Warning Bark at a Den Site

20 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

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

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

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

Why Isn’t Mom Around?

14 Jul 2011 3 Comments

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

Hi Janet:

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

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

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

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

Thanks for all you do for coyotes!  Ginny

~~~~~~~

Hi Ginny –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~~~~~~

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

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

Dad In Charge, by Charles Wood

06 Jul 2011 1 Comment

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

Dad stops

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

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

Dad down

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

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

Dad ignores rabbit

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

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

Youngsters Are Emerging — Please Keep Your Distance!

16 Jun 2011 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in care for the young, coexisting with coyotes, communication, coyote behavior, pupping

Youngster -- about three months old

Few people will ever see very young coyote pups due to the coyote’s secretive nature and to the extraordinary care of the parents. But, then again, you might be lucky. Until now, they have been kept well-hidden, but now they are beginning to move around in wider areas as they learn from their parents how to hunt and take care of themselves.

IF a youngster sees you, it is likely to flee quickly. But sometimes curiosity causes them to peek out and watch what is going on. Or, you might catch a family on a twilight trek.

Parents can be particularly edgy at this time of year if you get too close.  If you know you are in a coyote area, please keep your dogs leashed and be ready for a protective mom. If you have a dog, it might be a good idea, for a while, to avoid areas where you have seen coyotes in the past. Dogs are the chief threats to coyotes and their pups.

It is best not to linger in their presence and to continue moving AWAY from any coyote you see. This allows them to feel that you are not after them — it allows them to feel safe. If a mother or father feels that their brood is endangered, they have ways of communicating this to your dog: they’ll put on ferocious displays to warn you and your dog off — this is their first line of defense — a scare tactic. Most of it is bluff, but please take heed, because mothers WILL defend themselves and their pups if they are, or feel they are, intruded upon or threatened in any way.

Yearling -- a year older

Coyotes are territorial, so they feel protective not only towards their families, but also towards their spaces, especially during this time when pups are beginning to explore the wider world. Coyotes treat “outsider” coyotes and dogs in the same manner and for the same reasons. Please let’s understand them and respect their needs!

Mom Trots Into View, by Charles Wood

14 Jun 2011 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, pupping

Mom

Monday Mom trotted up half way to the Los Angeles area bridge where I was standing with my tethered dog, Holtz, at twilight looking south.  I haven’t seen Mom in six weeks.  Today she trotted towards me, unlike when last Saturday, an unidentified coyote didn’t tarry when we spotted each other.  A little earlier on Monday I had seen another coyote to the north of the bridge headed back to their field south.  Holtz spotted that coyote before I did.  It easily diverted and disappeared into the dense brush in the nature area to the north.  Without Holtz pointing it out I never would have seen it.  I crossed the street to look south anticipating that the vanished coyote would soon enough walk under the bridge.  Instead Mom showed on a road in her field, south of the bridge.  After her approach, Mom soon trotted away and vanished deeper into her field.

Six weeks ago her milk appeared to be fully in.  Today, my inexperienced guess is that she is fairly finished nursing, making the puppies more than five to seven weeks old?  I hope we will soon be done with these “now you see me now you don’t” games and I will see them with the puppies out.

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

Dad, Five People and a Dog, by Charles Wood

03 Jun 2011 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, human behavior, pupping

Dad on hold

As I left my coyotes’ field at twilight I met, under the bridge, four adolescent women hanging out and taking pictures of themselves in front of graffiti.  At just that moment, Dad appeared.  He stopped farther away than usual as he assessed five people and a dog.  One of the young women asked excitedly if that was a coyote.  I said it was.  As Dad trotted away she said that was “so cool and random.”  I agreed.  We talked more and I told them of the four adult coyotes with puppies.  One of the young women said, “So they are more territorial now?”  Exactly.  They said they hadn’t been advised on how to deal with an approaching coyote.  So I told them to not run and asked them what else to do.  One said, as she raised herself up and held out her arms:  “Make yourself big.”  Another said she would yell and make a lot of noise.  I was satisfied that they knew exactly how to handle an approaching coyote and I added that in the field it is a good idea to scan 360 degrees as you take your walk.

I haven’t seen the puppies yet.  In the sand, I want to think that the little tracks next to the larger coyote tracks are puppy tracks, yet I don’t know.  I want to think that the smaller droppings are from puppies, yet I don’t know.

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

Purposeful With Pups Around, by Charles Wood

25 May 2011 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in care for the young, coyote behavior, coyote living areas, coyote reactions to dogs, coyotes defending themselves, pupping

Before twilight today I saw both of the parent coyotes who live in a small field that borders one of Los Angeles County’s concrete ‘rivers’.  The last time I saw them was May 3.  I’ve yet to see their puppies this year.

Dad is still looking a bit thin.  I came across them both as I was leaving their field.  Mom was partially in cover.  I moved about twenty feet away from my leashed dog to get a less obscured picture of her.  Seeing an opportunity, Dad quickly approached my dog Holtz.  Dad disregarded Holtz’s barking and then charged.  I snapped a quick picture and then moved to stand between him and Holtz.  His opportunity blocked, Dad broke off his charge, moved back, calmed down and did some investigatory sniffing.  Throughout the event, Mom stood at the ready.  My read of Dad is that he would have stopped short of contact with Holtz regardless of my having blocked him.  There is an element of bluff in Dad’s displays and he was aware that Holtz, for being constrained by leash, could not engage him and hence, a close approach was safe.

The photographs included in this post illustrate how purposeful my coyotes can be when they have pups around.  Note that upon seeing my coyotes in their field, I head for the exit at once.  On the way out, I’ll stop in a clearing and take some photographs.  At times they merely hide, other times they do as they did today.

As mentioned in my post of May 3, Mom apparently has had her puppies this year.  It isn’t clear to me if today Mom and Dad, upon seeing me from a distance, messaged their accompanying pups to stay hidden while they took action against the intruders.  Instead, perhaps the two daughters from last year were babysitting so Mom and Dad could have some time off.

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

Coyotes Use Dens Only For Pupping

15 May 2011 32 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in care for the young, coyote behavior, coyote howling, dens, family interactions, pupping, video Tags: , , ,

It may come as a surprise that coyotes do not use dens year round. They use the dens to give birth to their pups and as a place to nurse their young — whelping. The pups move out soon after these beginnings, however, they retain use of the well hidden areas around the dens — these become their secret resting places. Most coyote families retain several of these areas for their use. The pups are moved regularly to escape flea buildup and as a safety measure. I think of  a coyote den as being similar in usage to a bird’s nest: it is a temporary “nursery”. However, the nest, if it is still somewhat intact, may be fixed up the next year to be used again. This is how the coyote dens I’ve seen work. People are constantly asking me where the dens are, and I have to respond that, unless they are having pups, there are no dens: coyotes sleep out in the open and can sometimes be seen doing so. See my posting of July 15, 2010: Sleeping and Resting Right In The Open.

The den is dug by both parents-to-be on sandy hillsides and steep creek banks, under logs or rocks, within underbrush and in open areas where the digging is easy. These are always areas chosen for protective concealment, but also, they are places that can be watched by a coyote parent from some distance, again for protective purposes. Not all coyote dens are made by coyotes themselves: coyotes sometimes dig out and enlarge holes dug by smaller burrowing animals, such as badger or fox dens. In suburban and urban areas coyotes may dig dens in golf courses or in other vacant lots, under sheds and under culverts and storm drains.

Dens are usually three to six feet below the surface and can run from only a few feet to 50 feet into a hillside.  The dugout tunnel leads to a large chamber, which often has a second or even more entrances that are better hidden than the digging entrance.  Active dens are hard to find because of the various entrances — and because coyotes are very careful not to lead anyone there. Coyotes have not one, but several dens which they move between, not only to protect the pups from predators, but also to protect the pups from the fleas and other parasites which build up.

Addendum (6-25-2023): I’ve seen a number of pups moved when they are about two months old, see this video, and I’ve seen an entirely new den dug when pups are three months old:in this case, it was to accommodate the one pup who apparently didn’t want to move to the new area! And in fact there was a third den used by this family, each den about 1/4th of a mile apart, and all three dens were used to raise the youngsters separately! So, although it might appear to be three different families, it was actually just one.

A coyote will fiercely defend its den if it believes the pups are in danger, even charging full-grown grizzlies who came too close. This is why dog owners are warned to keep their dogs far away from coyotes during pupping season. Pups are born from March thru mid-May, and then are nursed for 4-6 weeks. But the end of nursing is not the end of “pupping”. I’ve seen mothers fiercely defend pups who are approaching two years of age when dogs go after them. It is best to respect coyotes and allow them the space they need to feel safe.

Here is a wonderful link to a video of pups emerging from their den for the first time, produced by BBC Worldwide. It is called Coyote Cub Singing, and shows a very young coyote pup producing his first high-pitched howl!! Also, see more, slighlty older coyote pups emerging from their den.

“Got Milk? Yes!” by Charles Wood

03 May 2011 1 Comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, indirect signs of coyote presence, pupping

Mom

At twilight Monday I saw both parent coyotes who live with their two one-year old daughters in a small field that borders one of Los Angeles County’s concrete ‘rivers’.  The last time I saw one of the one-year old daughters was April 21 when she was with Dad.  I last saw the other daughter on March 30.  I hadn’t seen Mom since February 22.  It looks like she’s had a litter.  New puppies weren’t with Mom and Dad.  I assume they are still well hidden in their den.  I doubt the puppies were left in their den alone, but I don’t know for a fact that they weren’t.

Would the parents leave new puppies unsupervised and unprotected?  It’s likely the two daughters are still there even though I didn’t see them today.  It is surprising to me that the daughters are apparently able to help with newborns this soon and to this extent.  One of the daughters is bold, serious and fierce; the other:  not so much.  Instead she seems to be a coyote that has an eager, happy-go-lucky temperament and is more prone than the others to run and hide upon seeing me.  Are they both trusted nannies, or if just one, which?  There is a chance that the puppies are safe enough to be entirely unattended for a while.  I’m not able to know any of that for sure.

Last year I didn’t see puppies until the first week of June and it took two more weeks to get

Dad

a photograph of them.  From June to well into summer, Dad was the only adult coyote I saw attending to the puppies.

Note that Mom’s left ear is infected or has mites, is a source of discomfort, and may now have developed into cauliflower ear.  She nevertheless is taking care of business.  Dad is looking a bit thin to me.

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

No Puppies?

02 May 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote howling, pupping Tags:

It is pupping season, females are having their pups. It has been noticed that the amount of resources and territory size seem to affect litter size. In an urban park with limited resources, the litters that I am aware of from previous years were small in size: one or two pups is what I have seen.

But why would a female coyote not have pups at all this year? My husband suggested that she might not have found the right guy! This is a likely possibility since we have not seen a male around in her area. However, males have made their rounds in the past, why not now? Another possibility for no pups is that any puppies didn’t survive for long. Apparently there is only a 5-20% survival rate for coyote puppies. Although there will be no way to tell for sure, there are various indications that there might have been puppies that did not survive the week after birth to a female who has had pups for the last two seasons. I’m putting this in here only as a possibility — the thought occurred to me.

Around mid-April there was definitely a change in behavior patterns for this coyote. This coyote had remained exceedingly calm during the previous few months, only to become “edgy” and “touchy” for a few weeks in mid-April, especially in her reacting more immediately to dog interferences from a longer distance away, but also in her need to “move on” and not loiter. A “purposefulness” seems to have returned to her which she has not had for the last few months. Then I became aware of a time stretch when this coyote did not come out into the open. Of course, maybe I just missed her, but because of other indicators, I am thinking of another possibility.

During this period of absence, on the night of April 21st, at 11:00 pm, there was a family howling session. The family howling could very well have been a “farewell” to pups who did not survive. We have not heard the “group” howling in a while. Please see my posting on “A Coyote Story”. Few people realize the extent of mourning that goes on in the animal kingdom, that animals have intense feelings. The one first-hand observation which I have of an animal mourning is that of a Mourning Dove. This dove decided to nest in a window box of ours, so I was able to see the progression. I saw when the first egg was put down on April 28th and then I saw the mother sit on it all the time. Then I noticed fluff underneath her, and then, wow, I saw that there were actually TWO chicks in there! Then, on May 20th, tragedy struck. No longer was she in the nest. We rushed down to the porch below to find remnant feathers. We didn’t connect the dots until this happened: for the previous two days there had been two ravens hanging around the area. We all mourned this loss. However, it was the mother’s behavior that was so heart wrenching. The next morning she returned to the roof edge of the house next door, looking into her nest, and morned loudly all morning. She just stayed in that one location cooing her sorrow. We awoke the next morning to find ONE new egg in the nest — she abandoned it. Was there a message in leaving this lone egg?

Then, AFTER this coyote group howling session, yet still during the period when I noticed this coyote’s “absence” I spotted a young member of her “family” carrying food off to the den area: might this have been to feed a mother — an instinctual need to help out which kicked in because this young coyote had not totally understood death? This was on April 23rd. Family members often bring food to a new mom so that she can remain in a den to feed her new pups and keep them warm. Of course, she has to emerge for water, but helping with the food allows her to stay for longer periods of time with any newborn puppies.

This female can now be seen at times ranging with her full-grown pups from last year — it now is an adult pack of coyotes, with the dominant mom who is looked up to. There is no sign of denning or pups in this particular group. Her previous regular patterns of behavior have changed: she seems more vigilant, more purposeful and more on the move.

Coyote Pupping Season is Here

17 Apr 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in care for the young, coyote behavior, pupping Tags: ,

Coyote pupping season is here: mid-April is when pups will start being born. Expectant mothers may go into a time of “confinement”  for the birthing period. In previous years I  have seen the new mothers much less often and sometimes not at all for an extended period. Food may be brought to them by the male or other family members. A female coyote’s becoming less conspicuous is often the first sign that a new family is being raised. The more definite sign will be if someone spots her as a lactating mom: her tits will be engorged.

Female coyotes have litters only once a year. They mate only in February during a short 10 day period. Males, too, only produce sperm during this period, I have read. The gestation time is nine weeks, and a normal litter size is from 4-7. It seems that the territory size and the amount of resources on it might affect litter size. In an urban park with limited resources, the litters appear to be smaller in size. Respecting wildlife means allowing them to raise their families with a feeling of safety: this means not seeking out their dens. So, although we can’t be sure how many pups are originally born to any particular female — this is because survival rates are sometimes as low as 5-20% — if we are lucky, we can often count the pups who do live to become adults. In one instance we know that two years ago one of the females in one of the local parks ended up with just ONE pup, and last year, this same female ended up with TWO pups. This year NONE were born at all. Is this population control? Or is it a sign of a stressful environment with too many dog incidents in the parks?

The pups normally leave the den at around 4 to 5 weeks of age, and actually stop using the den after they double this age. I have seen that the families are strong, staying together for at least a year, which allows time for the pups to learn all they can, and allows parents to help with feeding and protection. I have seen some pups disperse — leave the family and the area — at about a year-and-a-half of age, but others stay on to remain with the family that raised them. It is only a dominant female and leader of the group who is allowed to reproduce in any one “pack”. IF a younger female ends up having pups, she is kicked out of the pack — or so I have heard. I have not seen an instance of this.  How long do feeding and suckling actually continue seems to vary. I have seen a mother carry off a gopher towards her “home” or den area as late as December. There is the possibility that this female was carrying off the gopher to bury it somewhere. However, because she hurried off towards her “home” area, I am assuming it was to give to a youngster, as I had seen her do many months before.

And, although the right-hand photo may show a submissive approach to the mother, as I have seen often, it appears actually that this youngster may be attempting to suckle as late as December — that pup was eight months old and full-sized. This particular youngster is particularly shy of humans — is usually the quickest to flee and hide — but will only occasionally allow himself to be seen with his family group, as long as he can look up to them for guidance — this is at close to one year of age. This particular coyote also seems to love to play —  he’s ready to do so often: tossing up what serves as a ball or toying with a floppy item which I could not identify, or enticing the other coyotes to play chase. The other coyotes in this group appear to keep an eye out for this one and oblige him with the playing.

Specifically in one coyote family group, I have not seen a father around on a regular basis. I spotted the male fleetingly only twice with the female, once in her park and once far from her park — but this was last year. The males I have come across are much shyer than the females and seem to prefer not being seen at all.

Please be considerate of the coyotes during this time, by giving them extra space and calmness when you visit the parks with your dogs. Please leash your dogs for your dog’s AND for the coyote’s feeling of safety and protection. If you see a coyote, keep walking on.

 

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