Kinky | Coyote Yipps

Kinky Tail Carries On Inspiringly, by Walkaboutlou

To the left: 1st Denning Area . . . . secluded, but wolves circuit here regularly. To the right: Rendezvous area. Much more “coyote” friendly. Grasshopper, voles, berries galore. Pups can self educate and grow in skill as she comes and goes.

Good morning Janet,

I haven’t mentioned Kinky Tail a long time..Ive not been to “her people” awhile, the people who know her and local coyote 3 human generations!

She has had a very tough denning season but is on the upside of it. In the last days of her pregnancy her mate and yearling son simply disappeared. It could of been so many things. In that areas roads and vehicles are far away…But the fact that both disappeared same exact time likely point to being killed. It could of been humans or wolves. Both locally will go for coyote on sight.

So KT pupped alone. 9 NINE👀! pups.

3 days after birth she was observed hunting voles hurriedly. She established a pattern of quick vole hunting then dash back to den. She lost ALOT of weight but kept milk going. 3 weeks into it, she detected a car hit deer that died near her den. Salvation. She ate over and over. And made constant trips back and forth days, regurgitating venison to 3 week old pups. 5 days of this….the pups exploded in growth and she gained her condition.

Likely due to carrion scent…6th evening..2 wolves came. Trail cams show them going to den site. There were major vocalizations hours. Next morning..the den site was obviously dug into…but..all 9 pups came out afternoon. It was obvious Kinky Tail had skirmishes hours to save her pups. The den held out.

She moved them that day to 2 separate locations. Weeks of constant 24-7 rounds of hunting feeding grooming naps.

As of now…they are in New rendezvous area. They are hunting voles independent of her and eating berries and grasshopper. She showed them a tiny seep of water. And they are flourishing.

KT is worn and exhausted but has done it so far. Last week she was seen with a new male…and he actually seems to have moved in. He isn’t feeding pups but does tolerate their play and mobbing and chased a ranch dog away from them.

Kinky Tail has endured SO MUCH but her tiny body and cunning mind have never given up. How she managed to get 9 pups alone to rendezvous stage…is just unreal.

I try to always be open observer to wildlife and ranges.

But I love Kinky Tail. She embodies so many traits and skills and her life story is typically coyote and gobsmaking same time.

Lou

Hi Lou —

OMG, Kinky’s story is both heartbreaking and unbelievably awe-inspiring. I, too, have fallen in love with her and her story — and I think everyone who reads this will also fall in love with her if they haven’t already. Thank you, Lou, for her continuing story and update: it’s so intense, so moving, so revealing of who she is and who coyotes are as a species. It also shows how brutal her enemies are: humans who shoot them and wolves who kill them simply because they don’t want them around. 🙏 Janet

Hi Janet,

Kinky is typical of her species but still amazing. The underdog who never stays under but overcomes. They aren’t enjoyed by many. It matters little. They faced and lived among mega fauna and many human types and cultures. And outlasted all.

Kinky Tail just carries on and in the face of wolves, cougar, hunters and dogs. She is awe inspiring and humbling to think about. She is really a lesson for all coyote. And humans. Lou

Kinky’s Real Estate, by Walkaboutlou

Kinky Tail’s ongoing saga continues! Her story has been followed by Lou since she was born, and posted on this blog, all of which can be accessed by typing *Kinky* into the search box.

Hello Janet,

We are well into the explosions of spring, and pup season. Kinky Tail, who is well known to us, had her pups initially in an abandoned collapsed barn.

She has moved her pups at least 3 times, and is now on crest of a high hill.

She, her mate and year-long son helped move NINE pups. 9.

It’s hard to imagine such a tiny body housing 9 pups. Kinky Tail is very petite. I don’t think she has ever reached 30lbs.

Her observers have noted…the litter are also all tiny in size. Hence the Litter name Pip Squeaks.

Also..each move was to an abandoned barn. Kinky this year preferred empty buildings in the early stages.

Her move to high hillside gives her every advantage. She and her fam can see hear and smell for miles. The foothills contains tiny springs. Seeps of life come dry season. The open foothills contain thousands of voles and gophers. And soon untold grasshoppers and berries.

Her scene to the east is where Cascade begins and merge with foothills. The local pack of wolves leave these cascades to follow elk and deer into foothills.

It was these territorial forays that wiped out her early family pack and we suspect multiple coyote.

So in response..it seems..Kinky tail is adding empty barns and high hill areas to raise her pups. She has sanctuary here. The owners allow no coyote hunting or trapping. Her lineage to this land goes back generations. She has always known of patrolling wolf pack’s coming thru.

Biologically and Behaviorally her response to her life would be….