Taking a look this week at one of our more wily neighbors, the infamous coyote. These beautiful and cunning creatures have held the interest (and ire) of humans for thousands of years. A creature of lore in Native American tradition, and one often of disdain in more modern society, the coyote holds an interesting position in the hierarchy of the natural world. Scavenger, hunter, opportunist, they are well known for their cunning, intelligence, subterfuge, and likely more than anything, their tenacity in existence.

In Native lore, the coyote covers many roles that vary greatly from nation to nation. In some the creature is generally considered a malevolent and devious being, in others reigning as the chief of all animals before the age of man. Whichever role one chooses to ascribe to these animals, there are countless tales from which to learn and enjoy that cover all of these bases. A running theme in all tends to be one of guile, wits (often, but not always), intelligence and humor. There is nothing quite like the sound of the laughing yips of a pack on a warm summer night.

In the “modern” world they are most often considered a nuisance as they are well known for preying on livestock and sometimes pets. In much of the United States, it is legal to hunt and kill coyotes any time of the year without any license or tags required. That said, in terms of hunting they tend to be an incredibly difficult quarry due to their cunning and intelligence.

Most kills tend to occur by “chance” encounters when the animal is approaching livestock, or caught unawares while they themselves are hunting. Like many canine predators, the majority of their kills tend to be rodents. While they are often hated by ranchers and farmers for their killing of livestock, they are also conversely considered a boon for their efficient removal of prairie dogs and other smaller pests from the land.

One of the most interesting conundrums for those who dislike the coyotes and seek to remove them is the animal’s aforementioned tenacity of existence. They have developed a unique method of species survival in that when a pack suffers a loss due to aggressive control (hunting/ killing by man), the response is to go into a mating frenzy, oftentimes breeding at a younger age as well as producing larger litters. A pack can suffer losses of up to 70% or more and bounce back with not only rapidity, but also greater numbers.

They are nearly impossible to eradicate, as seen by the fact that while they have been very aggressively hunted for well over 100 years throughout North America, their numbers have only grown and territories have increased. At the end of the day, the best known method for true “control” of the species is simply hazing them and creating a space that they may not find amiable for their own existence.

I happened upon this beautiful specimen a few years ago as it was making its way through my former front yard. A cacophony was being raised by a number of crows and magpies that caught my ear from inside the house. This ruckus is often a good way to “track” a canine predator, as these bird species tend to not only seem to dislike the coyotes and foxes, they also enjoy following simply to scavenge off of a kill themselves. I stepped out to attempt to capture a few images and realized that one of the alarming creatures was caught unawares and seemed to be making a fine lunch for the coyote. With a seemingly wry smile, the creature made a few quick gulps of the winged snack then hurriedly continued its journey into deeper forest.

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[Additional information for this article came from the following sources: https:// www.humanesociety.org/resources/whykilling coyotes-doesnt-work, http://www.native-languages.org/legends-coyote.htm.]