Three Disturbances in One Morning is Too Much

31 Mar 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote howling, coyotes and dogs, dog reactions to coyotes, monitoring Tags:

Most coyotes you might pass in the mornings in the parks are on their way “home”. For the most part, they are shy so they don’t linger where they can be seen for too long — they prefer not being seen at all. However, they might stop out of curiosity: “what are you doing and where are you going?” Soon they will have ducked into the underbrush, and they are gone.

The few bolder coyotes, usually mothers and leaders of their families, don’t mind being seen at a distance on occasion. Until they go “home”, they might sit in a protected spot high up where they can rest in peace, like the little bull Ferdinand in the story book, and where they can keep an eye on things. If these coyotes are disturbed, interfered with or chased, they will complain loudly and openly rather than just run away, and they may turn around to defend themselves. I watched as this type of coyote was interfered with three times today.

I arrived at the park in time to hear the distressed barking that a coyote engages in after it has been chased or disturbed. This intense barking can go on for as long as 20 minutes. I decided to follow the sound and found the coyote still engaged in its complaining. Although I had not arrived in time to see what actually caused the complaining, I assumed that the group of walkers I was hearing had had an encounter with the coyote, and this distressed barking was the result of that. After taking a photo, I left the coyote barking, and continued up a hill on my walk.

Soon afterwards, I found this same coyote, calmed down, in a different part of the park, on a ledge where it had stationed itself. I watched it and took photos for a while. It relaxed most of the time, but stood up now and then when a runner or dog on a nearby path caught its attention. It always went back to its perch after these had passed.

THEN things changed. The coyote bolted up and stared at something on the path below which I could not see. The coyote got flustered and began running away as a woman yelled for her dog which was now chasing the coyote . The dog pursuing the coyote was a very large German Shepherd. The coyote ran towards a more protected part of the park and started, for a second time, 20 minutes of distressed barking. The dog owner must have grabbed her dog because I did not see it again. Meanwhile, the coyote continued its complaining, keeping its eyes on all paths that might lead to where it was. I have seen that these incidents only happen with unleashed dogs. Although everyone knows that coyotes are in the area, not everyone wants to take the precaution or responsibility of leashing a dog they know might disturb the coyote.

The coyote then trotted a little ways in the direction where the dog had come from, where it continued barking for a short time. The barking session then ended with a few little breathy grunts. The coyote, now calmer, walked back over to the ledge where it had been resting before the German Shepherd chase. The dog and owner were gone.

And now, there is an important point I would like to make. These two incidents may have emboldened the coyote somewhat. If they had not occurred, the coyote may not have gone into a defensive mode or set herself up to be ready when a third dog appeared. What I’m seeing is that if several dogs chase a coyote or interfere with it, the coyote’s defenses may build up. If one person lets their dog confront the coyote, it makes it harder for other dog owners to deal with the coyote which now has its ire up and is emboldened and feeling defensive.

The reason I say this is that I then watched a THIRD disturbance for this coyote — the third in one morning. Right after this last incident had subsided, a female runner could be seen jogging with her two Weimeraners. These also were unleashed. The coyote saw them and stationed itself to watch from a place where dogs could actually reach it — wasn’t this a bit provocative? The coyote now seemed prepared for defending itself if it were chased. As the woman ran by, one of her dogs went towards the coyote — maybe out of curiosity — I did not see if it was a full blown chase. The coyote was in no mood to be interfered with again and it did not head away from the dogs. Instead, coyote gave the display you see here and even ran after the lagging dog to herd it on. The woman ran ahead calling her dogs which were some distance in back of her. As this group ran out of sight, the coyote stood and watched them, and then trotted off in the other direction.

My point in writing this is to let everyone know that coyotes don’t want these interactions. They do not want to be interfered with. They want to be left alone. They want to rest calmly. But, if this type of coyote is approached or interfered with, and if its ire has already been awakened so that it is in a defensive mode, it might very well stand up for itself. ALSO, if a dog has had previous interactions of this sort with the coyote, the coyote remembers, and is prepared for this particular dog. The coyote may even make the first approach in an effort to warn the dog off before the dog even thinks of disturbing the coyote: better warn them off before they chase you.

These encounters can be avoided if we keep our dogs away from the coyotes to begin with by leashing them. Please help establish a peaceful coexistence with our coyotes. A coyote only has its self-protective instincts to follow. Dogs also have to deal with their instinctual and “playful” needs, but in this case the owner can call the shots by preventing an encounter. It is the dog owners who have control. They need to prevent all interactions so as to protect both our dogs and the coyotes.

Is There A Message in “Pooping”?

12 Mar 2010 19 Comments

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyote scat, coyotes and dogs Tags: , ,

I noticed a couple of coyotes showing curiosity, at a distance, towards a dog walking along a path with its owner. The owner later told me that the coyotes had actually tried sniffing her dog’s end. This dog is one that is not interested in coyotes — the dog is not oblivious to coyotes, but does ignore them. By the time I had met up with this walker and her dog, the two young coyotes had moved ahead and now appeared on the path some distance in front of us. They had their eyes in our direction — they were watching the dog and they were obviously curious about its not reacting to them. The coyotes stood there, so the dog owner asked her dog to sit, to keep it from getting any closer to the coyotes. The dog did so immediately. So we all watched each other.

The closer coyote was especially curious and even headed our way a few paces. But its bravery waned as we all began to hear voices on the path from where we had come. But before running off, this coyote squatted down and pooped, right there in front of us, on the path, facing us and keeping its eyes on us! I have seen this exact same behavior before, but in this case there had been no dog with me. Was this a message? Coyote scat is often found right in the middle of paths. Was there meaning to this, to either the scat itself or the pooping process, or was it just that “when you have to go, you have to go”? Others have asked this same question.

Encountering More Than One Coyote

05 Mar 2010 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in blatant visual message, coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, coyotes and dogs, dog reactions to coyotes Tags: ,

The morning, which ended up in such a leisurely fashion, did not begin this way. I spotted this mother coyote early on as she headed up towards a rock. She stayed up there, moving between several high rocks, and eventually sprawled out on the highest one, but she definitely was keeping her eye on something on the trail below. Then, in a flash, she dashed off. I thought that was the end of my coyote viewing for the day. Within minutes the coyote began her distressed barking — she only does this when she has been chased or interfered with by a dog — it may be one of her ways of keeping dogs at bay, but it also shows that she is upset.

It turns out that she had seen a dog, a dog she has seen often, which got too close to one of her yearling pups — she had come to its aid. The pup was probably in absolutely no danger, but we have to see it from this mother’s point of view: after all, dogs have chased her plenty of times in the past. When she first appeared on the scene, the dog, which should have been leashed, chased her off — this is normal unleashed dog behavior. But she responded by returning and coming in pretty close. This is typical coyote behavior. It can only be prevented by leashing our dogs immediately when a coyote is spotted, and not allowing a “casual” encounter — you cannot predict what will happen with any animal, much less with a wild animal, and in this case there was more than one coyote — the mother and the yearling. Keeping your dog leashed and close to yourself will serve to deter a coyote from coming in closer as you move out of the immediate vicinity.

There is usually an alpha female somewhere around in any coyote group: she is the only one that breeds and she is the one that controls the group and is responsible for their safety. If we allow our dogs to approach or threaten — or even appear to threaten a coyote — the female may come in to help so that you might be dealing with more than one coyote. Coyotes work as a team when there is more than one of them, with one serving to distract while the other goes around to approach from the other side — this usually is more than most dogs can handle — dogs feel overwhelmed by this behavior. But the coyotes are trying to send a message as clearly as they can: “Leave!” and “Don’t mess with us.”  They will continue this behavior, coming back again and maybe again, until dog and owner move on out of the immediate vicinity where the dog had come too close to the yearling.

The dogs, too, may feel they need to defend “their pack”, which includes all dogs or individuals in their party. Each side — dogs and coyotes — want to feel they have “won” by making the other leave. In this incident today, once the coyotes left for the first time, the dogs thought they had “taken care of the matter”, but the coyotes returned to continue vexing the dogs and owner until they left. Only we humans can prevent these interactions from happening by leashing our dogs. It is a canine-canine thing which needs our intervention if we all want to coexist together: humans, dogs, and recently returned wildlife.

The best policy is to leash up and move on. Please read about coyote safety and how you can shoo a coyote off if you encounter one at a close enough range to make you uncomfortable: Coyote Safety published on November 3, 2009.

FIRST: A Guidelines/Safety Box:

01 Jan 2010 14 Comments

1) WHO are the coyotes (in a nutshell): https://coyoteyipps.com/who-are-they/

2) A VIDEO ON COYOTE BEHAVIORS, GUIDELINES & DOGS: a one-stop video, by me, on urban coyote behavior and how to coexist with them, how to handle encounters, and why culling doesn’t solve issues:

Original Coyote Coexistence Presentation, Condensed version: How to Shoo Off a Coyote

Charla en Español     “好鄰居–郊狼”    English: How to Shoo Off a Coyote

*A protocol clarification for when walking a dog  (not addressed in the video): Your safest option always is flat-out, absolute AVOIDANCE: Whether you see a coyote in the distance, approaching you, or at close range, leash your dog and walk away from it, thus minimizing any potential dog/coyote confrontation or engagement. If you choose to shoo it away, follow the guidelines in the videos, but know that what’s safest is proactive, preventative unmitigated avoidance: i.e., walk away.

2) MORE LINKS TO COYOTE BEHAVIOR & DOGS:

citizencoyote-by-janetkesslerPress on image above for another crash course on coyotes

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Stealthy behavior in the dark: Coyote behavior

20 Dec 2009 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyotes and dogs Tags: , , , , ,

Today I was up way before dawn, so I headed out to see what kind of day it would turn into. It was dark and clear when I left home in the car. As I reached the top of a ridge it was both dark and foggy. Not too foggy, but foggy enough to create a glow around the street lights in the distance. The San Francisco area has wonderful diverse microclimates which can all be found at the same point in time within half a mile of each other. On one of the exposed roads it was windy, lower down it was totally windless. In a swampy area it was ten degrees colder than elsewhere.

I reached my intended park where I encountered a fellow walker and his dog — the only other pre-dawn walker I have come across — and we began to talk. We stood still, remaining in the same spot as we conversed. It was still dark. We then moved on, and as we did so, a form materialized out of the shadows about 40 feet away. The coyote was barely discernible at first and not initially easy to identify because of its stance and the way it was moving. After seeing the coyote for a moment, my first thought was that something was wrong, that maybe the coyote was sick or had been injured. The stance is one I’ve seen coyotes assume, but not maintain for any length of time. This coyote maintained it for this entire encounter. It had its hackles up, its back was curved up high while it kept its head down — it was a strong U-shape, and it was walking on tip toes very slowly and deliberately. It approached the dog that was with us within about 15 feet, but never got closer. Occasionally it pulled its lips back to show its teeth in a menacing sort of way: the coyote was messaging the dog, but the dog wasn’t picking up on the message. The dog ignored the coyote and continued walking on the path in front of us. The coyote backed up along the path, keeping its distance, keeping its eyes on the dog, and remaining in its hunched over position. It did not run off, but remained about 40 feet ahead. Then as we kept walking away from the coyote, the coyote disappeared off to the side somewhere after which we did not see it. It did not follow the dog.

This coyote must have been observing us the entire time we had been conversing in the one spot. It obviously did not like the dog lingering there. I actually had a totally different feeling from this coyote encounter than what I have experienced in the past — maybe because of the darkness, but also maybe because of the stealthy nature of the animal. I remained in the park, but the coyote did not approach anyone else — in fact, it is unlikely that anyone else even saw it while I was there. Later on I noticed it in the distance, just for a moment, where it looked perfectly fine and normal. It had been much too dark to take photos. Over the next little while I was able to tell that this was a coyote messaging the dog to get away. It’s so simple to respect the message. When we walk in the parks, we are invading the only place they have to live.

Mother/Pup: Affection/Protection

14 Dec 2009 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in care for the young, coexisting with coyotes, communication, coyote behavior, coyote reactions to dogs, coyotes and dogs, coyotes defending themselves, group activity Tags: , , , , ,

I saw lots of coyote affection and protective behavior this morning. I was waiting for the rain clouds to blow by so that I could get a shot of the crescent moon. I like moons. I was sticking the camera back in its bag when I noticed a young coyote only about 30 feet in front of me. It had to have just arrived and sat down. It was too dark for photos except that of the moon. The coyote allowed me to look at it for about a minute before it headed off walking, and then disappeared.

A few minutes later, I heard a walker whistling loudly. He and his dog were coming up a distant trail. The coyote apparently had heard or seen this walker, because I saw it suddenly run away from the walker. It sat down to watch. Neither the walker nor the dog saw the coyote.

At about this time the mother coyote appeared on the scene, right in back of the young one, and sat down. The young coyote was ecstatic to see her: there was jumping up, muzzle contact, licking of the face of the young one by the mother, licking of the mother’s back by the young one, body contact. This affection frenzy lasted about three minutes. My camera settings were out of sync — so the photos are totally blurry, but I posted a couple anyway: they convey what they need to.

Then both coyotes sat, one in front of the other, watching the area where the whistler had stopped to talk to someone. This man soon walked on. Things appeared calm, so the young coyote got up and walked around for about 6 minutes.

This is when the first set of dogs appeared. These were two unleashed dogs which rushed right after the coyotes. The young coyote disappeared into the brush area, but the older, protective mother, after initially fleeing, came back, as is her normal behavior. She assumed her defensive stance: hackles up, pawing the ground, snarly face. One dog returned to its owner. The mother coyote made short charge-and-retreat motions towards the dog that remained to try to get it to leave. The owner of this dog called, hyper-hysterically, and ineffectively, for her dog to return. Eventually, the dog slowly made its way to its owner, whereupon the owner leashed it and departed.

Even before this first incident was over, three more unleashed dogs appeared, all belonging to one owner. They also ran after the coyote — the owner had absolutely no verbal control of her dogs. She seemed resigned to them going after the coyote, even as she ineffectively called them. I tried to let the owner know that this was a mother coyote who was going to defend her pup. The coyote was leading the dogs away from where her pup was in the brush. The owner of the three dogs decided to leave them — they were nowhere in sight. She went back down the hill. Then the mother coyote started barking, which is how I found where she was. The three abandoned dogs were near by, out of breath, and looking for their owner but couldn’t find her. The largest of the three dogs decided to go after the coyote again, causing the coyote to dash off to a hill further off where it continued its barking. The dogs, I assume, were eventually reunited with their owner, because the coyote was no longer being pursued by them.

This entire episode, or I should say two consecutive episodes of two and then three dogs going after the coyote, took about 18 minutes.  On the hill the coyote barked distressingly for another 3 minutes before calming down. With the dogs gone, she moved higher up the hill where she relaxed for about 45 minutes, keeping an eye on the spot where her pup had hidden.

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.

Significance of a Seemingly Unprovoked Challenge: Coyote reactions to Dogs

01 Dec 2009 1 Comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote behavior, coyotes and dogs Tags: , , ,

I’ve come to realize that all coyote behavior has significance. Figuring out what the significance is, is the challenging part!  Last week there was a dog/coyote encounter with all sorts of possibilities for interpretation which I will consider here. If the owner had walked away from the coyote instead of towards it, the interaction would not have taken place. The coyote described here is a dominant one — the boss. The coyote instigated the interaction with lots of “challenging display” activity, but it did not attack. The display was a strong communication about territorial ownership and to try to make the dog leave. The dog’s owner could easily have shooed the coyote away, but decided not to because of the dog’s mild reaction — the dog did not feel terribly threatened or in danger. Even though the dog hadn’t felt threatened, the coyote obviously had — that’s why it *messaged* the dog with it’s challenging display: the best solution would have been to create distance between the dog and a coyote by moving away from it.  After this initial four minutes or so, the day became a totally peaceful one for the coyote — I was able to watch it for several hours.

For about 4 minutes: Early, a coyote appeared suddenly on a path in back of a dog walker — I was able to observe this from my position further back on the path. This dog is one who shows no interest in coyotes but has growled when he didn’t like the way a coyote approached — that has been the extent of his reactions, as far as I know. However, subtle communication and challenges are hard for a human to pick up on. The dog is a large intact male Labrador. In the past, this coyote has shown a curious interest in this dog, walking a short distance in the dog’s direction and watching him from off to the side — I don’t know how much of this behavior was provoked/invited/caused by the dog itself in its own subtle ways. Today this coyote did not just curiously observe. The coyote approached the dog, not at all casually. Rather, it went into its “challenging” state with a message which seemed to say “don’t mess with me unless you want to deal with this”. It was scratching the ground, hunched over, lips were pulled back, head lowered, teeth bared, nose wrinkled, and its hackles were up. The dog appeared to remain totally calm, keeping its tail up and slowly wagging, but it did not retreat. And I noticed tongue movements in both dog and coyote during this encounter: the tongue sticking out in various degrees — a little like a snake’s — what might that mean? That the coyote’s behavior was to communicate something was very obvious.

So, the pawing behavior (kicking the dirt) occurred as the coyote approached the dog, and the dog growled with a look in his eye that said “back off”, and the coyote did so. Then the dog proceeded casually, tail still wagging slowly, towards its owner — the owner thought the dog did this either for protection or because he needed approval: the owner keeps his dog under tight verbal control, and he’s been told to stay off the coyotes. As the dog walked in the owner’s direction, the coyote came up again, this time from behind the dog, coming in almost close enough to touch the dog. The dog sensed this — he was facing the other way — and turned around. The coyote again backed off, in a bouncing retreating manner when actually faced by the dog. This same behavior was repeated a second time before the coyote headed off a greater distance not to return. Maybe it sensed that the “message” had been received?  In this challenge display there may have been many messages. In addition, I noticed that the coyote looked towards the brush area several times during pauses in the action of this encounter. I wondered what other coyote family members might have been hidden in this brush area. The message had clearly involved a “warning” — was it a warning that was possibly supposed to protect this coyote’s nearby family?  Other coyotes which we have seen early in the morning have slithered into this or other hiding areas at about this time. Or maybe this coyote’s sideways glances were just for planning an escape route in case the dog got fed up?

A professional dog walker told me that intact males seldom display any more aggression than any other dog. BUT, the problem is with the OTHER neutered male dogs: the other neutered male dogs all pick up on the hormone scent of the intact male and they are the ones that show hostility and aggression. Dog walkers have to be very aware of this. HOWEVER, female dogs, especially older females, tend to get excited and dance with glee around intact male dogs. This was not going on in this particular coyote/dog situation.

This coyote is a dominant one, I have come to see, who controls the family pack and its territory. In this instance, the coyote’s warning might have been telling the dog to move on -– the owner, and I standing next to him, had stopped and were lingering on the path after the coyote’s first approach. It might have been a warning to “not mess with me.” The coyote might have been making sure that it had the power to fend off this dog if it needed to? It might have been a “test” to see if the dog might turn on the coyote — even thought provoked. Could its challenging display actually have been for the benefit of those that might be in the brush area — could it have been a warning to them? Might the coyote be trying to “show” other coyote family members that it doesn’t like them dealing with this dog? This last is a question which comes to mind since two other coyotes from this group have come up in quite a friendly way to this same dog — never too close — it seems out of curiosity and with good will. We have felt that once, when there were two coyotes which approached this dog — one of which circled around so the other could approach from behind — that this was a coyote “training” session. This dominant coyote knows this dog is harmless, so I’ve tried to address the possibilities of why this coyote might have tried to challenge it. The coyote/dog interaction here took place within a span of about four minutes. The day became totally calm after this.

For 2 hours: The coyote then went off to the side of a hill where it lay down, even though the dog was still there on the path. By doing so, was it claiming this patch of ground temporarily? At this point, the dog walker and dog decided to move on, to leave and continue their walk. For the next forty minutes the coyote relaxed, keeping its eye on two thicket areas. After half an hour, the coyote sat up, just for a moment, when another dog walker passed in the distance. After yawning and stretching, the coyote repositioned itself a few feet over, and again lay down, continuing to watch the brush area in-between bouts of dozing, but nothing ever appeared from the thicket: were the other coyotes in the thicket?

For 45 minutes: After about two hours of being curled up in the same spot, the coyote got up and meandered up to a path, sitting down to watch a couple of dogs and four people in the distance coming up the same path — these may have been the reason for the coyote to move. The coyote walked several hundred feet up to an area where I have seen it relaxing before: not hidden, but next to growth where few people would notice it.  Here it lay down and calmly watched the few dogs and walkers that passed, none of which noticed the coyote. The “challenge” behavior earlier in the morning seems to have been an isolated incident, and specifically meant for that particular dog. After about half an hour the coyote got up, moving slowly, lapped up some water in a culvert, urinated and defecated, and then ended up on a sidewalk outside the park for three minutes before returning to a thicket where it was hidden from view.

For 45 minutes: The coyote meandered about in the thicket for a short time. It casually looked around, probably for any sign of gopher movements in the ground. It dug up what appeared to be a grub, carrying it off a few feet in its mouth. I assume it was eaten. The coyote then lay down sphinx-like, watching for activity which I could not see. After half an hour, the coyote moved on again. The coyote’s route included the same stretch of sidewalk as before, before it casually walked down into an open field in the park .

For 15 minutes: The coyote wandered in the open field, casually searching for food for about fifteen minutes, until voices could be heard. At this point the coyote stood fairly still by some bushes, moving its head just enough to take in and assess the sounds: maybe it was assessing where the sounds were coming from and the number of voices involved. As the coyote trotted off, several individuals could be seen on the several paths the coyote could have taken to leave, so the coyote leaped up over some rocks and then vanished for the day. I had been able to watch this coyote for about four hours.

For additional coyote reactions to dogs see three posts: “Dog Reactions to Seeing a Coyote” on 12/07, “Some reactions to dogs” on 11/04, and “ANOTHER reaction to dogs” on 11/17. 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.

Coyotes Differ from Dogs

23 Nov 2009 Leave a comment

by yipps:janetkessler in coyote physical appearance, coyotes and dogs are different Tags: , , , , ,

A coyote might resemble a small German Shepherd when you first spot it. Western coyotes are relatively small, averaging about 25-30 pounds, with a 26″ height and a 5 foot length including the tail. The tail, which is a key distinguishing characteristic, is very full and cylindrically shaped and is not normally held up high: rather it is always lower than horizontal. The tail ends in a black tip.

Coyotes are tri-colored, including white, black and brown — the brown runs from reddish to yellowish. Their over-all look from a distance ranges from brownish to grayish, and they often have distinctive patterns of color on their backs, but always with variations of a black and white fan-shaped stripe across the upper-mid back. A coyote has a thick undercoat plus outer weather guard hairs. In the fall and winter coyotes gain a much fuller coat which make them appear larger than they do in the springtime, when they can look very, very thin, after loosing these winter coats. The coyote’s underbelly, inner legs, and chest area in front of its front legs are white.

Compared to dogs, coyotes have a much longer snout, they are very thin and lithe. The long, thin snout may help them retrieve gophers and voles from burrows — I have actually seen a coyote “dive” head first into such a hole after the rodent has stuck its head out. Their thin and lithe bodies make them very quick. Cheek fur actually makes the coyote’s face look wider and emphasizes the thinness of the snout. The coyote’s bones, tendons and muscles are made so it can run after prey, leap and twist when pursuing quick moving small prey, and lope a long period of time without tiring.

Their high intelligence, aided by their very keen senses — hearing seeing and smelling are very acute —  has helped them survive in the wild and adapt to entirely new environments. They use their ears, which are triangular shaped and point up, to communicate with each other. Backs of their ears are a rusty red. They have yellow eyes, which can see in very dim light.

Coyotes are very secretive and and are very evasive, which is why most people don’t see them. They are naturally fearful and cautious of humans. However, you may see a bolder one right out in the open, quite unconcerned, maybe on a hillside. They keep their dens well hidden, keeping several of these as alternatives. This way, when fleas build up, or if the coyotes feel a threat is nearby, they move on to one of their other dens. They dig these themselves sometimes, but sometimes they just fix up hollows which they have found. Only 5-20 percent of coyote pups survive their first year.

The coyote’s front footprints can be distinguished from that of a dog, because its two middle toes actually point inwards, compared to those of a dog. Coyotes walk only on their toes!

Coyotes have the same teeth as dogs: four canines for holding on to prey. The teeth behind these, the premolars, are used for tearing prey. And they have molars for chewing, but these are not used frequently by coyotes unless they need to crunch bones or nuts. One thing I’ve noticed is that a coyote’s tongue is very long and maneuverable — possibly more so than a dog’s: a coyote can curl its tongue way out, encircling its nose!

Coyotes in desert areas are active during the cooler early morning and twilight hours. In mild climates they are active during daylight hours. When food is plentiful they might hunt at night, sleeping during the day. All of these alternatives have been noted in San Francisco.

Coyotes yip, bark, huff, yelp, whine, whimper and howl: these are quite high pitched compared to a dog’s bark or a dog’s baying. Coyotes may engage in these vocalizations for a considerable period of time — sometimes 20 minutes or longer. No dog bark will ever sound like the high pitched and continuous bark of a coyote!

I’ve mostly seen coyotes hunt alone. But I did see two females dig at the same spot. It could have been that they were working as a team: one digging at a burrow, the other waiting for the rodent to emerge. Coyotes are opportunistic eaters, which means they will adapt their eating habits to food in the area. They eat small rodents, insects, reptiles, fruit and berries. Several of them will prey on larger animals, such as deer, when the rodent supply is down or in hibernation.

Aggression should be addressed here. Coyotes are not particularly aggressive animals. Most coyotes pose little threat to humans. However, they will defend themselves against dogs if they are chased or interfered with — defending and aggression are not the same thing. One needs to look at statistics to really understand the minor extent of danger to humans: as of this posting, there have been only two human deaths from coyotes ever reported. These were bizarre anomalies. Dog bites, however, including from one’s own pets, are in the tens of thousands, and deaths from dogs are in the hundreds. The relatively few coyote aggression incidents have mostly occurred in Southern California where they have been linked to feedings, even if the feedings were unintentional. Please, never feed or try to tame a coyote: feeding them has been isolated as the source of their aggressiveness towards humans. Once they have been fed, they begin pursuing humans for the food they think is owed to them. Also, please keep your dogs leashed in coyote areas, both to protect the coyote and your dog!

A Few Hours of Morning Rest: Coyote behavior

18 Nov 2009 Leave a comment

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

I am going to describe two and a half hours of one coyote’s mostly-restful morning. The coyote moved four times after I saw it. Its “on the go” times were 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 20 minutes and 10 minutes. It stayed 15 minutes in the first location, an hour in the second location, 4 minutes overlooking the park and then disappeared into the brush. Here are the details:

At 6:30, before my camera would even operate, a coyote appeared suddenly below the path, fairly close. I think it had come in my direction because of a dog — a calm dog who does not chase coyotes. It sat on the slope of the hill, facing downhill, and looked at us over its back. Then, within only a few moments, it ran off into the brush. About five moments later it re-appeared again much further down the hill. We walked around to this area, a 10 minute walk, to find the coyote still sitting where I had last seen it. My walking friend and dog departed and I stuck around for the light to get better as the day progressed — maybe I would get some photos before the coyote slithered into the underbrush. The coyote had been resting here for about 15 minutes.

At 6:49 the coyote suddenly took off up the hill, to a wooded area next to some wooden stairs. I lost the coyote for about 20 minutes. During this time it probably wandered some more, and may have foraged, but I can’t be sure. It re-appeared sitting on the path a ways in front of me. The wooded area above this path is fairly secluded and shaded, not close to the path. Most people and dogs would miss seeing a coyote here, unless they were actually looking for it. After wandering up to this wooded area, the coyote remained here for the next hour:

  • 7:15 eats some grass
  • 7:25-7:30 lies down
  • 7:30-7:43 sits up and is “on the lookout” because a group of walkers and dogs have approached. These are dogs that have chased the coyote in the past. I am asked if the coyote is around and I nod. They see the coyote, then leash up. The coyote hurries up to be closer to an escape route, but remained in view. After the group has left, the coyote returns to its former resting spot.
  • 7:45-8:05 lying down again, eyes closing and head nodding, off-and-on
  • 8:15 again on the lookout as various individual dog walkers pass below — none sees the coyote. At 8:17 the coyote  yawns and at 8:23 it gets up and stretches, and then takes a bite of a twig

At 8:25 the coyote starts to wander, keeping itself interspersedly occupied:

  • 8:27-8:30 hops on a tree stump with all four legs — apparently the coyote likes the tree stump because it remains here a full three minutes, looking around.  Then it continues its walk
  • 8:38-8:42 it stalks a cat, initially staring at it and then moving ever so slowly and quietly towards it — “cat-fashion”, and then suddenly dashes in. Cats are too fast for coyotes to catch unless they are old or ill. The cat easily lost the coyote.
  • 8:45 the coyote urinates and continues on, wandering in an easy manner.
  • 8:46-8:50 the coyote has reached a rock outcropping, which it lithely runs up, and then over to the furthest ledge. Here the coyote remains, scoping out the wide swath of park below
  • 8:50 the coyote suddenly runs down the rocks, then trots briskly through the wooded area and down a hill towards a little rise on the hill below. The coyote sits here for just a few moments observing the lack of activity below, yawns at 8:56 and then disappears into the brush for the day at 9:00

I noted a lot of scratching during this time frame:  at 7:12, 7:33, 7:43 and 8:19.

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’ …

Maybe an Invitation to Play: Coyote behavior

10 Nov 2009 Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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