Ear Trouble

25 Oct 2015 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote health problems, ears, Injuries

2015-10-08 (1)


Coyote ears are large and their hearing is keen. Ears are crucial for a coyote’s hunting and self-protection. Even though protected by fur, sometimes, a foreign object can get in there and get stuck. The usual response of the animal is to shake its head, rub the ear with a paw, or scratch at it with a hind leg. All those tricks had been tried by this young coyote here, but these activities were not intense. As I watched her during the afternoon, what stood out was the way she held her one ear — the left one — really low.

What could have been causing the problem? Could something have entered into and be lodged in her ear? It’s well past foxtail season. Foxtails are the nemesis of all dogs in the area. These foreign objects have to be surgically removed because, since they are grass awns — barbed seeds — they work their way IN and can’t come out — it’s a one way journey. These barbs can cause infections in many dogs and having them removed helps keeps our vets in business.  I’m wondering how a coyote might cope with one of these, especially if it causes an infection. Since the next day this gal was okay, I’m going to assume the ear problem, however annoying and irritating, involved something small, such as a bug or small grain of debris.

2011-05-02

photo by Charles Wood

“Mom” in the Los Angeles coyote family which Charles Wood wrote about for this blog (enter “Charles Wood” into the search box to find his postings) had an ear which shriveled up due to end stage otitis, according to a vet contacted by Charles. It resulted in a permanent disfiguration and therefore an identifying mark for her.

Distressed Barking By Mother Coyote Due to Presence of Dogs

12 Aug 2015 5 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coexisting with coyotes, coyote barking, coyote behavior, coyote health problems, coyote howling, coyote mating behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, video

Parent coyotes are especially edgy at this time of year — it’s pupping season.

As this mother coyote foraged behind some low bushes, dog owners with their mostly leashed dogs walked by on a path about 100 feet away: they stopped and looked at her, though it might have been better if they had just walked on. None of the dogs approached her, though they might have communicated some kind of negativity through their facial expressions and body language. The coyote apparently didn’t like them looking at her, or she didn’t like their negative communication. OR, the dogs may simply have been too close for comfort.  I was concentrating on her, so I couldn’t see what the issue was.

Note that she begins her complaining with little grunts and heaves: it’s an emotional and distressed reaction.  As she initially grunts and heaves, she hasn’t decided to go all out with her barking. But soon, she lets loose. All the dog walkers “got it” once I explained to them what was going on: that this was an edgy mother and coyotes don’t like dogs around them. The walkers and their dogs moved on, and she soon quit her howling and then retreated into the bushes.

Her own mother, too, engaged in this exact same type of barking: it is a distressful bark and only occurs when these coyotes feel harassed or intruded upon by dogs. This type of barking is both a complaining — letting everyone know how she feels — and a communication of standing up for herself, though you can be sure that if a dog went after her, she would skedaddle quickly. The barking session shown here lasted only about three minutes, but I’ve listened to one that lasted well over 20 minutes.

A New Wound

25 Jul 2015 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote health problems, Injuries

2015-07-19

This new wound stands out, not only because it was not there yesterday, but because of its flaming blood-red coloring. This is a four-inch gash which, however, looks as though it has not ripped through the skin. My guess is that it was caused by some man-made item which the coyote encountered during a recent trek.

Living in the wild is not easy. Let’s not make it any harder for them. If you have pipes or anything sharp which could injure our wildlife, please try to remove these things from your yards. Our wild animals do not have the benefit of medicine which we and our domestic pets have. Let’s hope this heals quickly without getting infected.

Ailments and Injuries: Infected Eye

08 Sep 2014 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote health problems, Injuries

We tend to forget that animals go through the same ailments and injuries that we do, only they don’t have medicines to help themselves out. I guess it really doesn’t matter, because nature seems to work pretty well. This coyote had an oozing eye infection which progressively got worse for a couple of days, but his immune system must be a healthy one because as of today, a week later, the eye looks like it’s back to normal. The watering eye may have been a minor hindrance for a few days — he may have missed a few hunting opportunities, but it probably did not slow him down in any major ways.

The eye may have been scratched either by a gopher the coyote had caught, or possibly by a twig he had brushed up against. I’m reminded that injuries can happen at any time to any of us by a friend who recently took her dog out for a hike along a rustic trail, and upon returning found that he had jabbed himself with a stick which went in a full two inches. The dog had to have surgery and stitches!

oozing eye infection

oozing eye infection

Siblings Watch Out For One Another, Starting With Bugs

28 Apr 2014 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote health problems, coyote's coat, scratching, siblings, social behavior, social interactions, video


Coyote siblings provide companionship, affection, rivalry and . . .  health care, as seen here by these grooming activities. It’s a bad year for bugs: ticks and fleas. The coyote is pulling off ticks. The activity is mutual — sometimes one is the groomer, and sometimes the other. Shortly after I took the video, the groomer, guy to the right in this case, snapped at a bug in the air — see photo below. The bugs are on them and around them! Must be extremely annoying for them. I’ve never seen coyotes scratch this much in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s constant. When they’re not scratching themselves, they are helping a sibling! Pretty altruistic, I would say!

By the way, coyotes are also shedding their winter coats at this time of year, which adds to the irritations they feel. Scratching, in fact, helps with the shedding process.

2014-04-22

Two Wounds in Less Than A Week

05 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote health problems, fighting

Yearling Male with prominent wound on his hip

Yearling male with bright red inflamed wound on his hip with loss of fur

I don’t know if this wound to the hip, above, is due to a skin ailment or a wound from a fight, possibly with a raccoon, possibly with another coyote? It looks like it’s about 3″ in diameter. It appeared about a week ago. And now, just as the inflammation and and bright red color are subsiding, I discovered  a bright red gash at the ankle joint of the left leg, while the other leg, too, seems to have been scraped-up or punctured — all on the same coyote. What could have caused these?

We tend to forget that wild animals sustain injuries constantly, and their bodies must heal themselves without the aid of antibiotics or other medications that we humans and our pets take for granted.

Photo shows deep wound to left ankle area, and puncture wounds to the right leg.

Wound to left ankle area, and scraped up right leg.

Nursing the wound
More nursing the wound

Nursing the wound throughout the day

Tall Bunch-Grass Scratcher

07 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote health problems

These native California bunch grasses seem to be useful for something! This coyote stopped for a scratching session, using the plant as a tool to thoroughly scratch all over!  He scooted through the stiff rough blades on his belly, on his back and on his sides. I guess that covers everything. He then shook himself out and walked on.

 

Fur, Bugs

24 Jun 2013 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote health problems, coyote's coat, mange, scratching, shedding Tags: , , , ,

I’m seeing big fat ticks these days, and I’ve suspected that fleas also are rampant because of all the scratching and the resulting loss of fur. But, it turns out that all the scratching may have less to do with bugs than I thought!

constant scratching causes hair loss

constant scratching causes hair loss

The veterinarian suspects the loss of fur may be due not only to the pesky bugs which cause a lot of itching and therefore scratching, but also may be due to the coyote’s helping with the seasonal shed — it appears that coyotes have been using their hind paws — scratching often — in order to get all that itchy dead fur out.

it's not mange; note pattern of hair loss where hind leg can reach

it’s not mange; note pattern of hair loss where hind leg can reach

Coyotes are approaching the time of year when their coats are at their thinnest. But the fur is exceptionally sparse just where those hind legs can reach on the back at the shoulder blades and behind the ears. That is where almost all the scratching is occurring! The rest of the fur is coming off more naturally and at its own pace.

hair loss behind ears

hair loss behind ears

The scratched spots looks mangy, but I’m told that mange is systemic and would not appear just where they can reach with their hind legs. So it’s other things: ticks, fleas and seasonal shed, but no mange. That was a relief to find out!

Scratching

23 Apr 2013 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote health problems, urban coyote ailments

She kept scratching and scratching. She’d get up to move on, and then immediately again be on her haunches, scratching.

She kept it up for over 20 minutes, with that leg boing, boinging up and down for that length of time. The scratching has been particularly intense over the last few days. I’m hoping that it’s just a bug that she hasn’t been able to get, or maybe it’s just that there are a lot of them: ticks or fleas.

I don’t know if she’s trying to ease an itch or an irritation. Her coat is extremely thick, which impedes the claws from reaching whatever it is that is bothering her. Shedding has begun and will continue through June, so maybe the scratching is helping to remove some of the loose fur.

My one worry with constant scratching of this sort is the possibility of mange — a killer. Mange results from a mite that buries itself into the skin, causing severe discomfort which the coyote attempts to relieve through such intense scratching that the fur is slowly removed, leaving the skin exposed with lesions. This is a prime killer of coyotes. Apparently all canines, including domestic dogs, carry the mites which are transferred from mother to pups via cuddling during the first few days of life. Most canines live in harmony with their mites — but things could get out of balance when the immune system is compromised or if there are other underlying health issues.

There are no bare patches of skin, so, I’m hoping it’s just fleas or ticks. I’m monitoring this one.

Left Back Leg: New Injury or Old Injury Acting Up?

26 Feb 2013 3 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote health problems, Injuries, urban coyote ailments Tags: , , ,

holding up the back left leg

holding up the back left leg

She’s been limping for several days now. It was barely perceptible at first, and I questioned myself as to if it really was a limp. But now it has gotten worse — a definite limp.

I’ve not yet trained myself to recognize, by the stride, if the injury is in a paw, wrist, knee, hip or shoulder — veterinarians apparently can do this. But even I can tell that it’s the back left leg because she holds it up regularly, not wanting to put her weight on it, and her gait is not smooth.

It doesn’t seem to hamper her ability to move. I still see her climbing steep inclines and rocks — but it might be hampering her speed. And the injury might be the reason she keeps much further away from people and dogs, all the time lately.

I wonder how much it hurts. I know it hurts because she’s holding it up. Pain serves a purpose — it tells her “don’t use this appendage”.

Is this a new injury, or is it an old injury coming back to haunt its victim? Four years ago, this same coyote sustained a severe injury on her hind back left leg after being hit by a car, the same leg she is now holding up. That leg retains large black scars from that incident. Is this that injury acting up, or is it a new injury? No way to know. I’ll keep tabs on it.

Anyway, life is short in the wild. Every injury or disease takes its toll. A coyote can live 14 years in captivity — but what a horrible worthless life that would be. In the wild, the average life expectancy of a coyote is about five years. Do we even know how long coyotes live in the urban wild? Many urban coyotes are killed by cars. In some areas of the country, coyotes are trapped and killed in urban/suburban areas. Most coyotes everywhere endure all sorts of diseases and injuries. Whenever there is an injury, I think about it specifically and globally.

Infection

05 Oct 2012 8 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote health problems

Abscess on lower throat area defined by white puffy fur ball

Wound revealed as coyote howls

This little coyote has been plagued with an abscess on her lower throat area for months and months. Finally, it looks like nature did its work — the infection looks like it has drained and it looks like the wound is a clean one.

I wonder what might have caused the infection and why it lasted so long? My first guess is that this resulted from a tick or another insect, but there is no way for me to really know.

Few of us think about the health of our wild animals, but they suffer the same range of infirmities that we do, along with the attendant pain and fatigue. It’s something to think about.

Oh, No! An Injury!

25 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote health problems, video

When coyotes are injured, they tend to lay low — I wondered why I hadn’t seen this one, and now I know.

Injuries are not uncommon in our wild animals. Although wild critters are pretty resilient, if an injury impairs an animal’s ability to get away from danger, or if it interferes with effective hunting, it could spell the end.

This injury, affecting the left front leg, could be an injury to the elbow, shoulder, wrist or paw. Coyotes can twist their “ankles” like the rest of us, when they hit a hole in the ground going full speed. Of course, normally they are not going full speed — unless they need to get away from a dog which is chasing it, or possibly from a car on the road.

Hopefully it will heal quickly. Three years ago, this same coyote sustained a back-leg injury which caused severe limping for over a month. She was hit by a car. It was June and she was a single mom with two young pups. We knew that nature would take care of her, and we knew that any interference on our part would make matters worse. We watched, and sure enough, she healed, and her pups grew up!

Ticks

01 Jun 2012 2 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote health problems, urban coyote ailments

Ticks seem to be out now. My last posting showed a coyote grooming another — it looked as though ticks were being removed. Here is a coyote photo I’ve blown up — the ticks are very visible on the ears. Since we don’t have deer in the city of San Francisco, there is little risk of Lyme Disease. The ticks eventually fall off of coyotes with healthy immune systems. However, I have seen an unhealthy deer which the ticks clung to — it’s entire neck was literally covered with this blood-sucking insect.

Bug-In-Ear Attack

22 Jan 2012 5 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote health problems, ears

Imagine having something super irritating lodge in your ear and not be able to get it out. I watched this young coyote work on it for 20 minutes. I could feel when the distress got excruciating: the coyote ran towards bushes to dislodge whatever was in there, he ran towards another coyote to ask for help but didn’t get any response, he shook, he scratched, he galloped about, rubbed on bushes, he moped forlornly with his ears down, he tilted is head in all directions. He ultimately resorted to eating grass which coyotes do when they have an upset stomach — of course this didn’t work. I was not able to see that he solved the problem.  I really felt for the little guy.

We humans have our own worries, so we forget that even wild creatures, too, have many seemingly mundane things to cope with. I’ve seen thorns in foot pads, eye infections, ears infestated with mites, limping, skin ailments, wounds, etc. These things occur regularly in our wildlife. This series of photos, over a long twenty minute period, show how distressing it can be for animals to deal with these seemingly petty annoyances.

Selective Limping

15 Dec 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote health problems, Injuries Tags:

Today I was observing the coyote with the recently injured leg. I was happy to see that he walked well, even if a little stiffly at times. He did hold his right hind leg up when he ran and when he twisted himself to move. So I thought that, although the leg has not gotten worse, neither did it look like it has improved much.

And then. . . .  the noise of a squirrel caught my attention, as it did the coyote’s. Within a few seconds that coyote was off in a flash, leg in full use. Ahhh. It turns out to have been only a “selective” limp!!

Actually, my source at the humane society told me that this is normal behavior for a coyote with a leg injury. A coyote will nurse an injured leg when it can, stressing it as little as possible, allowing it time to heal — but when a situation comes up that demands the use of that leg, it will be made to work. This is exactly what I saw going on with this coyote.

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