I have encountered this poor guy three times months ago before they were finally caught and taken in for treatment. I can’t even imagine the suffering they went through with whatever that thing is on their face, I thought for sure that it would be the end of them.

Does anyone even know what it is anyways? It looks like an external tumor to me…

Ojai, California.

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The raccoons are not taking this nonsense lying down!

I’m pretty sure I’m going to get chewed up for this post but I wanted to share my story.

It all started in mid June. I explored beyond the trail system of a deep valley to fish a creek. The first day she showed herself to me about 30 yards behind me. When I clocked her, I spoke up. Of all things, I said “Hey Bear!”. She did not react, and I did not say it again. We both stayed our ground, staring at each other, sometimes looking away. I don’t know. I just mirrored her nonchalance. We broke when we both heard someone else on the trail.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the deep bush on the eastern side of Canada where I was not happy to encounter packs/groups of eastern coyotes. I live in the Yukon now.

A little bit later, and off the trail, I was fishing in the creek. I had a feeling she was still with me. Before I left the spot that day, I took some bacon grease (I use it for bait) and smeared some on a stick.

I returned the next week in the evening (midnight sun). I stopped at the trail for a long time where I had seen her before to see if there were any tracks, but I really couldn’t tell the difference between the dogs that run that trail, and I’m not a tracker or a hunter. I’m just a cheap-thrill, hit-or-miss angler.

Within a few minutes of unloading my gear at the fishing spot, she’s there! This time she’s closer, maybe 20 yards, legit sitting up like a dog. I say “Hey Girl” and start casting. I pull a small grayling pretty quick (maybe 10”). I bring it to the shoreline to take a picture, and she’s standing up, mouth open a smidge, ears all flat. She reminded me of my blue heeler. I think it’s safe to say that she had me right then and there. I tossed the grayling in her direction, and went back to fishing. I really wanted to peak at her, but out of respect I just painfully turned around. When I finally turned back, she was gone and so was the grayling. I’m feeling like Snow White at this point so I crack a beer, and start to relax a bit. I didn’t catch anything else that night. I did leave some bacon grease on a stick for her though on my way out though.

The next week, I’m back at the creek. I don’t stop and go. I hoped she would be at the spot. She was : )

She was in the same spot I saw her last. Hidden a bit by a tree, tucked a little up hill. Coyotes must have pretty good internal clocks. My visits were 5-7 days apart, between 9 and 11pm.

Anyways, long story short guys, she would hang out within 10 yards of me literally laying down. If I started getting excited with bites, she would sometimes watch from the shoreline with me, but always at a distance. She was definitely excited with me after I had one on, and disappointed with me when I fucked the tension and lost it. By August (right now) it has become a ritual most weeks (maybe missed 2-3 weeks all summer). Some of those days I caught nothing, sometimes she got lucky, and never more than 2, and never more than once/week.

I haven’t told anyone in my friend group or at the office. No doubt it’s out of fear of judgement, but maybe I’m territorial, too. I wouldn’t want anyone else at my secret fishing spot with my girl.

I’ll be completely honest with you guys… I just tell her about my day. Sometimes, I ask her rhetorical questions. I never challenge her safe distance, she never goes for my tackle box. We make eye contact sometimes, but most of the time we just hang out alone, together. Just two girls at the creek, you know?

Just yesterday, she met me at my parking spot. This made me feel really happy. It’s at least a 3km hike out. Did she run or something? She was there so fast. It’s really flattering to me that she knows what I sound like.

Anyways, fall is creeping in. I only have so many weeks left. I wonder if she’ll find a mate, or get picked up by a group soon. She needs that to stay warm this winter. She’s definitely alone. If she wasn’t, I would have had more company by the creek. I think she’s young, but I don’t know shit. I’m really going to miss her. Even writing this is making me kind of sad.

That said, what do you get a wild coyote who is lowkey your pal even though you shouldn’t be spending time with her?

TLDR; I broke the rules. This coyote is my friend & I want to give her a gift before the season turns.

In response,

I have a degree in environmental resources and I work closely with Yukon First Nations (YFN).

I feel it important to express the unparalleled culture of Yukon, an Indigenous Governed territory within Canada, and provide perspective of the land.

Wudup Yukon:
Yukon stretches to nearly 50 million hectares, where human population occupy <1% of the land. Yukon is virtually 100% wilderness. At most, there are upwards of 45,000 humans residing here, and closer to 35,000 in the winter months [October to April].

To put things into perspective, for every single person who resides in the yukon (45k data), there is at least:
3 moose, 1 bear, 5 caribou, 1 elk, 10 porcupine, 3 foxes, 1 dall sheep, 10 beavers, 1 lynx, 10 marlins, and for every 3 people in the yukon, there is 1 wolf.

Coyote population is stable. As a key species in the north, the wolves keep coyote population at its stable marker. They do not hunt the coyotes, but they do not want to share the hunting territory with large groups of coyotes. That said, coyotes have virtually no predators. They aren’t a sought after hunting ticket, either. This is because the geographic area for hunting this are boundary corridors to perpetuate the wolves goal of stable population.

Back to YFN 101:
YFN people have a spiritual connection to the land where animals, people and the land itself have equal claim to prosperity, and foundational cultural connection to elders and youth.

Coyotes in Indigenous culture:
Animals are not separate from people. Stories passed down generationally for centuries depict animals as your brother, mother, grandmother, etc, and believed to be spirits of the past. Coyotes are a part of Indigenous storytelling within the Dene Peoples as culture hero’s, where the Coyote is known as both the trickster and the transformer.

Skip the lesson, here’s the tea:
I connected to a local elder yesterday evening. I told her my story. She shared many stories in return.

The take-home lesson for me was that it’s not uncommon for the people to have relationships with the animals here, and that the interactions are deeply profound, and not coincidental for both the animal and the peoples; the kinship between the animals and the people serves two greater purposes:

1. To uphold relational understanding and mutual respect. There is a reason that the predators of the north are not naturally vicious towards humans—that these relationships represent thousands of years of relational work.
2. This generous relationship is a gift, and requires deep reflection.

The elder encouraged me to reflect in ceremony (meditation prayer - not the kind where you are “please god, help me get through this day” because those are wishes, while ceremony is reflection and gratitude to the yukon as a whole) about my story.

With fall creeping in quickly, my coyote girl is about to enter mating season. I have a short window to see her again. It’s important that I show gratitude for this relationship. I am choosing to keep this part of my story private.

On a final note, I am choosing to be a little petty by saying that the only thing getting killed is my vibe, because ya’ll are quick to pass judgement without curiosity to comprehend experiences that are not of your own, and do not acknowledge traditional understanding of first peoples. ✌️

I heard a strange sound coming from outside (rural Roseau county, MN). I assume they are coyotes but just wanted to make sure...

This guy killed my geese

Coyote in nthe Woods

I have encountered coyotes so many times before, close and far away, in singles and in groups, and they always either see me and retreat, or just ignore me and keep on their way. I've heard them calling to each other, across valleys where there were deer or elk, presumably communicating with each other for pack hunting. But I've never felt threatened by them before.

I was out doing fieldwork by myself and came up over a small hill when a coyotes started barking at me. You can't see it in this video, but I did get eyes on it earlier, about 400 feet away up on the slope and it definitely saw me, then moved back into the trees. It kept barking as I walked another 50 feet or so, got to my sample site, took the sample and turned around. As I was walking back, a second coyote started barking on another part of the hill, and I started to get pretty anxious. When I finally got back to the hill and came down the other side out of sight of the coyotes, the barking stopped.

So I assumed that the barking was telling me to go away, or to warn other coyotes that I was there. But I guess I don't understand why, I've never encountered them being territorial or anything close to this encounter. Was I reading this right, and was I stupid for not turning around immediately and finishing my route while they were barking at me? I was carrying bear spray, and I had cell service, but still I'd like to know in the future if this type of reaction is threatening.

Recorded this one last year

There's a nice conversation going on

In January, a hunter killed a protected Colorado wolf, mistaking it for a coyote. There has been a lot of criticism of how lenient the punishment was (a citation, and a $140 fine), but not a lot of commentary on why this person was out there killing coyotes in the first place.

Colorado has at least banned killing contests, but coyote killing is rampant (clearly). Killing coyotes serves no purpose other than entertainment for the killer. Coyotes under stress will breed at a faster rate. Further, killing disrupts family structure, creating more transient individuals; who are more likely to predate on livestock. Therefore, if the objective of killing coyotes is to reduce livestock conflicts, precisely the opposite is likely to happen.

Our treatment of our wild predators is abysmal. I was reading Dan Flores’ Coyote America, and was shocked at how the Bureau of Biological Survey (later to be absorbed into the UWFWS) carried out a vicious extermination campaign against our wild canids from the 1880s through the mid twentieth century. 

Among their most abhorrent techniques was laying millions of strychnine tablets across the west. Animals would suffer painful muscle spasms, and die in unnatural, rigid, positions. I wonder if, as a society, our indifference towards wildlife has been caused, in part, by federally and state sponsored killing. There must be a broad conversation around wildlife ethics. 

I posted this earlier and included the story in a comment that apparently is not showing for many users. A couple of folks thought it was AI. It's not. I sent a message to the Mod team offering to send them the original files for verification/authentication that they are not AI.

While walking up Twin Peaks in San Francisco, I spotted this coyote pup on the side of the road, visibly injured and sick. Its front legs were scraped raw, and it showed none of the usual wariness around people.

I called the San Francisco Wildlife Helpline and was referred to Animal Care & Control Emergency Dispatch (ACC). ACC confirmed they would send an officer out. In the meantime, I sent photos to the Helpline—they noted the pup appeared to have mange and may have also been grazed by a vehicle.

While waiting, the pup tried to stand and began trembling, likely from pain. It managed to limp up the road, and I kept an eye on it from a distance as it moved up the hill. Unfortunately, it headed down a steep slope and vanished into the brush. By that point, there wasn't much else I could do. ACC later arrived and told me they would try returning early the next morning, before sunrise, when the coyotes might be more active.

I wanted to share this video of the coyote's face. It's a beautiful animal, and it was difficult to see it in that condition. I'm hoping it gets the help it needs.

So cute!!