Coyote — A Battle-Scarred Veteran

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A quick correction from yesterday’s post. I stated yesterday that the male American Avocet’s beak is more deeply curved than is the female’s. Of course, the opposite is correct and several sharp-eyed readers pointed that out. Mea culpa.

We have Coyotes living in our neighborhood, which is not at all unusual for suburban Tucson. Many of Tucson’s suburbs have been carved out of the desert, with large areas of undeveloped land sitting in between and among subdivisions. That is ample habitat for Coyotes — they’ve adapted well to living in close proximity to humans.

I walk our dog very early in the morning, usually well before sunrise. I’m frequently serenaded by Coyotes and I see them occasionally, usually as shapes that appear briefly in the twilight and then disappear — but not before the dog warns them off with deep growls and threatening barks.

The other morning, I was returning from a drive when I encountered this individual just a few meters from our home.

This no youngster. He’s a grizzled veteran. His legs and face show multiple scars. Not visible in this image is a nearly-healed wound on his flank. He is a reminder that life is a constant struggle for animals, including Coyotes. I can only imagine what this individual has experienced, but whatever it has, it has been a hard existence.

The Coyote stared at me warily for a few seconds. Then, he faded into the brush and disappeared.

Image made with a Canon R5, Canon EF 400mm f4 DO II lens+Canon EF 1.4x telextender, M setting (auto ISO), ISO 500, f5.6 @ 1/1250.

coyote coyotes wildlife