"TINY DANCER" - Coyote

February 03, 2025  •  Leave a Comment

"TINY DANCER"

Coyote - 8 Photos

 

Not the song, but the "song dog"! :) 

 

 

The coyote featured in the photos below is probably the smallest young adult coyote I've ever encountered. Most likely the youngest of her siblings born in Spring 2024. She appeared in a previous blog, "Scarf - January 9, 2025" and I had based her gender on her delicate features & size but now having photos that show her lower underbelly, I can say almost 100% certain, Scarf is female.

 

So that takes care of the "Tiny" portion of the title. Onto the "Dancer" part.

 

I had seen Scarf enter a meadow so I followed a parallel path hoping to catch sight of her before she completely disappeared. Much to my surprise, on just the other side of the path, she had stopped to hunt close to a small thicket. And she had obviously had caught the sound/scent of a rodent under the snow. 

 

Scarf may be small in size but she definitely makes up for that in attitude & determination. She tried not once, not twice but three times doing the stand, jump & pounce manoeuvre. In the end, she tried to simply dig under the snow & excavate but to both of our disappointments, no meal.

 

Like foxes, coyotes can jump straight up in the air and plunge headfirst into the snow with their mouths wide open ready for a catch. If successful, they will emerge with a rodent. Because of a coyote's larger size, that jump can be higher, longer & more dramatic than that of a fox's. 

 

The hunting technique is worthy of choreography found in classical dance, incorporating balance, strength and grace, only lasting seconds. Hence, the "dancer" portion of the blog's title.

 

But as with all wildlife, there is no holding onto the past. There is only the now and what other possible prospects there might be in other locations. It was a quick expedition down a bank and along the creek (Photo #7) and then onto hopefully more lucrative hunting successes.

 

PHOTO #1

 

PHOTO #2

PHOTO #3

PHOTO #4

PHOTO #5

PHOTO #6

PHOTO #7

 

PHOTO #8

 


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