I Can Chew A Stick, Too!!

10 Jul 2010 Leave a comment

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

I often meet a friend in one of the parks for a dog walk. Several coyotes have been interested in this walker’s dog because the dog sticks with us and has never shown hostility toward any of the coyotes. Sometimes my friend and I will stop and talk while she tends some flowers, and while she does so, her dog busies itself with chewing on either a stick  or a pinecone. So today my friend was working on some flowers when a coyote came by. The coyote was immensely curious about my friend’s gardening activity and watched her intently: “Whaaaat are you doing?” When my friend moved on to another patch the coyote went up to where she had been working to sniff things out.

My friend decided to work for some time in one of her favorite places. The coyote was right there. It looked around, picked up a stick and found a comfortable spot where it curled up.  And then the coyote began chewing on the stick, just as the dog was doing right then!! When my friend picked up her stuff to move on, the coyote again watched her intently: “What are you doing now?” Once we began walking again, the coyote leaped and ran down a grassy hill. This particular coyote seems to find us on purpose just to say “hello” and stay a few minutes.

Snakes Are Not For Eating

27 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, hunting, perfume bath, playing Tags:

I have seen coyotes pick up dead snakes before, snakes that had already been killed either by them or some other animal, but today I actually watched as a coyote caught a live snake. The coyote was quick and exact in its hunting techniques: it only took one plunge before the coyote had the snake. I watched intently, thinking that this was a “fresh” snake, and might be eaten, but that was not to be. I don’t think that coyotes eat snakes if they don’t have to.

The coyote put down the snake, rolled on it, and played with it, tossing it high in the air. The episode took a little over a minute. I learned that an animal does not have to have decomposed for a coyote to want to roll on it — maybe snakes are strong smelling to begin with. When the coyote was through with these activities, it moved on to making its rounds. Interestingly, the coyote returned to this snake about 40 minutes later, searching for it and picking it up just for a second before dropping it and continuing on the path. Ten minutes later I came back to find the snake was gone: it had probably been picked up by either a red-tail hawk or a raven which are seen constantly flying above.

Wanting to Play With Dogs

24 Jun 2010 4 Comments

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

I watched as a young coyote repeatedly approached a dog which was lying down and chewing on its stick. This was after the two had found themselves in fairly close proximity on a park path: the dog then meandered about looking for a stick and then settled down while the coyote watched. The coyote was extremely curious and approached cautiously, always from behind. At first the coyote’s nose went straight for the dog’s anus. This was repeated several times. The dog remained there chewing, and even wagged its tail. We were curious so we decided to watch for a few minutes before moving on. The coyote then went up and seemingly “nipped” the dog’s tail — it was only the fur of the dog’s tail which was nipped. The coyote sprang back after this daring “touch”, but the dog remained there as before, unphased but obviously aware.  NEXT, the coyote went a little further, actually opening its jaws over the dog’s lower back, the same as it did to its sibling, provoking it to play. This time the dog got up, good-naturedly, but just moved forward a bit. The coyote decided that was as far as he was willing to venture at that time.

We had seen the coyote’s sibling earlier. The dog’s owner said to me:  “Well, now lets see what the other coyote has to say.” Yes, this coyote definitely had said something. We did not see the other coyote, but I was reminded of several instances when coyotes showed their desire to play, or actually did play with domestic dogs, non-aggressive dogs, who were willing to do so. I have had several dog owners tell me that a coyote had approached their dog in a friendly manner. There are two factors that seem to be involved in a coyote’s attraction to a dog: 1) the dog is not interested in the coyote so its activity is pretty bland; 2) the dog is not social with other dogs. I thought it was interesting hat these two dog behavior characteristics have been repeated by a number of dog owners after I inquired about the coyote approaching.

At Bernal Heights there was a coyote who romped with and wrestled with a couple of the dogs. It was only a couple of specific chosen dogs with which the coyote engaged in this play, dogs that had a knack for unthreatening communication. The play didn’t last long, but long enough to satisfy some kind of need of the coyote. That coyote lived all alone. Then, yesterday I met a woman with her two dogs who told me she used to play ball with her two dogs in an open field where frequently a coyote would show up. This coyote, always the same one, had a knack for finding them, wherever they might be, she said. She would toss the ball out, and occasionally the coyote, out on the sidelines, would grab the ball — never retrieving it, but “possessing it” by sitting down with it and holding it. Interestingly, one of her dogs had once chased this coyote and then been grabbed by the coyote. I guess bygones were bygones. Another dog I knew would wallow in a field where a coyote hung out: the coyote would approach the dog and stare at it at close range as if trying to figure out what the dog was doing on its back. Obviously, a dog on its back is not a threat to a coyote. The coyote was very curious. Once this same dog picked up a pine-cone to begin chewing on it. The coyote came over to investigate. This dog also romped short distances with the coyote, and after a romp they would both lay down in the grass, at a considerable distance apart, and just soak up the fun they had, smiling at the other in the distance.

So, these are the instances I have heard about of a coyote playing with a dog. One of the dominant female coyotes which I have been following would never “play” in this fashion. The closest I have seen her come to “playing” with a dog is half-serious game of “one-upmanship”.  Her main communication to any dog which gets too close is a very blatant warning display which says “keep away.”

The End of A Playtime

16 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, feelings & emotions, playing

After watching any type of animal for a while, one becomes adept at reading feelings. Coyotes have the same intense feelings we humans have. Yesterday I was privileged to watch two coyotes play enthusiastically and joyfully: their smiles and exuberant chasing and wrestling were infectious as I watched them. Then, one disappeared from the scene. That is common for me to see. But what I also saw this time was the behavior of the one left behind. It looked for the first coyote, but could not find it. It’s entire stance and energy changed as it realized the playing was over. It trotted slowly, I would say forlornly, down the path about 200 yards and disappeared. Its change of behavior, the forlorn aspect, was as infectious to me, the observer, as had been the joy with which they had been playing.

Dead Rat Toy?

16 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, playing Tags:

A few days ago two young coyotes were playing and chasing each other exuberantly — that is how I’ve always seen these coyotes play. Soon, one ran down a hill and picked up a dead rat. It had to have been dead because the coyote just picked it up without a struggle — I only noticed it once it was in the coyote’s mouth. It was a large rat, bigger than the gophers I have seen them catch. The coyote looked at me and then carried the large rat about 50 feet before depositing it in an area of tamped down grass as I and the other coyote looked on. I could not see any details of the coyote’s behavior as it put down the rat because of the tall grass that separated me from him, but I do know that the rat was not rolled on and it was left entirely whole.

Most of us would avoid a dead rat because of the diseases it carries. Coyotes are known to eat carrion — but it did not do so in this case. So, I’m wondering what purpose a dead rat might serve: was it a toy?

Family, Frolicking, Folly. . . and Communication

13 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

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

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Images speak louder than words. See for yourself! There are 65 slides — a long sequence. Mom mostly kept an eye on things as the young ones played. To note: exuberant smiling, tip of the tongue exposed, ears laid way back, wrestling with the winner on top, wrestling up on the hindlegs, chasing, stretching, yawning, rolling in smelly stuff, sniffing, watching dog walkers that didn’t see them, monitoring: the mom running to her pup’s defense — which turned out not to have been necessary, rubbing against a tree, teasing, looking up for crows, tails straight out or up, open muzzles over the other’s closed muzzle, a muzzle open onto the other’s back, annoyance, kissing apologies, nipping at legs, reaching out with a forearm, mounting, urinating on or immediately in back of mom (WHOA! Is this possession??). The mounting is performed by one coyote on both the male sibling — this is all in play — and the mother who always remained seated but seemed to allow this behavior in her pup until she got tired of it.

The playlist includes a mother and her two male pups who were born in the springtime of 2009. Of course, there is a lot more going on than playing: there is intense communication. Fighting never broke out because of the communication. The communication seemed to follow a pattern. A couple of times it seemed as if the playing was taken right to the limit of tolerance. I’m sure there was much more communication going on than what I was seeing, but I’ve noted a few things here.

I’ll give a couple of examples.  1) One coyote sniffed a spot on the ground, the second coyote joined in, the first narrowed its eyes and then bared its teeth in warning, the second seemingly communicated that no threat was intended by showing the tip of its tongue in a “semi-kiss”;

2) A coyote pup pursued the mom (look at his intense gaze — a gaze with intention), rubbing against her and watching her face for reactions, he then mounted her in a tight hug even though she stayed seated. She put up with this for a moment, then turned on him baring her teeth, but then both displayed the tips of their tongues, and he further apologized by extending his tongue even more and then actually kissing her;

3) Mom did not want to frolick with the pups — she kept her head low and her ears out to the sides “airplane ears” — but also the ears were back which could indicate anger. Notice that one of the pups reads her desires well: he studies her expressions and sticks out the tip of his tongue, then solicitously following her will. The other coyote reads her less well or really wants his way — she ends up baring her teeth at him in addition to having her ears back.  He leaves her alone after marking her, or right in back of her (!!!);

4) This same persistent coyote pup headed over to his brother, probably trying to get him to play by opening his jaw onto his back and then mounting him. The second coyote was slow to react but didn’t particularly like this. He bent over to the side and bared his teeth while standing still, as the persistent one continued. Finally the second coyote stuck out the tip of his tongue solicitously, showing goodwill, and the two began to play.

Could the “tip-of-the-tongue” be an indicator of goodwill and non-aggression? These coyotes smiled as they played with their tongues either lolling out to the side of the mouth or held in. Playing consisted mostly of chasing and wrestling and folly.

More Play: Wallowing On A Dead Mole

01 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, playing, wallowing

This coyote stopped at a brown spot in a grassy area and rolled on it: twisting and turning, lowering the shoulders first and sliding down the small incline. The activity was repeated over and over many times. Then the coyote walked about 8 feet and did the same thing, over and over, occasionally checking to see that I was watching. THIS TIME, however, there was a dead mole involved. The coyote picked it up, moved it over then rolled on it. The coyote’s enthusiasm and joy in this activity increased as the moments went by: the mole was tossed up in the air then swung over to the side and picked up again. So, besides rubbing itself in a smelly dead mole, the activity seemed to constitute play — joyful play!! I’ve seen this wallowing on a dead animal before: on a dead snake and a dead lizard. This time it was a furry mole. I have found a number of dead moles — obviously they had not been eaten. I wonder if moles, lizards and snakes are distasteful to coyotes? I’ve seen domestic dogs wallow in distasteful stuff.  What they roll on is always very smelly, so the assumption is that they are “perfuming” themselves. For what purpose, I don’t think anyone knows for sure. We do know that the dog or coyote is thoroughly enjoying himself as he wallows!

On a few occasions I have distinctly felt that when I observed “playing” or “toying with prey” that there was an aspect of “performance” involved for me as an observer. The coyote definitely saw me and looked over to make sure I was watching. The wallowing on the mole carcass lasted a full eight minutes: it was a feature length performance!!

See more wallowing postings: on a lizard: A “Perfume Bath”: coyote behavior of October 29, 2009; on a snake: A Snake Is Found: Coyote behavior of March 6, 2010; and on other waste: Another Smelly Rub-down: Coyote behavior of January 3, 2010.

Entertainment: Abandon and Fun With A Ball!

26 May 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, playing Tags:

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NOTE THAT THERE ARE 71 SLIDES IN THE ABOVE SLIDE SHOW — IT IS A LONG ONE!

Today I encountered a happy, lone, young male coyote. I know it is a “he” because of the way he urinated standing up (females squat). The coyote first appeared when a dog and walker came along a path — I have found this to be the case very often: dogs seem to draw coyotes out into the open. The dog walker walked on by — both coyote and dog kept their distance and ignored each other. That is how my observations for this posting began.

The coyote watched the walker disappear down the path. And then he smiled — it really is a smile! Then he stretched, scratched, yawned. He walked to the path where he took a spine out of his foot and then walked back to a grassy area where the fun began!  First he played wholeheartedly with a ball for some time — tossing it up and catching it. After a while of this, he took a break, first urinating right on the ball — maybe he was claiming ownership? and then sniffing both the air and the ground — possibly for messages from the rest of the family? Well, there appeared to be no messages, so the young, fun-loving coyote returned to more frolicking in, and chewing on, some straw. After a few minutes it must have been time to move on, because the coyote got up and walked some distance, sporadically stopping and eyeing the ground for movement. It pooped in two places, maybe 200 feet apart. Then I saw it pounce — yes — it had caught a vole which it tossed and then threw to the ground before picking it up, crushing it and swallowing it whole. This young fellow then walked to the crest of a small hill where he looked down below to where dogs might have been — but the park was pretty empty. I turned back at this point.  The slide show above is long — 71 images — how could I leave anything out? However the actual time was amazingly short: the ball play was all within one minute, as was the playing in the hay. The capturing and eating the vole took almost two minutes. And that’s it, time-wise. The little coyote obviously was having a great time. Coyotes smile when they are happy — I have seen it many times and you can see it here!

————-

Another Dog Incident: A little later a runner told me that he had just seen a “very large” coyote — it was not the same one I had observed earlier — that one was on the other side of the park. It should be known that our coyotes are “western coyotes” and weigh only about 25 pounds. I have found that when someone describes a coyote as “very large” it has more to do with their own apprehensions and fears. Sure enough, the man asked me if the coyote might come up to him and hurt him. I had to assure him that this has never happened in this area, that these coyotes have a healthy fear of people.

We began hearing the distressed barking that a coyote engages in when it has been chased by a dog. This was the coyote the runner had just seen. Then a woman said that a coyote had chased her dog. I want it to be known that coyotes do not chase for no reason — they “chase back” after having been intruded upon first, and then they run to high ground where they engage in a barking session. The distressed barking, which lasts as long as 20 minutes, is both a complaining and a statement of being present: “I’m here and leave me alone”. Why had not the dog been leashed in this known coyote area? I had passed this same dog with its owner only half an hour earlier. The dog had barked at me viciously as I walked on the path — I do not have a dog, so the dog was barking at me and the owner could not control the dog, though she did leash it at that point. I have heard this same dog bark at coyotes various times and chase them. Barking at me or a coyote constitutes a threat — I do not like to be threatened like this. This coyote might have engaged in a self-defensive feint before retreating to the safe barking location where we now saw it. Everyone I know expects a coyote to defend itself from such a threat. The coyote has never harmed. However it has put on defensive bluffing displays which are meant to ward off dogs. If we would respect the coyotes and their space by not intruding on them, such problems would never arise in the first place.

Family Interactions

12 Apr 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in affection, coyote behavior, family interactions, playing Tags: ,

First I noticed one, then two coyotes sitting calmly out on a grassy hill. They were both staring in the same direction — the reason for the staring became apparent when a third coyotes appeared. This was a family group of a mom and two one-year-old pups. When the second pup appeared, the two young ones joyfully ran up the hill to mom as she stretched in anticipation: this is depicted in the first nine photos above. As they neared mom at the top of the hill, one of the pups, the male, held his ears back and went into a crouching — submissive? — position. This one came up towards the mom by coming up under her chin. The three then walked a short ways, rubbed heads and happily hugged in close to each other. I could not see all the details of the interactions because of my distance and the tall grass. Mom then moved out of the picture.

The two younger ones began romping and exploring. Each kept looking at the other: they were very curious about what the other was up to. Finally they romped down the hill where one of them found something that must have looked like fun. This coyote pawed at the object, tossed it in the air a few times and finally pounced on it. I could not tell what the item was except that it was floppy rather than rigid. The other coyote watched, transfixed, but never tried to go for the object. Eventually, without leaving this spot, one of the coyotes sat down and the other one lay down, doing nothing — the play seemed to be over. When they were ready, they got up and meandered into the brush where I could no longer see them.

Do Coyote Tails Wag? “Catch Me If You Can!”

19 Mar 2010 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, playing, Uncategorized Tags:

Yes, coyote tails do wag, but from what I’ve seen, quite differently than a dogs. When the coyotes wag their tails in excited and anxious anticipation, the tails move very slowly in a back and forth motion. When they greet each other at a rendezvous, the tails seems to be swished around in circles — circles of ecstatic joy! Please note the pure joy displayed in their faces as these two coyotes play with each other. They are totally involved with the play and with each other. Their vision was intensely focused on each other as they played, though a couple of times they looked over at me. They seemed to concentrate on each others faces to anticipate what the other would do. Their play involved inciting the other to chase, chasing, keeping away from the other by running around a bush — sometimes the chaser “jumped” the barrier-bush, waging their tails in anticipation as they waited for the other to react, running together, feinting, testing.

Notice their mouths are open, they are almost smiling. Also, there was crouching with the front part of the body down and back part up in a puppy “invitation to play” fashion. When they reached each other after a chase, their mouths were agape and often their teeth are bared, but they never made tooth contact. They often lay in a sphinx-like posture while waiting. They panted. The play continued for 24 minutes before they ducked into the brush.

Toying With Prey: Coyote behavior

05 Mar 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, hunting, playing

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Cats are known to toy with their prey: they don’t kill it immediately, but rather they allow it to stay alive just enough to move and try to get away, then they re-catch it over and over again. We think of this as cruel. Other animals besides cats do this, including coyotes.  As I watched, the process seemed to drag on and on forever. When I later examined the time-stamped photographs, I was able to see that the entire episode took less than two minutes. It was a long, long two minutes for me.

I was watching, and the coyote knew I was watching. I wondered if the performance was for me. As I was watching, I wondered if the coyote was testing or tempting me to see if I would come in and grab the prey — I say this because of the way the coyote kept looking at me. I’ve now seen this type of activity twice. The first time I saw it, the coyote ended up eating the little vole. But the second time, the coyote actually abandoned the prey by dropping the victim and leaving. I wondered if he had left the prey for me? Or was the vole just too small to be worth it? I have seen a couple of voles left — heads cut off — and wondered what the significance of this was, if any.

Two, a toy, hunting: Coyote behavior

28 Dec 2009 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, hunting, playing Tags: , , ,

I always feel lucky whenever I come across a coyote in any of our parks — no matter how much “luck” I’ve already had. But I feel ecstatically lucky whenever I see more than one coyote at a time — this is really unusual. Yet, I have had this experience a handful of times now, and in three different places. These two coyotes here in these photos stayed fairly hidden behind trees and twigs. They stayed close together — venturing away from each other for only short hunting forays or explorations. They followed one another a lot, and one played with a toy while the other watched. The toy only became apparent later on when I zoomed-in the photos.

I also caught two together out hunting as they hit upon the same gopher hole. They were not there long, but ONE got the prize. After this there was a very short “I want it” competition and a short chase in circles. The winner ran off, out of reach of the other, and lay down to enjoy a meal while the other remained back and watched. After the meal, the two were again together searching for more goodies at the same locations.

At the end of the year, litter mates born in the spring are still together. I have not seen last year’s pups around since November — have they dispersed? People in the parks have seldom been seeing coyotes lately — possibly just because it is winter.

Two Young Coyotes Play

10 Dec 2009 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in care for the young, communication, coyote behavior, group activity, playing Tags: , , , ,

For half an hour I watched two young coyotes playing. When I first saw them, they appeared to be “wrestling”, but I was too far away for taking photos when I first sighted them. When I got close enough to take photos — never close enough for really clear photos, but at least you can tell what is going on — the coyotes stopped their activity, sat down and watched me. Soon they were playing again. There was lots of following one another and watching each other. There was lots of body contact and being next to one another and climbing over each other.

There was a “toy” — I could not tell exactly what it was: either a dead vole or a glob of hair or a small piece of wood. This toy was tossed, from a mouth, high up in the air with a flick of the head, and then it was leaped for. Later, one coyote held the toy in its mouth while the other watched, totally absorbed visually with the activity. The coyotes looked at each other often, eye to eye. They touched snouts.  One opened its snout right around the other’s, or reached to touch the other’s from below. There was running towards each other, and leaping through the low growth until one followed the other out of my sight for the day. I noticed that there was a hierarchy: it was always the same coyote that was sitting, or crouched, or below the other.

Playfulness & Performing: Coyote Behavior

08 Dec 2009 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in communication, coyote behavior, playing, reactions to a human, what coyotes thinks about Tags: , , ,

Today I spotted a young coyote which I have named Silver. I name some of the coyotes to be able to distinguish them. This one seemed at loose ends when I saw it, and it continued to be at loose ends the entire time I watched it! All of its activities seem to emanate from boredom! Besides entertaining itself, this coyote appeared to be doing so for my benefit. I say this, because, just like a young puppy, it would engage in playful activities, and then look up to make sure I was watching!!

I was able to watch this for about half an hour, at a considerable distance, so the photos are not great. It seemed to be hanging out in the area with nothing to do when it became aware of me. It wandered around for short periods, and then stopped to look at me, very casually. At one point it looked down over a steep ledge — it appeared to have heard something, but did not pursue this. Then it meandered casually over to a rock, looked at me, and then tugged at something in the soil, stopping to look at me sometimes as it did so. Finally it had something in its mouth — one of the photos shows a white thing, almost the shape of a rice-cake. But a rice cake would not have been found here. It was not an animal. Anyway, the coyote chewed on this, then stood up, and then chewed some more at the back of its mouth before swallowing it. Then it meandered on.

A few minutes later it curled up on another rock where I noticed it had pick up some kind of human made wrapper. The coyote held this wrapper for a while before dropping it and getting up again.

Then it wandered over again to the rock where it had eaten the “rice cake”. Here it poked its nose into the ground and then moved the dirt over with a paw, and then it looked at me. Then it began tugging hard on something — it might have been a rooted twig. The coyote put considerable effort into pulling — it looked like a puppy playing tug of war. The item did not give way, so the coyote gave up.

Then the coyote meandered around some more and disappeared. I packed up to go and was walking off, when the coyote again appeared on the hill again, sitting. It was studying my actions. Finally it must have been time for it to go, because with a little more direction in its actions it went off to a steep incline where it bounded down, seemingly joyfully, pouncing and leaping high over the growth there as it went. It was gone for the day.

Maybe an Invitation to Play: Coyote behavior

10 Nov 2009 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coexisting with coyotes, coyotes and dogs, playing Tags: , , , ,

We have all read about coyotes playing with dogs. Several years ago, in another one of our parks, there was a coyote which was well known for playing with a select few individual dogs who frequented the park. They engaged in short and friendly “wrestling” matches, and playing “chase”. I never witnessed these, but I heard about them. This coyote lived alone, and more than likely welcomed the friendly company and interactions. The coyote always played with the same dogs, and not the others. The coyote probably sought out specific “types” to interact with. It kept its distance from humans.

Except for dogs chasing coyotes, I have seen only a few instances of coyotes interacting with dogs, or trying to. Two of these instances I am going to describe here. One of these occurred this morning, which reminded me of the other.

A couple of years ago, I ran into an individual coyote several times on my morning walks, and I always took pictures with my point-and-shoot camera. My dog and I were often greeted with a very special, enthusiastic show which I’m sure was directed at my dog, even though my dog didn’t show the slightest interest — his attention was riveted to tastier things on the ground. I had found my dog in one of the parks when he was 3 months old, abandoned — and he never lost the habit of picking up clumps of dirt or sticks which he chewed on or ate. Bizarre, I know, but he never changed. We always kept a safe distance from the coyote.

Then, on a very foggy day, I saw this same coyote and decided to try the video-mode on my camera, which I had to figure out. I turned it on for a moment and then became aware that my dog, bored with my having stopped, had wandered off a short distance. Since he was so calm and detached, self-sufficiently occupying himself with what was on the ground, I continued taping the scene.

What I caught on the video was this curious little coyote repeatedly and enthusiastically approaching my uninterested dog who ignored her. For the most part, she kept to her safe distance of more than 30 feet, but then she dashed in a number of times, and finally summoned up enough courage — you can see this on the video — daring herself to touch my dog’s tail, in a real daredevil fashion, before running off.  The end of the video shows these two animals saying good-by — you can actually see this. VIDEO

After this, I kept my dog at my side. With me next to him, she didn’t try approaching him in this playful fashion, though she continued to greet us. My dog no longer comes with me to the park — he is almost 15 years old and his back legs barely work at all anymore. But I often see another walker in one of the parks whose dog reacts to a coyote in the same uninterested way as my dog did, respecting its space and leaving it alone. This dog also gets bored waiting for his owner, so goes off the path where he grabs a stick to chew on until the owner is ready to go. Coyotes are keen observers and I’m sure the dog’s enjoyment of the stick was observed by this coyote.

So, today, there was a lone coyote in this park. After we had been there a few moments, just standing there, the coyote came right up to the dog, almost face-to-face: the dog owner sensed that the coyote seemed lonely.

The dog allowed a pretty close approach, though I heard him give a short “grrr” as a “hey, backoff” warning. The dog had been chewing a stick a little earlier. And then something very interesting happened: the coyote picked up a 10″ stick and carried it a little further off. The coyote held it, put it down, and picked it up, and looked at the dog. Yes, it was an invitation to play. Our eyes were riveted on the coyote, but the dog did not accept the invitation. This dog is very friendly towards humans, and always greets me enthusiastically, but I don’t think I’ve seen him play with other dogs. Rather he is a very self-sufficient type — very similar to my dog. We two observers were quite fascinated. The dog and owner then walked on, and this coyote departed the area at this same time.

I do not advocate coyote/dog interactions — I am against them. However, I can see from the coyote behavior which I have observed, that when another animal respects them, the coyote can see this, and the compliment is returned. Respect is earned. It is not something that can be taught to a dog: they either have an instinct for it or they don’t. The same is true in human interactions with animals. My own dog can sense immediately when someone is afraid of him, even though they deny being so. The person’s fear is communicated, and the dog reacts with a growl and distrust. Distrust and respect are mutually exclusive. Fear engenders distrust.

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