Yote

Yote - short for coyote.  Wile E. Coyote.  Canis latrans.   

Wildlife biologists will tell you that there are nineteen subspecies of coyote that are widely adapted to life both in urban and rural America.  Males of the species grow as large as 44 pounds while females weigh-in slightly less.  My Labs are bulkier than the average coyote.

Unlike the very spooked rural animal in the photo, urban-dwelling coyotes can become quite habituated to the presence of humans and lose much of their natural fear of people.  Coyotes around here are shy and retiring.  I rarely see one live and in-person although I hear their vocalizations regularly. 








And they’ve been showing-up rather regularly on the trail cameras.  Always after dark.  And not very far from the house. 

This photo from only a week ago gave me a start as my initial impression was that this was an adult moving a pup from one location to another.  

Until this photo taken a day later showed-up.  Same location - different date and time. 

click on the images for a closer look

 

Both photos are poorly composed as the animal was moving at a reasonably fast clip.  Nevertheless they clearly show a coyote carrying an animal in its mouth.   I remain unconvinced as to what it is although I tend to lean towards dinner.  There’s a lot of preying going on around here as the predators are rearing their broods now – be they coyote pups or newly-hatched owls.

The trail cameras have been reloaded with fresh SD cards so stay-tuned for further developments.