“Foiled Again”, by Charles Wood

07 Aug 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, human behavior

Friday I observed from riverbank facing towards the east.  A chain link fence borders their field and the riverbed.  I had a good view of the roads to the underpass.  I hoped to see Mom head north, return south and gather her family to all head north.  North of their field is an inviting nature area.  My theory is Mom scouts that area before committing to take her brood there.  The riverbed is much farther from them and I hoped, if even noticed, to be ignored.  I waited and watched for Mom to appear.  Instead, Dad spotted me and began his approach.  He marked, scraped dirt, and worked himself up for his charge up to the fence.  He back off some.  Mom then joined him to wait for me to depart.  I departed.  If I am correct about dusk being their time to scout north, dusk has apparently also become their time to scout for 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.

Coyotes In The News?

31 Jul 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in human behavior

I listened to a recent news story about coyotes. The news spot reported that a woman “believed” her cat was taken by a coyote. That a coyote actually took the cat was not observed, but since there are coyotes in the area, the coyotes were blamed.

The track record for the news media concerning coyotes seems to follow this general pattern. When coyotes are reported by the media, the stories are sensationalist and fear-provoking. Just by being around, with no evidence to prove it, coyotes are often blamed for problems that they have never been connected to. But the news doesn’t let the facts interfere with what they consider a good story.

People against the coyotes are driven by rumors and fears: they latch onto whatever feeds their point of view. This entire TV news spot was created based on this approach. The basis of the story was what a woman “believed”, and this was based on her personal preconceived prejudices. And the news report was full of  inaccuracies.

Foremost, the story exploded the number of coyotes from three to seven. Since two howling coyotes can sound like many more, this is what fed the new rumor.  An excited, but irresponsible observer announced that she “could distinguish seven voices.” The rumor spread and was irresponsibly reported on this news station without checking this out.

Then by questioning the “safety of our children” the news station fanned additional fears about coyotes. The fact is, coyotes have never approached people in our parks. Before running off, a coyote might stand in a path to see what is going on, but that is as close as a coyote has ever allowed a person to come to it. Actual parents, those who have children, have not joined the hysteria against the resident coyotes. The one human activity that could lead to aggression is feeding, but everyone knows this and everyone makes an effort to strictly keep this from happening.

To get a more realistic view of how most walkers perceive coyotes, try canvasing for opinions. Almost everyone is thrilled with the coyotes and considers it a real treasure to have them in our parks. Everyone knows that if you leave the coyotes alone, they will leave you alone. The few perceived coyote problems have actually been created by one small group of dog owners who do not wish to leash their dogs and whose dogs have gone after the coyotes.  Allow your dog to chase a coyote, especially if it is a parent coyote and pack leader, and it may return to defend itself. Not only will it do so at the time of being chased, but it will remember the specific dog involved for a long time to come, and it will be ready to make its own “statement” whenever it happens to see this dog for the next little while. Coyotes do not want to be chased. Fortunately our Department of Animal Care and Control allows coyotes to defend themselves from such aggressions — even if the “aggression” was intended as fun and games by the dog.

Please take a look at some of the behavior postings in this blog: they are almost all supported by photographs. Coyotes are not malicious: if they were to be put in trial, and all evidence listened to, they would come out way ahead in people’s minds. But with coyotes, there never is a trial, only a final firing squad. Please get to know them: they are amazingly intelligent, warm and fair-minded themselves.

One reason a news station might proceed with this kind of a story is that the media very often relies on sensationalist material — that is what sells: who is going to watch your program if everything is fine at the OK Corral? But this is irresponsible journalism: facts must be checked out, views should be balanced and a story should not be based on one woman’s personal “belief”. Let’s give equal time to how the rest of us see coyotes and their behavior, and to the experiences we have had when we come across one.

I’ve read where newspapers are “not here to report the news, but to form the public’s opinion, very often with misinformation.” The problem is that inciting fear and hysteria is not helping anyone except the newspaper itself.

Maligning Coyotes

28 Jul 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in human behavior

In one of our parks recently — a wilderness area — someone put up a notice that their “cat had been taken from their porch by a coyote”. They conjured up fear and danger to all pets, and especially to all children living in the immediate vicinity and to groups of children who come to the park as summer campers. Then they gave an email address if anyone might be interested in “relocating” the resident coyotes. What is sad here is that the posting was made solely “on the belief” that a coyote had caused this mishap. No one saw it happen.
When there are coyotes in an area, there are some people who will blame them for any crimes and any possible crimes that they themselves can think of. This is due not only to fears regarding coyotes, but also to misconceptions about them. Education at all levels and following a few simple rules may aid coexistence, so that people will know what to expect from coyotes, and they will know what is expected of themselves.
First of all, it is too bad and very sad that a cat was either killed or lost: pets are members of our families. Coyotes are often made the culprits for these tragedies, simply because they are in the area. However, many possibilities exist, so we shouldn’t be so fast to just point at the coyotes. Not only do we have raccoons in the area, but cats often “move on” or leave their homes of their own accord, they are killed by cars, or they leave the premises to die peacefully away from their homes. Yes, coyotes can take cats: this becomes a possibility especially if cat food is left out — this is what attracts coyotes to backyards. The logic is, that if you live in an area that has coyotes, it is your responsibility to keep your pet safe. It everyone’s responsibility not to leave out food which will attract animals. Our park service will tell you: “I’m sorry, but take better care of your pet.”  This is common sense.
It is interesting that it is often people without children who seem to malign the coyotes regarding children’s safety. However, I don’t hear actual parents doing so. Those who have children or are in charge of them, parents and camp counselors: we do keep a careful watch on our children, yet we also know the joy and excitement of seeing wildlife, and of teaching responsibility and respect for wild animals.  Coyotes never have bitten or hurt any person in our parks here. Our coyotes are not aggressive. We all need to continue to follow the rule: never, ever feed a coyote. Feeding is the one human behavior that MAY cause a coyote to become aggressive — this is because what a coyote is “offered” may eventually become “demanded” by the coyote. By not feeding a coyote in the first place, ever, this sequence of events can be prevented.
Of course, coyotes will defend themselves from dogs, and sometimes will taunt dogs which have come after them or antagonized them in some manner. Remember that dogs and coyotes do communicate on a subtle level that we humans rarely pick up on: body language and visual cues are readily communicated. Keep your dog leashed and close to yourself in a coyote area to prevent problems. This is common sense too.
Lastly, everyone should know that it is illegal to relocate wild animals. This is because of the cruelty involved to the animal. The resident coyotes in the new relocated area are established and often kill incoming coyotes. Also, IF the coyote tends to be a problem coyote — one who possibly has become aggressive from being fed — the problem behavior would be transferred to the new location.
It is extremely easy and safe to coexist with coyotes: don’t approach them so that they feel intruded upon, keep your dogs leashed and next to you in a coyote area, never let your dog chase a coyote, and never feed a coyote — even unintentionally by leaving out pet food.

My Position In Relation To Coyotes

15 Jul 2010 17 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in human behavior, Janet Kessler

Dear  Blog:

People continue to ask me if they could “come along” on my observations, to “study” or “photograph”  or  “just observe”.  Apparently everybody has a worthy project that would benefit from this “hands on” involvement.

I need everyone to know where I am coming from regarding all coyotes, but especially regarding the coyotes I have been able to follow. I am extremely protective of them and their space. I do not advertise their locations, and I make a blanket policy of not taking anyone with me on my outings. This is important in order to be fair to the coyotes. I’m sure everyone can understand this and I’m sure everyone wants this for the coyotes — to keep their lives as even as possible. We need to think about the coyotes first.

Coyotes do not need more and more people intruding on them. When anyone approaches a coyote, or even when people are around, a coyote’s alertness intensifies and its behaviors change. It may flee. This heightened alertness and behavior change are indications of stress. All interventions and intrusions that I have seen disrupt the normal behavior I’m trying to document — this is why I work alone.

I’ve spent thousands of hours in various parks where I seem to have “earned” an “ignored place”, at a safe distance, from a number of coyotes. Even bringing my husband a couple of times to several of the parks changed that whole dynamic: coyotes are much too aware not to be affected by everyone’s presence.  My project is not conducive to group activity — I hope everyone can respect that. I want to continue doing my part in taking photos and writing my observations, as a means of advocating for the coyotes in the Bay Area, but I need to do this alone. Nevertheless, everybody who wants can help. We ALL can spread respect for coyotes and all wildlife, and we all can preserve habitat that is already in place, by leaving it alone, and not by re-creating it in the image of just the “native plant” advocates.

I began this blog to share information with those who might feel apprehensive about coyotes generally, and about urban coyotes specifically. My purpose is to show, through my photos and observations, that coyotes have character and personality. They have a tight-knit family life which is very worthy of our respect.  They display the qualities which we value in ourselves.  I’m trying to help people relate to them in ways which they may not have been able to before. At the same time, I need to remind everyone that these are not cuddly stuffed animals. They are WILD. They are VERY wild. We need to respect this about them: give them space and keep our dogs off of them — co-existence requires just this little from us.

Two incidents recently have distressed me. One was a high school teacher who, before leaving his students to explore in one of the parks, admonished them to “please don’t pet the coyotes.” Do people really think that these are cuddly little animals that can be approached in this manner? They cannot. They could bite if they have to protect themselves.

The second incident involved a father with four pre-teens. I was so pleased to point out a coyote for them — but I should not have. I advised the father that the coyotes were not aggressive, but that we need to give them space. Immediately, this man walked straight up to where the coyote was. The coyote, relaxing on a hill, saw him coming and bolted up to a tense sitting position. The man got closer and closer until the coyote fled. Although most people seem to respect the needs of our coyotes, there are the aggressive few who think it is their right to intrude on the coyotes — you have intruded upon a coyote if you have caused it to alter its normal flow of behavior. We need to remember that the coyotes are not tame farm animals and they do not want to be approached.

Coyotes dislike most dogs: dogs are threats to them and put the coyotes on heightened alert. Even so, I have seen coyotes “hand pick” a couple of dogs as friends — it is always the dogs who show little interest in them!! A lot of my observations involve coyote and dog reactions to each other: in all except a couple of instances this has been antagonistic. Regarding people, coyotes are not interested in people except to stay away from them. Dogs are a different story: because they are a threat to coyotes, dogs are more interesting to them. Coyotes treat dogs the same as they do “outsider” coyotes who would be competing for the territory and its resources. If we keep our dogs leashed in coyote areas, these threats can be kept to a minimum.

One last point I would like to make regarding animal habitats. My policy would be to leave nature alone, the way it is — nature is smarter than humans, who, I have found, feel they need to control and manage everything. My problem with human intervention is that they try too often hide behind the guise of “science”, when science does not have all the answers — science is a human phenomenon and humans do not have all the answers. The plans they come up with often do more harm than good. The Gulf oil spill is a disaster we could have avoided — but we listened to the “sound science” behind the technology involved in deep water drilling. Another is the “native” plant programs which purport to be “scientific” when in fact they are extreme, arbitrary and one-dimensional. Animals live in our thick wooded areas where the balances have been achieved over a long period of time. Mount Sutro Forest, for example, needs to be preserved, not ripped out and re-created. Please see the blog dedicated to preserving this cloud forest. Please do what you can to preserve it. Thanks for listening.  Janet

Who Has The Right-Of-Way?

01 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, human behavior

Shortly after beginning our walk, we found  a coyote right in our path ahead moving towards us. We didn’t want to approach the coyote, so we stepped off to the side of the path maybe 30 feet to allow the coyote to go by: we gave the coyote the right of way.  Apparently we had not stepped off the path far enough because the coyote did not continue on the path. Instead, it stood and looked at us, and then retraced its steps — in the direction we were headed. We were back where we had started. We wanted to continue our walk so we got back on the path again and began walking towards the coyote. This time the coyote stepped off the path — maybe some 40 feet — and let us by. When we looked back, the coyote was back on the path continuing its journey away from us. We humans, apparently, had the right of way.

Please see: Coyote Blocking A Path; or Feeling Threatened by a Human Who Is Trying To Retrieve Their Dog Published May 29, 2010

Please Don’t Provoke or Taunt The Coyotes in Our Parks

22 May 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in human behavior

Most of us love the coyotes in our parks — we get great joy out of watching them. Most of us consider ourselves lucky to get a glimpse of one when we can. On a morning walk, you might be able to pick-up on their charming display of curiosity as they watch from a distance and then appear on the path a-ways in front of you from around a bush: “where are you going, and what are you doing?” It is the dogs they are curious about. All dogs inspire curiosity in a coyote. Calm dogs leashed at their owner’s side have not presented problems: the coyote will likely duck into the bushes when it knows it has been seen. But it is different with unleashed dogs who chase, unruly exploring dogs who walk nowhere close to their owners, or dogs that growl or tug at a leash when they see a coyote. These last, either consciously or unconsciously, actually provoke a coyote. An unknowing provocation can be excused the first few times. Known provocation should be against the law.

Please read the books by Marc Bekoff about animal thinking and feelings. A good place to start, aside from the many books he has written, is his recent article of Animal Emotions: Do Animals Think and Feel?

We all have read about Tatiana, the Siberian Tiger at the San Francisco Zoo. This animal was taunted and humiliated so badly that she decided to go after her tormentors. Tatiana had only a small enclosure which was hers. All zoo animals are caged in spaces much too small for them: they are prisoners of humans who have taken them out of their natural environments and put them on display. That, in itself, is a cruel fate. But as long as they are in a zoo, they need to feel safe and peaceful in the small spaces they are given. On December 25, 2008, as the San Francisco Zoo was closing and people were leaving the exhibits, three young adult men allegedly took it upon themselves to taunt this tiger. Rumors have spread as to what they did: did they throw something at the tiger, dangle their legs in her area, urinate on her? Drugs were found in their car. Possibly it was a “dare” situation — fun and games for young adults.  Animals have strong feelings and know when they are being taunted. Animals get mad. Animals also have empathy, and a sense of fairness. Watch them — spend some time doing so. If you don’t want to watch them, read some of Marc Bekoff’s books.

There are people in our parks who refuse to leash their dogs in coyote areas — this, even though we have a leash law. The leash-law is not enforced by either our Parks Department nor by our Animal Care and Control Department — they have other things to do. In most cases, it probably doesn’t matter. But in some cases, it does. Our parks are “multi-use” parks: we have camps, recreation, schools, runners, wild-animals — our parks are not just for the dogs. Each group needs to be considerate of the others, and for the most part they are: all except a handful of dog owners who seem to believe the park is only a dog park, not a multi-use area.They don’t want to leash their dogs when a coyote might be in the area, and they don’t like coyotes in our parks.

So a couple of days ago, the same German Shepherd which has chased coyotes often, always in the same areas of the park, chased a young, curious coyote yet again. The large shepherd weights 120 pounds, the young coyote 25. Mistakes happen now and then, and we all hope that those exposed to one coyote incident might become more sensitive to the situation and do their best to avoid another — simply by leashing in the immediate area. It is always the human owner who is at fault for not leashing the dog. In this particular case, the owners allowed their huge unleashed dog to go after the young coyote as the owners themselves stood back and watched and laughed. The coyote re-appeared right after this initial chase, and the scene was repeated, laughter and all.

This constitutes provocation and taunting. Other instances of provocation I have seen in the last few days are rather baffling to me. One man, who last year allowed his own dog to interact with and “play” with a coyote, has now done an about-face regarding coyotes in our parks — he wants to get rid of them. He now includes a large, always unleashed, hunting dog on his walks — even though I have seen that his own dog has been sometimes leashed recently. The man slings a ball for this dog in a known coyote area. There is hyperactivity involved in a dog’s chasing a ball; hyperactivity is distressing for coyotes. Coyotes are disturbed by hyperactivity. Playing “catch” in a coyote area is a provoking action that we can all easily avoid engaging in.

Some Thoughts: studying coyotes, individuality

31 Dec 2009 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, human behavior, individuality Tags: , , ,

A thought about studying animal life. I know it is the norm to interfere in an animal’s life to study it: to take the animal out of its environment, to handle it and mark it, to attach devices to it, to stick it in a cage or enclosure, to make it endure what we have in mind for it — basically to disrupt an animal’s life or interfere just because it is convenient for the study. Most of the time this is not necessary. When a coyote advocate suggested that we shoot colored paintballs at them so that we humans “could more easily identify each one” I became aware of how humans place their own desires and needs for convenience first, before that of the animal. Every single animal, when it is caught and handled by a human, is absolutely terrified for its life — no matter how short or humane the treatment might be called.

My point is that if we care for the animal, this should come first. It should come before our own needs, and it should come before our reputations in our fields of study. We do not need to disrupt or interfere in an animal’s life to learn about it. The animals can be studied, and probably to better effect, if they are just left alone, with their families, and in their territories. It is with their families and those they have bonded with that we can discover the richness of their emotional life and where the richness of interactive behavior can be found. Interfering disrupts every aspect of their lives and alters it, often absolutely.

I also think, unconventionally, that if you are particularly “into” an animal — seeing it with empathy and understanding — that it really knows this and develops a certain trust for you, so that it could very well be somewhat “into” you — allowing you a view what it might guard from others: this is a mutual respect relationship. Animals who reveal themselves to you, because they want to, will show you more about themselves than you could ever learn by simply watching them. Examples of this approach which I can think of include Jane Goodall and Farley Mowat, and there are others. I know this is considered totally inadequate and definitely contrary to scientific methods by many animal behaviorists, yet I’m seeing that more and more animal scientists are turning more and more in this direction. They now name the animals they work with instead of relying on numbers, and they recognize different individual personalities of each animal, and treat them with empathy.

Individual Personalities count as such a big factor when looking at behavior of any species. More and more people have been able to see this: just go to YouTube to see accounts of “individual” animals — individual personalities rather than what we have all learned as generalities. The problem with categorical descriptions is that people begin to actually SEE the categories instead of the truth. In human terms, this included blonds in the 60s, hippies in the 70s, blacks way back in history. The truth is that there is much more to an animal or human than a category or generalization; and generalizations that hold for a group are almost never entirely true for each individual.

Thank You Everyone For Your Support!

27 Dec 2009 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in human behavior

I wanted to thank the people who have complimented and endorsed my observations and photography in various ways. I think the very best was being called a “were coyote” and then a “coyote whisperer!” Also “nature lady” and “coyote lady”.  I hope that the individuals who made these remarks know how very special they are for me.

In addition, that I’ve been invited to exhibit my photos and that so many people have asked if they could come along with me to observe are also supreme compliments. I do need everyone to know that my activity with wild animals is a solitary one — I do not take anyone with me, ever, because this would be disruptive to behaviors I’m trying to record, and it would be a distraction for my own concentration: I try to catch the small details when I observe. Also, it is just a matter of luck whether or not I even encounter one of these animals on any particular day in any of the parks or open spaces.

Dogs and walkers who frequent the parks are a big part of my observations. They might be seen as interferences, but these are necessary “interferences” which actually help me by bringing out different coyote behaviors: they are a vital ingredient in urban coyote behavior studies.  And even the human behaviors which are associated with both their dogs and coyotes in a park are intricately related to some of the coyote behaviors I’m studying, and almost as interesting!! The equation for understanding urban coyote behavior is definitely a tripartite one: coyotes, dogs, humans.

Along with the positive, there have been some negative reactions too. But our Animal Care and Control Department told me that I should even see these as positive: “Hey, look at it this way:  the message we are trying to get across we know is being heard because of you.”  The message: never feed wildlife, keep pets leashed and keep a safe distance.

This blog and all my photos are a means to an end: celebrating and preserving these wild animals in our city. With plenty of photos that show what they are like, and with a better understanding of their behaviors, I’m hoping that coyotes will be more appreciated and respected, especially those which have chosen urban settings for their homes. With just a little bit of understanding and a little bit of give on our part, coexistence can work well!

High School, Where Interests Develop

24 Dec 2009 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in human behavior, promoting teenage interests

As I photographed a cooperative coyote, Melissa approached. She had never in her life seen a coyote before. We watched together. She was very quiet, so I told her what I knew: basically that they were not aggressive unless chased by dogs, that they just went about their lives as we do.  I asked her if she was in high school, and she said yes, Mission High School. I asked her if she liked the school. She did. I asked her if her courses were interesting, and she again said yes. I asked her what she was interested in and she immediately said animals! She asked if the coyote had a family and I told her probably so, but they were not in this spot at this time. Ah, I remembered my own interest in animals in high school, and why I did not pursue this.

So I told her of my own interest in animals, especially my interest in animal behavior, and specifically that of dolphins when I was her age. BUT, I told her that in biology class, we had to dissect a live fish, and I could not do it. Frogs would be next, so this was the end of my career in biology. Melissa told me that she could not dissect live animals either, no matter that they didn’t know what was going on. So I told her that nowadays, she could still study animals without going the biology route — possibly animal behavior, ecology or animal psychology. She seemed interested. She was quiet, but wide-eyed. I hope her coyote encounter and chat with me were doors that opened new possibilities for her. Good luck to Melissa!

Dog Reactions to Seeing a Coyote

07 Dec 2009 4 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coexisting with coyotes, coyote reactions to dogs, coyotes defending themselves, dog reactions to coyotes, human behavior Tags: , , ,

There are all sorts of dog reactions to a coyote. Some dogs never see a coyote which is right there in the open, some stop and look, some go after the smell without even seeing the coyote, some chase, some bark and chase, and some dogs ignore it.

Dogs seem to be calmer and more in control when they are leashed. If a dog is on a leash, obviously it will be the owner who is calling the shots, whether it is a mild dog or an active one. An owner can easily drag his pet away from a coyote if it is leashed, rather than having to call a distraught dog to him/herself first. Yesterday, someone told me of a bizarre incident which happened a year ago: that they were jogging early in the morning with their dog, when a coyote came in at them from the side, making a running leap to land on the dog. This itself is very unusual coyote behavior and the only instance that I’ve heard of it. The dog owner was able to yank the leashed dog, and the coyote missed its target! This happened last April, which is the prime pupping season — coyotes are much more territorial and protective of their areas during this time.

If a dog is not leashed, there are several ways the dog may react to a coyote. If the dog is more timid and obedient, it may look to the owner for what to do: the dog will either stay beside the owner or come when called. Some dogs have been told in the past to stay off of the coyote, and they do so. One of my friends has an obedient dog, which has been told to stay off of the coyotes, and it always does so. On one occasion, this dog hugged its owner’s leg as it walked. The owner sensed that there might have been a coyote around, even though he never saw it — the owner told me this was very unusual behavior for this dog. In this case, the dog was trying to communicate unease to the owner.

The majority of dogs are somewhat curious about coyotes — they know the coyote is something “different” from other dogs. But different dogs have different degrees of apprehension or fearlessness or sense of fun and adventure regarding the coyote, and they act accordingly.

If a dog is not leashed, and the dog is an active type out for its free run, the dog will often chase the coyote, thinking this is great fun. It may end up barking incessantly at the coyote once it gets within about 15 feet if the coyote does not flee. The coyote will easily outdo the dog in length and intensity of barking — this becomes boring or tires out the dog. However, it is only when the coyote turns to chase or nip at the dog that the dog really starts to think.

Please see my entry on “Coyote Safety” of 11/3, as well as the three entries on how coyotes react to dogs: “ANOTHER reaction to dogs” on 11/17, and “Some reactions to dogs” on 11/04. “Significance of a Seemingly Unprovoked Challenge” on 12/1. “Blatant Visual Message for Newcomer Dog” on 2/8/10. “A short back-and-forth chase:oneupmanship verging on play” of 2/4/10.

ANOTHER Reaction to Dogs: Coyote behavior

17 Nov 2009 3 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote reactions to dogs, coyotes defending themselves, human behavior, what coyotes thinks about Tags: , , , , ,

I saw Jacob again this morning. He has a sheep-dog who is super sensitive to reading other animals. Jacob wanted to let me know of a coyote encounter he had had a few days earlier, an encounter which was closer and therefore somewhat disturbing compared to previous coyote encounters he has had. In the past, he and his dog always passed the same coyote at a distance, the canines would eye each other, and both would become alert to the other’s presence. The coyote might stand up if it had been resting — this is one of the dogs that is much too alert to be yawned at as it passed. The dog also is an enthusiastic ball retriever, which means it has spurts of high energy and activity. Alertness and high activity are clues that the coyote is in-tune with — this type of dog has pursued her in the past, even though this one specifically has not.

On this particular occasion it was foggy and quiet and there was no one else around. Jacob’s dog was ahead of him, when Jacob felt he was being followed. He turned to see one coyote following him pretty closely, maybe at 20 feet, and he noticed there was another coyote further back. As Jacob immediately called his dog to him, his dog noticed the coyote. The dog, now between Jacob and the coyote, walked towards its owner, ever so slowly and carefully, walking backwards, keeping its eyes glued on the coyote. This eye contact may have been seen as a challenge by the coyote.

At this point the coyote backed up a distance, ran up a tiny incline and began scratching the ground with its forepaws and rearing up — a display used to keep the dog away, to keep it from following through on its eye-contact challenge. The coyote’s purpose was to look intimidating — and for the most part it is effective. The other coyote disappeared into the brush. The coyote’s activity didn’t last long as Jacob walked off with his dog. The two coyotes ran off.

Coyotes have sometimes followed walkers the entire length of some park, sometimes at a further distance, sometimes at a closer distance. Curiosity, sizing the dogs up, desire for contact, maybe even a bit of challenge are all possible explanations.

It is always best to create distance when you don’t know what is going on. Jacob did this by calling his dog and then facing the coyote before moving on.

Please see posting of  December 7th: “Dog Reactions to Seeing a Coyote”, November 4th: “Some reactions to dogs”, and December 1st: “Significance of a Seemingly Unprovoked challenge”.  Also, please see the entry on “Coyote Safety” of 11/3. “Blatant Visual Message for Newcomer Dog” of 2/8/10. “A short back-and-forth chase: oneupmanship verging on play” of 2/4/10.

Sharks and Coyotes: on being fed

13 Nov 2009 Leave a comment

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

I met Hervé with his young Rottweiler today in the park. He wanted to know if I had seen any coyotes — he has seen me photographing them. He wanted me to know that his dog had had two encounters with the coyotes recently, very peaceful ones. He said he had seen a coyote right in the open during the day, that the coyote had come up to his dog and sniffed its rear end, then departed. I asked him how his dog had acted around the coyote, and he told me that his dog was uninterested. This is a pattern I am finding. Seldom if ever do coyotes approach a dog who is right next to its owner. However, a couple of times I have seen a calm dog, which has been allowed to wander off a bit, actually greeted by a coyote which is nearby — usually with a brief sniffing before taking off. These dogs are calm and uninterested in coyotes, dogs who mind their own business and are not out to pursue the coyote.

It is the dogs that pursue and chase the coyotes which are the problem. Coyotes are even aware of the leashed dogs who lunge in their direction. The other day Hervé had heard a coyote barking loudly, while a woman yelled ineffectively for her dog to come: this was obviously an incident of a dog chasing a coyote. A coyote will defend itself when chased. Most often the coyote will react by barking, but there have been several instances of the coyote pursuing and nipping at a dog’s haunches to get it to move away from itself. This defensiveness is as close to aggression as the coyotes have ever gotten in our parks. We have very peaceful coyotes in our area.

We then talked about the group in the park who have been throwing stones at the coyotes and yelling at people who get close to them, claiming that habituation leads to aggression. He was very puzzled: “Why would habituation lead to aggression?” I told him that I had contacted one of our premier coyote behaviorists who said “It doesn’t, habituation does not lead to aggression.” Very few coyotes ever become aggressive at all. In an urban setting, coyotes are going to get accustomed to having people around — that is the nature of the situation. What does cause aggression is feeding. Feeding is at the root of all aggression and has to be absolutely avoided.

Hervé gave me some insight into this. He told me about shark and grouper behavior when they are fed. This information seems quite relevant to our coyotes. He is a scuba diver. He told me that groups of people, usually on tours, actually feed the sharks — sometimes by hand — to attract them. The sharks have gotten used to this, and have come to expect it. But, then, when a different group of people come by that don’t feed the sharks — they don’t know that the sharks now expect to be fed — the sharks actually pursue these people for what they have come to expect, and they do so aggressively. Groupers are known to do the same thing. In this manner, feeding leads to aggression. This type of occurrence is common knowledge among scuba divers, he told me.

This might be exactly what occurs when coyotes are fed. This is the sequence that people have to know about. Never ever feed a coyote. Feeding coyotes is the root of all aggression towards humans.

Does Habituation Mean Eventual Aggression?

11 Nov 2009 Leave a comment

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

Most of us are thrilled to have coyotes return to our city parks, and we want to protect them in this environment that they have chosen.  Protecting them entails respecting their needs: especially, keeping them wild by absolutely never feeding them, and keeping our dogs from pursuing them — this being their primary irritant in the parks: both of these could lead to future problems. But also we need to allow them to live peacefully, so that they feel comfortable enough to stay. Our parks are one of the safest places for them to live — they will not find a safer place if they are harassed into moving on.

However, a few individuals in one park have taken it upon themselves to create fear in the coyotes by pursuing them with rocks or sticks — even when the coyotes are far away from these people. These same individuals have also been accosting those they’ve seen within a certain distance of the coyotes. Their reasoning is that they had heard that habituation leads to aggression.

We know that in urban parks, coyotes will get accustomed to people — it is the nature of the situation. I wrote to one of our renowned coyote behavior experts regarding coyote habituation and where it might lead. I asked this professor if habituation meant eventual aggression? How close is “too close”?  I have copied his responses here, in their entirety. I have not including his name since I did not ask his permission to do so, but maybe I will. His responses are in brown, which follow my questions:

*Is visibility the same as habituation? Not necessarily – there are individual differences that must be taken into account …

*Does habituation mean aggression? Not at all

*What is too close?  Depends on the individual coyote, time of year etc etc … I don’t see any measure being generalized to all coyotes … we need to remember that speaking about ‘the’ coyote is misleading because of individual differences …

*Will a coyote’s defensiveness against dogs lead to aggression? Depends on the coyote. . but defensiveness can be a factor among a number of different species….

*Is it okay to throw rocks at or around coyotes to create fear? Can’t answer this but hazing can work … I’m just not sure about throwing rocks … on the other hand it could make them mad and then there could be a problem

*How to encourage keeping dogs leashed around coyotes? Enforce penalties for not doing so .. enforcement is key …

*The idea of stress on the coyotes making them nervous? Depends on the individual .. there will be difference in tolerance for sure …

*I also have read that habituation is not what leads to aggression, that few coyotes ever become aggressive. Instead, the positive correlation, I’ve read, is between artificial feeding and aggression? Typically feeding can lead to aggression habituation … feeding is simply a no no and must never be done … it’s the root of all ‘problems’ …

Four Hours in the day of an Urban Coyote

09 Nov 2009 Leave a comment

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

What does a coyote do all day? It occurred to me that it would be enlightening to see how a coyote spends its day — the part of the day when people are in the park. So I decided to watch one for as long of a stretch as I could. I actually tried this several times, but the coyotes always vanished too soon to call it a day. But, finally I was able to get four hours of continual notes and photos on a coyote. I made a diary of this.The total territory covered by the coyote during these four hours was a mile, encompassing a peripheral trail that rejoins itself, which the coyote crossed back over several times.

Coyotes probably sleep from late morning until late afternoon, because I almost never see them during that time: so I am assuming that after the activity I recorded here, the coyote trotted off for a nap. In addition, there are the dawn, dusk and night hours which are more active for a coyote, with more social activity, hunting and probably playing.

My camera time-stamps my photos, so I was able to record everything solely with my camera! There is no “typical” day, I know. During other days, I have seen this coyote for shorter lengths of time during which there were long hunting sessions, lots of barking sessions, long resting sessions — 3 hours once in one location, following a walker, and so on. But I wanted to put one sequence together, and here it is:

6:00 am: I arrived in one of the city parks to find a coyote calmly resting on an incline. I walked up to a rare pre-dawn dog walker. We noticed two other coyotes close by, young ones, her grown offspring. These stayed together and did some digging. The dog stayed on the path with us. Then the dog moved off the path a bit, causing one of the youths to move further off, but the other one approached the dog, never coming right up to it — this coyote was cautiously interested in the dog. We could see we humans were keeping the coyote at bay: coyotes always keep their distance from people. The walker decided to walk on. Because of the movement, both young coyotes ran into the distance.

6:35 I returned to watch the coyote still resting on the hill. She sat up and seemed to focus attention towards the other side of the park: maybe more walkers could be heard arriving at the park — or maybe she was keeping tabs on another offspring? I suggest this, because later on I saw another offspring in the area this coyote was watching.

At 6:41 one of the youths took off into the brush. The first coyote then got up and stretched, and walked up to the path I was on, but further ahead. The coyote followed the trail right up to where the second youth was still hanging out. These two coyotes had a fabulous face-to-face greeting — the warmth they displayed was extremely charming: they looked right at each other and nuzzled one another. The mother stretched her nose over that of the younger one. The mother then sat down for a few moments next to the young one, then stood up again as the youth trotted off down a trail. Had the mother signaled this one to do so?

6:48 The mother remained. She lifted her forelegs onto a rock to give herself elevation, and she watched the young one trot off. Now alone, she walked over to the other side of the rocks, sat, and looked over the entire area — scoping out the place. There was no activity to be seen.

At 6:54 she decided to move on, stopping to scratch herself on her back in two ways:  with her hind leg and by bending her head over her back to scratch with her teeth. Then she continues on. She has purpose in her gait. At 6:59 she climbs up an outcropping of rocks. Here the intensity of her attention is increased — you can see this by the look in her eye and by the way she turns her head and holds it still. She appeared to be scoping out the area — listening for and looking for something, which could have been more dogs and walkers arriving at the park.

7:00 She scurried down from the high rock after a couple of minutes, and, again, with a quickness and definite purpose in her gait, headed to a favorite knoll of hers where I have seen her often, arriving there in about 4 minutes. Here she first sat, looking around, but then settled into lying down with her head up. She observed the walkers below. There were only about 3 dogs and walkers, but she knows some of them by sight. I notice that her attention was pulled up the hill, so I look up there, and for a few brief moments, at 7:27, saw one of her pups. He returned to hide in the brush almost immediately. Did she come over here to keep an eye on him? Her attention then returned to the walkers for the next little while. She was totally relaxed. During this time I was able to talk to some walkers. We talked about the prevailing issues: that there are several coyotes, that they are peaceful, that dogs should be kept away from them, that all incidents have involved dogs, that a small group has been throwing rocks at them, that someone might be feeding them, and about my photographing them. The coyote adjusted her position several times, but stayed right here.

At 7:42, after about 40 minutes here, the coyote decided to move on. First, she stretched and yawned — she does this often after a rest. Then she wandered, rather casually and slowly, down, around and back to the area where she had shown affection to the other pup. She continued her meandering beyond this point, stopping occasionally to study movement in the ground — there are lots of gopher and vole holes in the area, but no real hunting took place. At 8:09 she heard and saw one of the dog walkers — a woman who throws rocks at the coyote. The coyote knows all walkers and dogs individually, and knows how to avoid being seen. So the coyote carefully slithered into the brush area where she remained fairly still until the woman passed, and then continued her slow easy walk up an incline. At this point, at 8:12, a man appeared on the trail which is off to one side, with a small unleashed dog. I let the man know that the coyote was out in case he might want to leash his dog. He thanked me, leashed up and continued his walk. He never even saw the coyote. The coyote had been absolutely still during my communication with the man, but then slowly continued her meanderings.

Between 8:16 to 8:21 the coyote stopesd to hunt: she saw movement on the ground which probably appeared more promising than before — either of a vole or gopher. She stoped and remained till and kept her attention on this place for a full 5 minutes. Occasionally she looked up and moved a little bit and cocked her head, but she remained poised to catch something. Nothing came of it this time. One morning I saw her catch three gophers, eat two of them and carry the 3rd one off — but not this day.

At 8:25 she reached the street, where a woman and her dog decided to avoid the coyote by going in another direction. A little boy and his dad noticed the coyote — no big deal for them — they told me they wanted to give the coyote plenty of space, so they make a wide circle and head into the park.

At this point I lost the coyote for a few minutes, but not for long. Within less than a minute, the coyote was dashing through the wooded area right by the street in pursuit of a dog. This coyote only chases dogs who have come after her. All became quiet at this point, in fact, it was always quiet except for the rustle of the shrubbery as the animals sped by. As far as I could tell, the dog returned to its owner, because shortly thereafter, at 8:36, I found the coyote headed in a different direction.

The coyote was on some steps, “scooting” — I speculate that she might have worms since I’ve seen her do this several times. A woman was walking her dogs on the path below. She noticed the coyote and walked on. The coyote took the woman’s same path but was not  pursuing, and their directions soon diverged. The coyote then suddenly acquired purpose and direction in her gait.

From 8:42 – 9:27 she arrived and remained at a place several hundred feet away from her favorite knoll. She sat and watched for a few moments, and then circled around to lie down. Everything was quiet at first. But then a man way in the distance below began throwing a ball up the hill for his dog, and the dog retrieved it. He finally was amazed to see the coyote and stopped his activity. The coyote remained totally at rest and relaxed, eyes half-closed. Another dog walker passed on a path way above, she told me her dog does not chase coyotes and it didn’t. Another woman walked her dog on the path below: when I let her know about the coyote right there, she thanks me and leashed up. Everything was very calm that morning.

By 9:28 the coyote was on the move again, this time again slowly meandering, up to a high area in the park through a thicket area. She ended up at the crest of some high cliffs where she found a puddle of water which she lapped up at 9:36. She stood up high here, taking in what was below, scoping out the area for about 4 minutes. She finally stretched and yawned, ever so slowly, before quickening her pace and heading through the thicket below again. She meandered casually in this area, probably looking for any movement that would suggest prey. This area is right next to a trail. At 9:43, as some hikers walked by, she sat still, absolutely quiet, and watched them. They did not see her at all. When they were gone, she got up, pooped, and continued her slow wandering. Then two more walkers and their dog went by as had the previous walkers. This time the coyote took their same path — they are headed in the same direction as the coyote had been going. Since their dog was not leashed, I let them know that the coyote was right in back of them. When they turned around, the coyote headed down a hill, but remained within our sight. It was a nice time to talk about how much we all like this peaceful coyote — peaceful unless chased. They departed.

By 9:46 the coyote was back at her favorite knoll, not totally resting, but sitting up this time. About 8 walkers with their dogs passed by below — about 100 feet from the coyote, few of whom saw the coyote.

At 9:58 a fairly large dog came up in the direction of the coyote, but not after her. She prepared for the dog — just in case — but the dog went on after its owner. For some reason she decided to check this dog out, so she followed them. However, she stopped the minute she saw several other people on the narrow path ahead. She turned back and then headed for an area which is not frequented by people, but then she stopped short. I noticed a large poodle in her path. So I let the owner know that the coyote was right here, could he please leash up to avoid trouble? He defiantly ignored me. So his dog wemt after the coyote, way up the hill, barking at her, as he yelled ineffectively at his dog. The coyote ran off, but then turned around with her defensive stance. She did not pursue the dog but stood her ground. The owner was finally able to grab his dog by the collar and drag it down to the main path. As he got down on this path he released his dog. One of the responsible walkers below yelled at him that he was an idiot for not leashing his dog after that incident.

At 10:00 The coyote disappeared into the direction she was headed and that was the last I saw of her this day.

In Summary, during these four hours, she spent about:

  • 50 minutes: watching her pups as she relaxed
  • 2 minutes: trotting towards her pup
  • 3 minutes:  warmly greeting her pup
  • 6 minutes: surveying the territory from a rise in the ground
  • 6 minutes: purposeful walking – seems like she had a destination in mind
  • one minute:  keenly surveying and scoping out the area from up high
  • 4 minutes:  purposeful walking – again, she seemed to have a location in mind
  • 40 minutes: relaxing on a knoll watching people and noticed another of her pups in the distance
  • 35 minutes: meandering, seemingly less purposeful than before  – included 2 instances of avoiding dogs by ducking into the brush at 8:09 & 8:12
  • 5 minutes:  hunting at one spot
  • 2 minutes: on the street sidewalk or right next to it
  • 1 minute: chasing a dog and I lost track of her, but I found her again
  • 6 minutes: purposeful walking
  • 46 minutes: basking in the sun on a knoll, although a few people saw her, most did not
  • 8 minutes: meanderings up to rocks;
  • 4 minutes: scoping and surveying from high above  – she lapped up water at 9:36 from a puddle
  • 3 minutes: meandering – at 9:43 hikers passed by and then she pooped
  • 12 minutes: at her favorite knoll, sitting up & watching more people who didn’t see her.
  • 1 minute: purposeful walking
  • 1 minute: chased by dog
  • By 10:00 she had left — that was the end of my notes for the day.

She was relaxing 40+40+46+12 minutes=2.3 hours; surveying 6+1+4=10 min; purposeful walking 4+6+4+6+1= 21 min; meandering 35+8+3=46 min; other activities — greeting her pup, drinking water, being chased by dogs, chasing a dog, scratching  3+5+2+1+1=12 min

Ugly Human Activity Recently

03 Nov 2009 Leave a comment

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

Upsettingly, there has been ugly human activity in one of our parks which is affecting the coyote’s behavior: I saw this very clearly today.  It is the first time I have ever seen one of the coyotes so extremely nervous, edgy and jumpy. The coyote was agitated. It was looking around, particularly in back of itself, and it was flinching and jerking constantly, seemingly at imagined noises. This is so contrary to this one’s normal calm and relaxed self. I’ve become worried about it.

The new treatment that is being directed at coyotes is unnecessary and mean since the coyotes in this park are so peaceful — all of it is perpetrated by a small self righteous “clique” of about three people with a mission to make the coyotes afraid of people. This treatment includes throwing rocks in the direction of coyotes wherever they might be. I have heard about throwing stones to move a coyote away from yourself or from the path you are on. But this group of individuals is actually pursuing the coyotes anywhere they are, far from where the individual might be. One of these people, a man, ran off of his path about 50 feet up to where I was, on an entirely different trail, and started viciously heaving rocks towards a coyote which was 40 or so feet in front of me. The coyote had not been in his path or in his way. When I questioned him, he told me that the coyote had “looked at him”. I was absolutely bewildered.

Then, two days ago, I saw a large woman with a large stick, yelling at a coyote to “shoo, git, out-of-here”. This was nowhere near any of the paths. It was in an area where the coyotes should be allowed to be safe, where people seldom if ever go, towards the middle of a field by a thicket area — the woman had pursued the coyote into this area. This incident occurred as this coyote was barking after it had been chased by an unleashed dog. This “clique” thinks it needs to create fear in the coyote — they think the coyotes are becoming too fearless. They are trying to “manage” the coyotes and “manage” the park visitors without any authority to do so. If they want to prevent incidents with the coyotes, all they need to do is leash their dogs since all coyote incidents have been caused by dogs intruding on them.

The whole picture needs to be examined more thoroughly. Our coyotes are not aggressive, but might they become so as a result of the aggression that is being perpetrated against them?  Or, might they just leave the park? Our parks are one of the safest places for them in our city. Of course, if they go elsewhere they might be treated better — the problem is that coyotes who move into new territories risk being run off by coyotes which already reside there. Finding a new territory would be difficult, and in the meantime, their vacated spots in our park would be taken up by newcomer coyotes — this is how it works.

I have been asked “why don’t they just leave the coyotes alone?” We have been told that coyotes are a natural part of this environment: they belong here as much as we do. Most of us  just want to see the coyotes thrive and give sparkle to our urban parks. The only “incidents” we have ever had have involved unleashed dogs chasing the coyotes. If we need to “manage” the situation it would be to enforce the leash-law when the coyotes are visible. Please read postings on November 11th about “habituation” and on November 13th about “feeding”.

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