Understanding Coyote Behaviors
Have you ever had an “encounter” with a Coyote?
“Encounter”…. what is it? Well, it is often defined as an “unexpected meeting.” Because people in our culture have little knowledge and experience with Coyotes [or other wildlife for that matter] persons who do unexpectedly meet coyotes most often do not understand a Coyote’s natural behavior, and most often their perspective is the result of fear.
That person misses an opportunity to fully experience the nature of this wild being…and be enriched and delighted by it.
Sharing here two valuable commentaries on Coyote behavior~
http://thefurbearers.com/blog/three-behaviours-people-mistake-aggression-coyotes
http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/encounters-with-coyotes-zbcz-1608.aspx
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National Geographic ~ Coyote America
UNDERSTANDING HISTORY ~
How important is it to understand the REAL history of our country? VASTLY IMPORTANT!
We cannot truly understand the perspectives held in our society today … and the behaviors that result, without understanding the perspectives and actions of those who came before us.
I highly encourage every American to read author Dan Flores’ new book Coyote America: a Natural and Supernatural History. Most Americans have no idea of the all out war on our native carnivores that has taken place in the last 400 years, and in the West, the last 200 years. But despite the atrocities heaped on our Native Wild Canine ~ Coyote, they have survived!
Dan Flores tells the story of this incredibly successful species that will not allow us to annihilate them. Our continent holds one of Evolution’s Greatest Success Stories ~ Coyote!
Read below article written by National Geographic from a conversation with the author ~
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/coyote-america-dan-flores-history-science/
Read MoreCougar Kittens ~ Coyote Pups
photo by Tambako
Spring and Summer is a time of birth ~
Rebirth of the wondrous array of plants and trees
Birth of farm animals under our care
Birth of wild ones like Coyotes and Cougars
Life in the wild is never easy and being a wild parent is a challenge to all their survival skills.
Sharing with you here a short film that takes us in to the secret life of a wild mother cougar and her pups. Coyotes parents, like the Cougar mother experience the whole gamut of life and death ~ the intimacy, the play and the loss. Most often we humans never see what the wild parents go through, but our actions can have a powerful effect on their lives … causing life or death. Here is just a small glimpse of their wild world.
Read MoreChappaqua, New York and Killing Coyotes
photo by Jim Hackley
When a wildlife tragedy occurs ….
I always want to take it as an opportunity to educate, and not point fingers. And so, a wildlife tragedy occurred in Chappaqua, New York this month of June. As the story has been told, a female coyote killed a person’s dog and was aggressive to another dog being walked on a leash in a comfortable development over seen by the homeowners association.
The immediate response was to call up Federal Wildlife Service to come, trap, and kill whatever coyote landed in the trap. And they did so without delay, saying that the coyote they killed they thought was “the one!”
This knee jerk response to kill our fellow beings has no place in a society where education regarding our native wild dogs is available in perfusion. But why educate oneself…killing is easier. This sad event reminds me of another event that took place just a few years ago in Ohio when Wildlife Services decided to kill a coyote for some unknown reason of their own, saying that she had rabies. Well….she didn’t! It just so happened that it was May, and she was the alpha mother who had just given birth to her pups.
This family of coyotes lived in the Cleveland Metroparks, visited by many people…biking, hiking picnicking, etc. No one ever saw any member of this Coyote family. They were very reclusive. But after the mother coyote of this family was killed, the whole family went “into chaos” as the lead biologist described it. Once never seen by people, they began running after people on bikes. But….instead of killing the coyotes, the biologists roped off their territory, not allowing any person to be there. They then allowed the coyote family to recover from their loss, and they reverted back to their reclusive behavior once again.
Such a difference between Cleveland, Ohio and Chappaqua, New York!
So the question is ~ why was this coyote in New York aggressive? Was that question ever asked? What time of the year is it.? Oh…pup raising time! Coyotes, like all canines love their pups, and are very protective of their little ones….especially from domestic dogs. Was there a den near by, that she was seeking to protect? What small changes in human behavior would have given the coyotes their sense of safety?
What could have been different in Chappaqua? What have they taught their children?
Killing is the answer!
They could have taught them to ask: How should we change OUR behavior?
Read MoreHeart of A Lion
TODAY ~ IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA, ONE HUMAN VIOLENTLY KILLED 50 OF HIS OWN SPECIES, AND INJURED MORE THAN 50 OTHERS….
And we as a species have slaughtered unimaginable numbers of our fellow non-human beings on this American continent.
Our Carnivores….Coyotes, Cougars and Wolves….. are trying to teach us something about ourselves.
They are returning to the landscape that was once their homeland…like cougars and wolves, and they are once again expanding their range…like coyotes.
Is our only answer once again….to kill them?
I encourage you to read this newly published book, Heart of A Lion by outstanding author, William Stolzenburg. The Cougar, like Coyote and Wolf, is asking us to look at ourselves in the mirror.
When our violence to them will stop…our violence to our own species will stop…not before!
Read MoreTED Talk ~ Cougars and Coyotes
Cougar by Josh More
We are living in a time of Transition ~
A Physical Transition
and
An Internal Transition
As we humans continue to rapidly increase our population on our planet Earth, we are leaving very few places for those we share the planet with. It is especially difficult for large carnivores like cougars, coyotes, bears, and wolves who require large landscapes to survive and disperse through.
These amazing wild beings are showing us that they can find a way to live with us…they can adapt. We are experiencing this especially with Cougars and Coyotes.
BUT……. CAN WE FIND A WAY TO LIVE WITH THEM. And most of that has to do with OUR INTERNAL TRANSITION ~ moving from fear to respect.
Watch this very thoughtful TED Talk by Beth Pratt on P22 and sharing our planet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMO8-f70nFY
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