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Friday, August 16, 2013

Encounter with a Trickster

Becca turns to signal me that she sees something ahead
It's down there beyond the Ocotillos
We had a fairly close encounter with a young Coyote who was hunting in the desert foothills this morning.  It appeared to be a young male, perhaps just beyond adolescence.  He made his presence known to us on several different occasions by appearing in open areas.  Curious about Becca and me he stopped several times to look back and examine us.  But whenever I moved to get a better perspective for a picture he put a little more distance between himself and us.  Coyotes are among the smartest wild animals; many Native Americans called them "Trickster."

Although well-camouflaged we see it's a Coyote (aka "The Trickster")

I'm not sure I've ever seen a Coyote with such a short coat

Unperturbed by our presence it heads down a hill away from us

4 comments:

Scott said...

The coyote in the second-last image is very handsome. Our coyotes here in Pennsylvania are much more robust--like a small German shepherd.

Dr. K said...

That coyote's coat is a beautiful color.

packrat said...

Scott:

I'll bet some enterprising wildlife biologist has done an in-depth study of the differences in genotype/phenotype amongst North American Canis latrans. The most interesting book I've ever read about coyotes was called "God's Dog."

Scott said...

Our coyotes ostensibly arrived in Pennsylvania by crossing through lower Canada. I've heard supposedly knowledgeable people say that the coyotes may have bred with wolves in northern Minnesota and Michigan en route, partially explaining their more robust stature here. I'll check out "God's Dog"; thanks for the suggestion.

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