. If a dog or wolf trotted thru, different story.

Scout: Moving On, An Update

23 Apr 2023 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in birthing, coyote appearance, coyote behavior, Coyote guidelines, life cycle

*Scout is eight years old now and just had her fourth litter.*

Recently, I’ve had only short glimpses of Scout, but that’s been enough to update me about some of her changes. She’s 8 years old now and at times looks worn: her scar-studded face (which is not all that apparent until you look closely), her about-to-be-shed old winter coat, and her slow pace at the time may have influenced how I saw her: maybe she was just having some “tired-fur-days”. She’s usually alone, trekking through one of her territory’s main hubs of which she had two. Notice I used the word “had”.

This is a good time to bring her story up to date. If you don’t know Scout or haven’t read her saga, you might want to. It’s the stuff movies and books are made of. In fact, her story has been recounted in a documentary, and is coming out as part of a book, not by me, but by someone who has interviewed me — I’ll write more about it when that comes out. The last time I updated her story was on December 21st.

From rotund on the left, to lactating on the right within the first week of April.

What’s new? Scout has just had her fourth litter. Of course, I haven’t seen any pups, and won’t for months, but I saw her balloon up in size over the last several weeks in March, and then in early April deflate in size and show signs that she’s lactating.

Scooter, her mate from the previous three years and father to her previous three litters, is no longer around — I have no idea what happened to him. He just stopped appearing — I last saw him on January 17th. The most likely scenario is that he met his end in a car accident. A car killed one of his pups only a few months earlier on a high-speed, busy roadway not far from last year’s den. In 2021, San Francisco picked up 24 coyotes killed by cars in the city. Although I’ve seen a couple of coyote “divorces”, these are extremely rare, so I don’t think he just left Scout or vice-versa — this was a very openly devoted pair of coyotes.

With Scooter gone, Scout has retreated to within the boundaries of her old territory. Last year, with him, her territory had expanded into a vast area that was new to her. She didn’t give up her old territory, rather, she retained both! A yearling daughter remained at the old place, and since both Scout and Scooter returned there nightly, there were plenty of scent markings to deter any potential takeovers by other coyotes seeking their own territories there. It became my belief that Scooter may have originally come from that new territorial extension and possibly even led Scout there. But as I said, he is no longer in the picture and Scout no longer returns to that area anymore. This is why I think her lost mate and the extended territory they held were connected somehow: she has moved on from both.

I last saw Scooter on left on January 17th; Skipper, Scout’s new mate on the right, appeared at the beginning of March

By March 2nd of this year, there was a new male in her life and I’ve seen Scout with him enough times to know this is her new mate. The question is, who fathered her pups this year? There are six weeks in there where I only ever saw Scout, and never with either of these males. Without knowing which one was with her 63 days before giving birth (the beginning of February), we won’t know who the father is. I am no longer collecting scat for DNA identification, so this will never be known, unless the pups somehow bear a strong resemblance to either male. Some family resemblances are uncanny and this might give it away, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

Here are a few seconds showing Scout happily greeting her new mate after the birth of her pups. She seems to be saying, “I did it!”

I occasionally see her two-year-old daughter, see: Strictly Monogamous?. Scout’s one surviving offspring from last year’s litter, a male, can sometimes be seen in that abandoned new territory where he was born.

Over the years as she has aged, Scout has become more and more circumspect. I believe this has to do with aging: as coyotes get older, they are less willing to take chances — I’ve noticed that the same happens to injured animals. It’s probably a self-protective measure.

At the same time, reports have again begun about “aggressive” coyotes in the vicinity: these reports come out regularly during every pupping season. Specifically, it was reported on Facebook that a leashed dog pulled away from its owner and was chased all the way home by an “aggressive” coyote. First, any dog that’s not attached to a person will be targeted to “leave” the area by coyotes. They aren’t interested in engaging or mauling, their intent is to drive these “pests” — because dogs indeed are pests in a coyote’s eyes — out of the area. Even leashed dogs could be approached by an alpha (parent) coyote for this purpose: it’s best to just keep walking away from the coyote, showing that you aren’t interested in a territorial conflict, and that you are abiding by its wishes to move away. This coyote behavior is more correctly a “protective” behavior and is displayed within about 1/4th mile of any den site by all coyote parents. You can eliminate scary situations by keeping away and then walking away from a coyote the minute you see one.

Your best option might be to try a different route for awhile. If this is not possible, keep your eye open for any coyotes and walk away from them the minute you see one, especially if you have a dog which should always be leashed in a known coyote area. If you have a little dog, pick it up as you leave. If you haven’t kept vigilant and a coyote comes into your personal space, you’ll have to try scaring it away — but know that prevention is much easier than dealing with an angry coyote up close.

You can see an enlargement of this poster by clicking here.

Dispersal Maneuvers

09 Apr 2023 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in dispersal

Yesterday at dusk, I saw a dispersing youngster wandering through a neighborhood. He was not fast-to-flee, but rather carefully deliberate and much more aware of his surroundings than he let on. He kept out of the way and to the edges when the couple of people or cars were around, otherwise he used the street. He found a baggie and attempted “milking” it for what it was worth. It looked empty, but it must have retained odors from its previous contents because the coyote was interested in it. As I observed, I became aware of the coyote’s right hind foot: it was compromised, which you could see only from certain angles. Coyote legs in particular are thin and subject to injury — I’ve seen such injuries mainly from being chased by dogs. This guy soon headed to the bushes and I didn’t see him again. That’s about par for me for observing a dispersing coyote: I only ever see them fleetingly. This is because they are not in their own territories, but just passing through what might be another coyote’s claimed territory — in other words, trespassing.

If you look carefully, you can see his injured hind right leg in these photos. This did not appear to impede his movements, so the injury probably happened long ago.

Dispersal here in San Francisco seems to take place mostly during a youngster’s second year of life, although I’ve seen it as early as 9 months of age, and as late as 3 years of age. It takes place at any time of the year: there’s no actual “dispersal season”. The new pupping season has begun, with new pups having just been born — this is one of the times when some yearlings, due to big changes in the family, may decide to, or be prompted to, move on.

Coyote population is like a breathing bellows, expanding during the pupping season, and then shrinking back down after dispersal to the alpha pair, with possibly a couple of yearlings lingering a little longer before moving on. The yearlings who remain at home — and these can be either male or female — it’s not limited to just the females — serve as a great help in raising a new litter and in defending the territory, and they themselves eventually move on.

What are the features of dispersal — how is it achieved? I’ve seen parents drive youngsters out, I’ve also seen youngsters just pick up and leave when they are ready without cause, and I’ve seen siblings driving siblings out. Interestingly, opposing this process, I’ve seen parental feeding keep youngsters around well into their second year.

When a parent instigates the dispersal process, it appears to me to be driven by reproductive jealousy, as well as, sometimes by a crack in the hierarchical order. For this purpose, parents use silent intimidation (such as intense and prolonged intense staring) or physical intimidation (body slams, punches, bites) as well as hierarchy demands. Hierarchy is strong right from when the pups are born, with pups learning to lay low and hit the ground submissively at meetings with the parents. Sometimes I’ve even seen youngsters appear to shrink into themselves to look smaller when greeting parents, possibly in hopes of looking younger and thereby sticking around longer? It is mothers, or alpha females, who mostly intimidate their female youngsters — especially those who show an interest in Dad, and alpha males appear to intimidate and drive out the younger males, particularly if they show an interest in Mom. I saw the process begin with a youngster at 7 months of age in one family.

A form of sibling rivalry seems to include who is able to be next to a parent — it’s almost a kind of jealousy. I wonder if regular proximity might influence a parent’s decision to allow a certain youngster to stay on a little longer. Certainly that individual would have a survival advantage over a sibling who left — that’s one of the survival perks of having a territory to stay on. I just read in Wikipedia about starlings kicking their siblings out of the nest to insure they get all the parental attention and therefore a better chance at survival and reproductive survival — their rivalry goes as far as siblicide. Getting a sibling out of the way, out of the picture, seems involved sometimes with coyotes. Interestingly, Wikipedia even uses human step-siblings as examples of a siblings’ need to displace other siblings for their own advantage: did you know that murders in this group are higher than between other groups? This is how intense these rivalrous sibling feelings can be.

I’ve noticed that youngster males are allowed to remain in a family much longer when a Dad isn’t around — say, he died and another alpha male didn’t take his place — or when dad has become enfeebled by old age and may need the youngster to help defend the turf. I’ve seen such a male then move up into the alpha position — yep — becoming his mother’s mate.

It’s after leaving home that dispersal becomes dangerous for urban coyotes. This is due to cars — cars are their chief killers in cities, due to hostile territory-owning coyotes who drive them away, and due to unfamiliarity with new terrain. They appear to search for new homes mostly at night, when it’s safest for themselves.

BTW, a couple of times, I’ve seen a dispersing, “foreign” injured yearling youngster accepted as a visitor by an alpha female in another territory: it’s really altruistic behavior. I don’t know how common this is. More often, I’ve seen dispersing youngsters being repulsed by territorial owners.

Here are some dispersal directions and final destination I’ve been able to track in San Francisco (center photo — clicking on it will enlarge it for you):

To the left: rivalrous siblings duke it out. Center: some dispersals that occurred within the city (most youngsters move south and out of the city); Right: dispersal is a dangerous time for coyotes — cars are their chief killers.

During dispersal, a brave and strong yearling could end up fighting for a territory within the city where they detect weak or aging alphas — this happened in the Presidio in 2019. Or, a lucky coyote just might find a vacated niche here in the city — this happened at Bernal Hill in 2016. A youngster may wait it out on the periphery of a territory having assessessed one of the alphas to be weak, and then move in when the opening occurs: this happened in the Presidio only a couple of years ago. However, most dispersing youngsters seem to move south and out of the city because all territories within the city are already taken (per Presidio study).

In this video, a mother coyote wallops her yearling daughter to either disperse her or to instill fear in her so she won’t reproduce. Notice Mom is being aided by her son, her daughter’s younger brother, who appears to be simply copy-cating his mother’s mean behavior. In this particular instance, daughter was regularly cozying up to dad. This particular situation ended up with the parents leaving the territory to their daughter because she would not leave.

These next two dispersal maps come from the Presidio (©Presidio). The first map to the left details one coyote’s months of criss-crossings in search of a territory, even out of the city and back, and, the next map (in the center, below) shows her journey’s end in the Presidio: note there is no more wandering, she found her niche and sticks to it and keeps other coyotes out. Of 15 coyotes tagged and collared in the Presidio over a three year span, all apparently were killed by cars except one. In addition, the radio-collars and tags themselves created problems. Here (below right) is a deformed ear due to an infection caused by an ear tag, and her collar was supposed to fall off after one year for humane reasons, however, it malfunctioned and she has been burdened with it for 6 years and will be stuck with it probably now for the rest of her life. I’m not a fan of these gadgets, but the maps are fascinating.

The two maps to the left are from the ecologist at the Presidio©, based on recordings from a tagged and radio-collared coyote. To the right is what these gadgets look like: The ear-tag became infected and caused the ear to permanently flop; and the radio-collar itself was supposed to self-release after a year, for humane purposes, but it malfunctioned, so she’s been stuck with the collar for the past 6 years.

Family Communication Howls

02 Apr 2023 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in adaptations, coyote behavior, howling, rendez vous, resting

This five minute video is of a family interacting vocally in the late afternoon. It’s actually two interactions within about an hour of each other, starting at about 6:30 p.m., with napping in-between.The wind noise during the first minute and a half is really off-putting and painful to listen to. You can turn the volume down during this section or jump ahead. I wish I knew how to take out the wind — I’m sure there’s a way.

The video starts out with Mom calling out to her family — no sirens were involved. At :40 seconds into the video [the numbers below refer to the progression of the video], the rest of the family responds, and Mom then intensifies her own calls as she replies to them — you can see and hear this uptic in sound. At 1:15, satisfied with their responses, she heads off to another location nearby but does not join them. Some people have speculated that this type howling is a “roll-call”, but it isn’t, since repeatedly I have seen some family members absolutely ignore the sounds and continue with what they were doing.

By 1:23 the rest of the family is sleeping on a hillside without Mom. If you didn’t know they were there, you would not have seen them — they pretty much blended into the hillside and looked like part of the landscape. Dad looks up briefly at 1:53. Of course, I didn’t stick around to video them sleeping (!) but the minute I heard them again, I returned.

By 2:05 the family is howling again, this time in response to sirens. If you listen carefully you can hear that each coyote sounds different, and you can hear Mom’s deeper voice in the background. Howling is often set off by sirens, but just as often it’s initiated without them. Possibly they are simply confirming their family unity and their family separateness from any neighboring coyote families. If sirens occur late in the afternoon, as in this case, the coyotes may use it as their signal to meet up at the rendezvous — a nightly event — which begins their activity together through the evening. Coyotes sleep mostly during the daylight hours in urban settings as an adaptation to avoid people, even though they are not at all nocturnal. They are as diurnal as we are.

By about 4:07 the howling has stopped. They interact minimally, and then they head off to meet Mom for their rendezvous.

At 4:36 you may have to turn the volume up to hear their squeaky voices during their meeting: this part is hidden from view because they are deep in the bushes.

Within a few minutes of hearing these high-pitched voices from the bushes — it was dusk by this time and difficult to see them — I saw three of them headed out together with purpose and direction to their steps — they were on their way to patrol and hunt and mark their territory in order to keep non-family coyotes out. One of the youngsters, the female, seems never to come with them during these treks. I’ve seen this stay-home behavior in a number of younger females. I don’t know if they remain home due to not feeling secure away from home, or if there is some other reason.

Hmmm. . . Strictly Monogamous?

17 Mar 2023 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in courting, coyote behavior, coyote courting behavior

Well, these three coyotes were not just “frolicking and playing” as some people thought! By the way, coyotes are known to mate for life, mates are usually extremely loyal to one another, and both parents raise the young: it usually is a real “family unit” in the sense that our families are. But, as in our families, variations and exceptions take many forms.

Mom was there with her two-year-old Daughter, along with a new-to-the-area four-year-old Male. Dad (Mom’s long-time mate) had disappeared two months ago, so there was no male scent-marking in the area which might have warned off this male. Mom appeared not to like new Male and kept snarling at him. Daughter I think was conflicted: she joined her Mom in some of the snarling, at the same time, from all appearances, she appeared to love this new focused attention from the visitor: she had his undivided attention and she probably never felt so special before! She let him lick her under the tail and allowed, and even encouraged, him to mount her.

The visiting Male already had a mate on the adjacent territory where he had pups last year. That mate happened to be his mother. Inbreeding is not uncommon for coyotes, and I’ve seen a lot of it here in San Francisco. In spite of Male’s stable family situation and claim to a prime territory in the city, here he was romancing Daughter in the next territory over. It occurred to me that maybe his mother’s/mate’s hormones and reproductive odors might be waning with age (she’s ten) and therefore possibly less attractive to him? I don’t know this, it’s just something that occurred to me without knowing the science.

And the story is actually more convoluted than that: Unbeknownst to either Mom or new Male (at least I think it’s unknown to them): Male and Mom are actually full siblings born in what is now the Male’s territory. They were born in two different litters, four years apart. Daughter then would be Male’s niece. [Captions appear below each set of photos]

“*Oh, so you’re interested in my daughter?” [Mom and Daughter face visiting Male]*

Mom seems to be saying: “Well, you don’t pass mustard: I don’t like you. Get OUT!” [But we all know that parents have little say in these matters]. Mom is snarling at and chasing Male.

Above, Mom is interacting with and communicating with Daughter. Mom seems to be warning Daughter that he’s just a scoundrel — I got the impression that Mom wanted Daughter to join her in chasing the fellow out. But Daughter didn’t seem to be on board.

Daughter becomes giddy with excitement — this type of attention was all new to her. It happens to us all, doesn’t it? Something new and probably inexplicable was happening to her and it was energizing her with excitement. It looked like she was having her first coming-of-age experience. She’s two years old and just about ready for this.

Well, this is what happened, in spite of Mom. However, there was no “tie”, so mating didn’t actually take place — but they did go through the motions: He mounted her half a dozen times. At this point, four weeks later, it appears that they ran off together — they “eloped”. I haven’t seen either of them for a month now, either here or on his territory. Hopefully there will be another installment of this soap opera! I want to add, that Male’s abandoned mate called to him repeatedly, with no response. She now doesn’t not have a mate around to help her defend her territory.