Tag: coyote

Yellowstone coyote clearly visible, but can you spot the other critter?

Coyote in Yellowstone National Park is being closely watched by another mammal. Can you spot the critter in the image?

Editor’s note: This is a version of a post first published by For The Win Outdoors in 2023.

A bit of advice for anyone visiting Yellowstone National Park: While  searching for wildlife, always take a moment to glance behind you.

It could be rewarding even if you’re already observing large animals.

The accompanying images show a coyote that I photographed in May 2023 while standing near a road with other tourists watching a cinnamon black bear and two cubs.

RELATED: Can you spot the Yellowstone elk in striking ‘moonset’ image?

The bears were down a forested slope, perhaps 80 yards from the road. The coyote was behind us, on the opposite side of the road, passing virtually unnoticed about 40 yards away.

Yellowstone coyote being watched by mystery critter. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

I didn’t realize until that evening that a smaller critter was also in the image, watching the coyote. Can you spot and ID the critter? (Answer below.)

While coyotes aren’t high on many tourists’ spotting lists, I found it interesting that this coyote was on the move so close to people who were looking in the opposite direction.

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On the same trip, also in Yellowstone’s northern range, I was with perhaps 30 tourists watching another black bear descending a slope toward the road.

Cinnamon-colored black bear in Yellowstone National Park. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

People jockeyed for spots from which to observe or photograph the bruin.

Directly behind us, high atop a rocky peak, mountain goats maneuvered in and out of sight.

Yellowstone black bear and cubs during close roadside encounter. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

On a different day, I was surprised at close range, while outside my vehicle, by a momma bear and two cubs. Momma bear gave me the stink eye until I slowly backed away, when she and her cubs resumed grazing.

Yellowstone coyote being watched closely by a ground squirrel. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

My sightings log for three days: 14 individual bears, the coyote and ground squirrel (see photo above), the mountain goats, and dozens of pronghorn and bison.

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Watch: Coyote rams into baby gate in attempt to snatch cat

A coyote was captured in video by a doorbell camera giving its best shot at getting at a cat sitting behind a baby gate and screen door.

A coyote in the front yard of a Southern California home was eyeing a cat that was peering outside behind a baby gate and screen door.

After a few moments, the predator decided to pounce and ran straight into the baby gate and bounced off. The coyote retreated but gave it another go, again ramming into the baby gate and being thwarted.

The coyote repeatedly approached the front door before deciding to move on.

The encounter in Mission Viejo was captured on a doorbell camera. KTLA posted the video on YouTube.

“One of the reasons we like to keep that screen door and baby gate there is she likes to sit on the rug and look out here because we have a lot of bunnies, squirrels and lizards,” Cindy Stalnaker, referring to her cat, Maddy, explained to NBC. “But at night, it’s bunny time, so she likes to watch them.”

Sunday night around 11, Stalnaker and her husband were watching TV when they heard a “loud bang.”

“My husband was like, ‘What the heck was that?’” Stalnaker told NBC.

The doorbell camera showed the coyote lurking around the front door before futilely attempting to break into the house to get the cat.

“He came around just a shot and pow, pow, pow into that metal baby gate,” Stalnaker told NBC. “He wasn’t just walking up and [tapping]. He backed up on the sidewalk and got a running start.”

One wonders what might have happened had the baby gate not been behind the screen door.

Yellowstone coyote not alone; can you spot the other mammal?

The coyote passed virtually unnoticed behind tourists observing bears, but it was definitely noticed by the smaller animal.

A bit of advice for anyone visiting Yellowstone National Park: While  searching for wildlife, always take a moment to look behind you.

This could be rewarding even you’re already observing large animals.

The accompanying images show a coyote that I photographed last May as I stood alongside a road with dozens of others observing a cinnamon black bear with two cubs.

Photo: ©Pete Thomas

The bears were down a forested slope, perhaps 80 yards from the road. The coyote was behind us, on the opposite side of the road, passing almost unnoticed about 40 yards away.

I didn’t realize until that evening that a smaller critter was in the image, watching the coyote. Can you spot and ID the critter? (Answer below.)

Of course, coyotes do not rank high on many tourists’ spotting lists. But I found it interesting that this coyote was on the move and so close to so many people who had no idea it was even present.

Mountain goats on a ridge. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

On the same trip, also in Yellowstone’s northern range, I was with perhaps 30 tourists watching a lone black bear descending a slope toward the road. People jockeyed for spots from which to observe or photograph the bruin.

Directly behind us, high atop a rocky peak, mountain goats maneuvered in and out of sight. They were distant and the accompanying image is cropped and grainy, but I was glad to have documented the sighting before turning my attention back to the bear.

Ground squirrel watching the coyote. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

My mammal sightings log for three days: 14 individual bears, the coyote and ground squirrel (see photo above), the mountain goats, and dozens of pronghorn and bison.

Can you spot the other Yellowstone critter in this spring snapshot?

Tourists who plan to visit the park after it reopens next month should expect plenty of surprises as they scour the landscape in search of wildlife.

Yellowstone National Park is plowing roads in preparation for a spring season that promises a vibrant landscape teeming with wildlife.

With this in mind I’m sharing an image I captured last spring, showing a coyote striding past tourists oblivious to its presence as they observed a cinnamon-colored black bear on the opposite side of the highway.

Can you spot the smaller critter closely watching the coyote? (Answer at the bottom of the post.)

Viewers will note the coyote’s traverse across a lush meadow bursting with wildflowers alongside a highway in the northern range.

I’ve also included images showing the cinnamon-colored black bear and a momma black bear and two cubs, which I encountered on the same afternoon a bit farther east.

Cinnamon-colored black bear and a momma black bear with cubs. Photos: ©Pete Thomas

My visit was in mid-May and I logged sightings of 14 individual bears in three days at various locations – but only the one coyote bypassing the bear jam.

By now you’ve probably spotted and identified the ground squirrel eyeing the coyote, but the critter is circled in the image posted below.

Squirrel checking out the passing predator. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

Yellowstone’s winter season recently ended and most park roads are closed. However,  plowing is underway and select roads will reopen for the spring/summer season on April 19.

–Editor’s note: A similar version of this post was published in the spring of 2023

‘Careless’ coyote hunter cited after accidentally shooting partner

A 70-year-old hunter was hospitalized in Colorado after one of his partners shot him while swinging his shotgun toward a coyote.

A 70-year-old hunter was hospitalized in Colorado on Thursday after one of his partners accidentally shot him instead of the coyote they were pursuing.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife stated in a news release that three hunters, all from Iowa, took aim at a coyote that appeared 50 feet in front of them in Baca County.

One man fired first, and missed the coyote. He then swung his shotgun and fired again, hitting his 70-year-old partner.

“This is a classic example of failure to maintain ‘zone of fire’ awareness,” said Todd Marriott, CPW area wildlife manager based in Lamar. “Hunters must always know where their target is and where the rest of their party is at all times.”

The unidentified victim was hospitalized in Colorado Springs and released after being treated for pellet wounds.

The shooter was identified as Matthew Mullenix, 48, of Urbandale, Iowa. He was charged with careless hunting, an unclassified misdemeanor, and will be fined up to $1,000.

–Coyote image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Coyote fails to learn lesson, becomes fatal victim in Death Valley

A coyote that learned to beg for food along a road in Death Valley failed to learn a lesson the National Park Service was trying to teach it.

A coyote that learned to beg for food along a road in Death Valley failed to learn a lesson the National Park Service was trying to teach it, which was to stay off Badwater Road near Golden Canyon.

Apparently, the coyote had learned that by crossing the road when it saw a car coming, the car would sometimes stop and feed it. It had been doing this for several months.

“We tried hazing it away from the road by shooting it with a paintball gun and pepper spray,” Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds stated in a Death Valley National Park press release. “The only thing the coyote learned was to stay away from park rangers.”

Alas, on Christmas Day, the coyote was struck and killed by a car on the road.

“It is illegal to feed wildlife within Death Valley National Park,” the park stated. “Feeding wildlife often later causes that animal’s death. Wildlife that have been fed by people learn to cross roads when they see a car coming. They learn that this behavior sometimes triggers the car to stop and feed them.”

Unfortunately, this coyote failed to learn its lesson.

Humans need to learn a lesson, too: don’t feed wildlife.

Photos courtesy of Bill Sloan/National Park Service.

Watch: Coyote howls into the night from peculiar perch

The lone coyote appears to have entered a Tucson automobile dealership before attempting to communicate with other coyotes.

Coyotes howl to communicate with other coyotes so it makes sense that a lone coyote would seek higher ground in the hope that its cries would carry farther into the night.

But the roof of a parked car?

The accompanying footage was captured recently in Tucson, Arizona, and shared by Mary Coleman of KOLD News 13.

“Thanks to Patrick Irish for sharing this video with us,” Coleman stated Friday via X. “He caught this Tucson coyote that decided to hop on a car and start howling!”

The coyote appears to have entered an automobile dealership, perhaps inspiring one commenter to remark: “He might be ready for the Toyoyathon to begin.”

The footage lasts only 6 seconds and it’s unclear whether the coyote’s howls were answered.

Can you spot the Yellowstone critter spying the coyote?

While stuck in a bear jam last May in Yellowstone National Park, I spotted a coyote that was being closely watched by a potential prey. Can you spot the smaller critter?

Last May in Yellowstone National Park I observed more bears in three days (14) than I observed during all prior trips later in the season.

I spent hours in “bear jams,” standing outside my vehicle while trying to spot and photograph bruins at various safe distances.

During one sighting, involving a cinnamon-colored black bear and two cubs, I looked back across the highway and spotted a coyote trotting behind the mass of cars and people.

Coyote bypassing a Yellowstone bear jam, closely watched. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

I snapped a photo before turning back to face the bears. It wasn’t until hours later, while checking my images, that I noticed another critter closely watching the coyote.

The image is posted above and a question for readers: How quickly can you spot the critter? (Answer below.)

Most photographers expressed only a passing interest in the coyote; they were laser-focused on the bears.

Cinnamon-colored black bear. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

Momma bear was large and her coat lustrous. She napped briefly while her cubs scampered up a tree and hid in the branches.

Some argued that she was a grizzly because she was not black like most black bears. Others noted that she had the face and pointed ears of a black bear, and lacked the telltale grizzly bear shoulder hump.

Almost all spectators were outside their vehicles and some were in violation of the park’s 100-yard distance rule.

Momma black bear with cubs. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

As more people crept closer for better photo opportunities, the bear management team shut down the viewing session and ordered everyone to leave.

The tourists complied. But as often happens in Yellowstone, many returned within minutes after the bear management team had departed. I saw the new jam forming after turning around and driving past the sighting area, then continued east toward Tower-Roosevelt.

My good fortune continued when another momma black bear (with black fur) and two cubs emerged along the side of the road, where they foraged on grass.

Likely ground squirrel watching the coyote. Photo: ©Pete Thomas

I photographed them for several minutes before a crowd began to gather, then I continued east into Lamar Valley.

The coyote remained an afterthought until I was back in my hotel room in Gardiner. I almost disregarded the image but noticed the ground squirrel at the top of the frame,  intently watching the squirrel-eating coyote.

The squirrel is circled in red in the image posted above.

Watch: Coyote runs after PGA Tour pro’s drive during 2023 Shriners Children’s Open

While substantial galleries tagged along with Lexi Thompson , Cam Davis had an interesting follower.

LAS VEGAS — All eyes were on Lexi Thompson during the opening round of the Shriners Children’s Open as the LPGA star made her first appearance on the PGA Tour courtesy of a sponsor exemption.

But while substantial galleries tagged along with Thompson at TPC Summerlin, Cam Davis had an interesting follower on one of his drives.

After the Aussie hit a drive on the par-5 16th hole, a coyote came rushing onto the fairway, first running toward the tee box, but then turned 180 degrees and went back down the fairway, as if it was following the ball. The coyote eventually peeled off.

Whether he was shaken by the animal sighting or not, Davis knocked his next shot in the water en route to his first bogey of the day.

But Davis made few mistakes after that, rolling his way to a 67 to sit four shots behind leader J.T. Poston after the day’s early wave.

Davis, who has four top-10 finishes in his last five starts, is in the field even though he doesn’t need to play to maintain eligibility in the Tour’s Signature events, he’s happy to be in Vegas and will also play next week at the Zozo Championship in Japan.

“I’ve played well here in the past. I don’t mind this event at all. I’ve actually quite enjoyed it,” Davis said. “Playing next week was always the plan, as well, and there’s travel organized from here to next week, as well, so just makes everything very easy and smooth for us.

“Really, after next week, there’s not going to be much golf for the rest of the year until end of November and December. I like playing, and I’m not going to miss too many events in a row, even if I don’t have to play them, because I do like competing.”

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Coyote no match for stealthy cougar, as trail-cam footage shows

A trail camera in Southern California has captured surreal footage showing a mountain lion following a coyote into the darkness and returning minutes later with dinner.

A trail camera in Southern California has captured surreal footage showing a mountain lion pursuing a coyote into the darkness and returning minutes later with the coyote in its jaws.

Jason Andes, who owns the camera, states in the accompanying footage that the coyote walked past the camera at 10:15 p.m. on a recent night in eastern Orange County.

The mountain lion, or cougar, passed in the same direction 12 minutes later. It then passed the camera in the opposite direction 20 minutes later with a freshly killed coyote.

If there were cries by the coyote, they are not heard in the footage.

Andes wrote on YouTube:

“This Coyote met his fate after a Mountain lion was close behind. Mountain lions kill and eat Coyotes on a pretty regular basis.

“Mule Deer are their main prey, but Coyotes are not far behind. This is nature and a great look at how prey and predator have interactions.”

The footage was captured in Black Star Canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains.

The canyon is popular among hikers and mountain bikers, but at night its trails are utilized by nocturnal predators and prey.