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Monday, May 2, 2011

A sunny bike ride and coyote behavior

Yesterday, I put my post up very late due to our unbelievably slow internet. If you missed yesterday's post, you might enjoy checking it out. A huge bear did a tree-marking display for one of my wildlife cameras. I was ecstatic with the photos of the rotund bear on his hind legs rubbing his back against a tree.

This morning, we all smiled to see sunshine! The Duo and I went for a mountain bike ride and soaked up the rays!
The Labraduo ran like the wind.
We headed straight for Hug Hill, where K arrived joyfully.
She and her brother posed together with that blue sky shining behind them. Because he's black, R gets hot much faster than his sister. The air temperature was below freezing but the sun was strong and heated up his fur very fast. Hence, he panted like a freight train.
Then, an unbelievable moment, both dogs looked at me at the same time and no tongues were hanging out!
But, not for long...
I consider the route up to Hug Hill to be one of our coyote-safe routes where I don't need to worry so much about the coyote pack luring my dogs into trouble. Far fewer coyotes wander up there than in the lower meadows. Alas, the coyote pack proved me wrong as they visited a wildlife camera along that route. A quartet showed up at the scent post that a mountain lion has marked twice in the past month. Remember this...
And this...
Just the other day, the coyote pack discovered the spot that the mountain lion had scraped and then urinated on. First, the wild canine forerunner arrived and sniffed the pile of pine needles and dirt that the lion scraped up during his marking.
Then, two more coyotes arrived and were equally interested.
They panicked for a moment. I'm not sure if it was the lion scent or something else going on in the forest that scared them.
 After the panic, the quartet held a meeting.
Then, they marked the spot with their own urine, one-by-one.
The next two photos show coyotes who seemed to be marking both the lion scrape and their packmates' heads at the same time.
I wonder what possessed these coyotes to advertise their presence to a predator who can and does kill coyotes. I don't understand it.

Now, this scent post has been marked by a bear, mountain lions, bobcats, and coyotes. Both deer and elk have sniffed the spot. A rabbit forages next to it regularly.

I think that all the animals are talking to each other but I'm not sure what they're saying!

23 comments:

  1. Yep, I definitely think they are talking to each other, too bad we don't speak the same language. Those pictures of K and B sitting together are amazing!

    Your pal, Pip

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  2. Oh to transport those khuties ;-)

    As for R - once again, I can read Mango's mind on those pics!

    Khyra says nice khytty pics too!

    We were glad you enjoyed the khuteness overload Monday morning!

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  3. Hi Y'all,

    Wonder what the lion and bear will think upon their return?

    Hawk aka BrownDog

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  4. That's great. Those coyotes seemed pretty excited.

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  5. Wouldn't you just love to know? I so wish my pups could talk to me, especially my old boy.

    TD often lifts his leg at the most inopportune times for Ciara:)

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  6. The pictures of the duo are beautiful!

    I think that scenting area is the hot spot in your neck of the woods! Wish we knew what they were talking about!

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  7. It sounds like the makings of a great contest! "What were the coyotes thinking?" Perhaps they thought that their numbers might scare the lion off or something. It's a mystery!

    I love those two photos of K and R! I know how tough it is to get closed mouth shots!

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  8. K and R,, are both so beautiful, and what cool shots you captured!

    Sometimes when I walk in the woods, I smell all that pee mail too,, and wonder who was here and what they say.... just like you,, I wonder.
    The 4 pack is gorgeous!
    love
    tweedles

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  9. It's their own little blogashere, each leaving comments, as you've noted before :-)

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  10. The behavioural traits of animals are intriguing. What could the 4 have been thinking of ?

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  11. This scent post is interesting. Strange that so many different animals use it.

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  12. I'm not sure if I want to know what Puddles is thinking:)

    Albert and Whitney are like R in color so they get incredibly hot fast.

    Allison...puddles mum

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  13. Boy, it is tough to get a decent photo of two dogs together. I'm just discovering that now. They are as easily distracted as I am. I've also thought it strange the way animals mark and remark. I thought the point was to show "this is my turf" and warn off other animals. Yet, obviously, it's not the point or it doesn't work. So maybe there's another communication going on we just don't understand.

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  14. Love the photos of K & R! I always enjoy seeing your wild life pictures... so amazing to see them acting so natural.
    -Corbin's momma, Jenn

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  15. Wow! Amazing pictures of the coyote pack! That made my day! And loved the picture of the dynamic duo so focused on you of course :)
    xoxo

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  16. Fantastic photos of coyotes, mountain lion and your great dogs! I tweeted your blog entry at my user name @coyotewrites Are you on twitter? Thanks so much for sharing your photos! Stay safe. Best, Bonnie

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  17. What an absolute hoot! I love the pictures of the dogs together, but your story of the many species scent post is classic! Boy, the cartoons we could come up with for that!!!

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  18. Looks like a popular spot in the forest.

    K and R are gorgeous as always. Make sure you check out our WW post tomorrow. It's inspired by your dogs. :)

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  19. P.S. - I bet you're thankful for those cameras, and the information they provide. Now you know the coyotes are present where you figured they weren't. Good to know!

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  20. Anonymous,

    I don't tweet. Actually, when it comes to smart phones etc, I'm in the dark ages because we don't have cell reception in my area.

    Thanks for tweeting about my post!

    Although coyotes scare me in terms of my dogs' safety, I love having wild canines around. They certainly keep me on my toes as I try to keep my dogs safe!

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  21. We had an interesting coyote sighting last week, but I couldn't tell by its urination posture if it was male or female. Not a leg lift, not a squat ... more of a lean forward. Thoughts?

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  22. Roxanne,

    A lean forward would seem like a male to me. My male dogs lean forward to pee when they don't feel like lifting a leg. But, females always squat.

    Just a guess!

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  23. Really interesting, KB - you're definitely right in that they're communicating something. I would guess that each is saying in their own dialect, "MINE!"

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