Fauna Series No. 4

Fauna of the National Parks — No. 4 Ecology of the Coyote in the Yellowstone

CHAPTER III:
HABITS BEHAVIOR AT CARRION

LIMITATIONS ON TRAVEL

IN the North, sled dogs frequently get sore feet, so that it is often necessary to equip them with moccasins. A crust through which dogs break, or coarsely crystallized snow, may wear raw spots on the sides of the toes, so as to cause them great discomfort. If conditions are bad a dog team may be considerably crippled. Some dogs are more subject to injury from unfavorable snow conditions than others, but all are susceptible.

It is probable that the coyote is less subject to sore feet than most domestic dogs, but many signs were observed that coyotes are also subject to this affliction. Two or three coyotes were seen which had a slight, almost imperceptible, limp characteristic of snow-injured feet. On a number of occasions little specks of blood were found in coyote tracks. These were especially prevalent during one period when a light crust, which had formed on the snow, was too weak to bear the weight of the coyote, and the animal broke through the surface from 1-1/2 to 4 inches. At this time the snow had taken a coarse crystalline form which aggravated the effects of the weak crust. Such snow conditions probably handicap the coyote sufficiently to reduce its movements.

TOLERANCE OF HUMANS

COYOTES often become quite tame when protected, just as they become exceedingly wary and wild when hunted. Occasionally an exceedingly tame and friendly coyote is found in a litter of pups. During the winter of 1936—37 a coyote became so tame at Mammoth that it was frequently fed and as a result of close association with it at least one person was bitten. This animal was finally shot because of its undue familiarity—another example of the unfortunate consequences sometimes resulting from feeding and taming wild animals that are large enough to injure a person.

During the winter of 1936—37, when the coyotes were hard pressed for food, two or three frequently came to the ranger's residence at Tower Falls to feed on garbage and to get food morsels tossed to them. One of these coyotes became so tame that it would come to the cabin when the ranger whistled. The following summer a tame coyote, apparently the one which had been fed during the winter, was seen several times at Tower Falls. By throwing pieces of cheese to it we were once able to bring it within 6 or 7 yards of us.

Dr. Frank Oastler told me that he found a coyote in Hayden Valley which was so tame that it would almost feed from his hand. I met a coyote in Hayden Valley the following summer that came trotting up within 15 yards of me. After I had returned to the car for a camera he became more wary.

Sawyer, in Yellowstone Nature Notes (November 1924, p. 3), reports a coyote pup coming up within 40 or 50 yards of him while he was tying a horse at the Canyon barn. The pup apparently returned several times, for Sawyer writes: "A few days later this companionable coyote called at the Canyon Ranger Station, whereupon his intercourse with man came to an end."

Since the cessation of control in the park, coyotes in general have become less wary and are therefore probably more in evidence along the roads. This is a factor that must be taken into consideration in comparing the present size of the coyote population with what it was when control was practiced.

Last Modified: Thurs, Dec 20 2001 10:00:00 pm PDT
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