So the elks were watching a prairie wolf a.k.a. a coyote in my neck of the woods. At first we thought (hoped would be more accurate) it might be a wolf but then we realized it was alone and was on a well beaten game trail around the edge of the river. Both of those things said coyote more than they said Wolf. After we got a good look at it, it was affirmed that she was a well fed, probably female, coyote in her winter coat.
Remember that if you click on these pictures they will enlarge to full size pictures that you can see more clearly. The coyote is in the middle of the picture almost blending in to the background.
She is following her game trail that she may have followed every day for years. Elk are not of interst to her unless they have been killed by some other agent. Carrion is fair game to all yellowstone preditors. Nope, she is hunting smaller game.
We drove on up the road by the river and stopped several times to get in front of her as she hunted. She was hunting the smaller critters, moles, mice, voles and such. In the time we watched her it looked liked she killed and ate a half dozen or so of these animals.
Ever wonder where a good pointer gets the instinct to do what they do?
After a bit she finaly worked her way down to the area where our car was parked and decide to forgo hunting and walked briskly past us.
Once she got to the otherside of the pavement she magically vanished into the landscape. We knew she was still there watching us because the nearby elk kept their gaze glue to the spot where she should have been. One of the Indian names for the coyote is "She Who Watches". *
2 comments:
So how did you get so close? Were you in a vehicle? or on foot? Sorry, I am bit dumb.
Anyway, the coyotes (and of course the bears) are my favorite.
BTW I've been meaning to tell you. I really appreciate you stopping by. It's been rather encouraging and I sure have been needing some lately.
So, Thanks.
"So how did you get so close?"
Part of the time I was in a car with the windows down and part of the time I was out of the car behind some trees. But she knew we were there all the time.
I was using a Sony Digital camera with a 15X Zeiss optical lens and an 8 megabite format. The Camera also has a "Steady Shot" program that helps keep the picture from blurring. That's probably a lot more info that you wanted. Photography has changed so much in the past two decades that I can't keep up. If I tried to get the same results 20 years ago with non-digital cameras that I can get today with digital I would have had to pay ten times the price for the equipment that you pay today. Also I can take a 100 pictures today for what 1 cost 20 years ago.
I read the book about Coyotes by James Frank Dobie 48 years ago. That and the fact I could hear them most nights where I lived has made me their life long fan.
As for stopping by your place, it's my pleasure. Keep your head up and your mind open, and you'll do well pilgram.
As for stopping by your place, it's my pleasure.
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