Canis latrans singing the desert's music
With February being the month for Valentines I thought how appropriate to blog
about one of the wild critters who also feels romance in the air this time of
year. The month of February is most often when the coyote's attention turns from
stalking a favorite snack to wooing a mate. Coyotes are known for being good
parents as both mother and father feed their pups by regurgitating food they
have found while hunting.
Following a gestation period of only sixty days, the
mother may have a litter of up to nineteen pups. The pups mature quickly, are
ready for weaning in about one month and reach their full size in a year.
Keeping a close family unit, the males most often leave the pack while the
female pups remain in the unit.
Coyotes prefer to hunt at night in pairs, but on several hikes I have been fortunate to spot a single coyote hunting during the morning. I have never been allowed to get too close and that is where my telephoto lens comes in. I've been asked numerous times if I wasn't afraid of being attacked and the answer is No. Maybe if I cornered one in a barn, but that isn't likely to ever happen.
A family of coyotes lived
across the pasture at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park and on summer weekends I
would go out to the park for exhibits and events. One day on my drive out, I
saw a duck get hit by a car. I stopped to retrieve the dead, warm duck in a
plastic bag. I wanted to see if one of the coyotes would come and take the duck
back to the den. Sure enough, I hardly had time to focus my camera when one of
the coyotes grabbed the duck and ran back out of sight.
Every time I hear Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Music of the Night", I think of the coyotes singing at night. There is something about their howls on a warm desert night that just seems right. I will never forget during our Wildflower Photography Workshop at Death Valley hearing the coyotes break the silence in the early morning hours before dawn.
In my opinion, Coyotes are given a very bad rap and it breaks my heart to know that they are being hunted and killed just for sport. Coyotes do their part to keep nature in balance by eating rodents, rabbits and squirrels. Their diet may also consist of birds, lizards, snakes, plants and fruits. Yes, they will kill and eat cats and small dogs, which is why I keep my cats inside at night. The main predators other than humans to coyotes are bears, wolves and mountain lions. It makes me wonder when we continue to target all the natural predators what will keep nature in check.
So as long as there are the Canis latrans, the "barking dog", I will enjoy the desert night where the greatest sound is silence and I anticipate like with a blank sheet of music for nature to supply the notes
What
an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been. I love
it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get
treated to new experiences.
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Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.
"Reflecting Nature's Artistry"
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