Anna-Maria and I saw a coyote on campus at the University of Lethbridge this afternoon. As luck would have it I happened to have my digital camera with me; so here is the photo.
I don’t know much about coyotes, but I looked up some info on google and here is a quick summary:
- Only 5-20% of coyote pups survive their first year.
- The coyote can run at almost 40 mph.
- Coyotes can breed with both domestic dogs and wolves. A dog-coyote mix is called a “coydog.”
- The coyote is more likely afraid of you than vice-versa.
- Coyotes maintain their territory by marking it with urine.
This particular coyote was not running anywhere near full speed, but he did look somewhat afraid of us. I can’t really blame him though because we were in the Jeep which, in my humble opinion, is enough to put a great deal of fear into any pedestrian – member of the canine family or not. He wasn’t afraid to the point of “marking his territory” however.
3 replies on “Coyote at University of Lethbridge”
Here's something to think about. Whenever wild animals such as coyotes lose their fear of people, it could mean they have rabies. The coyote you saw must not have been very afraid of people because you saw him in the city and close up. Dieing of rabies is a particularly hidieous way to die. You can get rabies shots after you have been exposed to rabies and it will save you most of the time but the shots almost kill you themselves.
It makes me wonder if you have rabbies with your rabid attacking of the "publish your comment" button. Even if it comes up with an error, chances are the post went through.
P.S. It's not that I particularly care, it's just that I was really looking forward to 3 different posts. :)