Early this morning I was stirred out of my sleep by a strange sound from outside. It's been warm lately, so the window was opened for some fresh, cool air while we sleep. At first I thought it was a bunch of birds screeching away but looking at the clock, I thought "2:45am? They'd be sleeping right now." As I laid there listening, the sounds became more distinct. Mr. Stinky woke up too and we realized the sounds were made by a pack of local coyotes howling and yipping.It was really beautiful to hear, wildlife in the City (almost) although from time to time we do see deer around too. Coyotes seem to be a little more elusive to our area.
The sounds came to an abrupt stop and I was thinking they had either caught a neighbourhood cat or were on the hunt for one. Do coyotes sing to begin a hunt or to celebrate a successful one? Either way, I was imagining them running through the bush by themselves and within the pack or gorging in a bloody feast.
A few minutes passed and they started up again. For a second time, we awoke to listen to the "Ooouuu..." and "Yip-yip-yip-yip!"s before they faded away into the darkness again. It was so cool.
4 comments:
I suppose I could look this up, but, really, it's more fun to try to remember....
If I recall correctly, coyotes don't generally run in packs. They're pretty solitary animals, unlike wolves. That yipping you hear is communication, but more of a territorial thing ("Get offa my land!"), or sometimes a Flava-Flav-ish "Yeeeeaaaahhh boyeee" when they've found something delicious to gnaw upon.
But either way, that's really one of the coolest sounds in nature. We're lucky to get the odd deer or two 'round here. I've heard rumors of black bears and coyotes in the NJ suburbs, but have never seen one.
I tried good ol' Wikipedia and it says that they are more often than not solitary animals but will sometimes band together when the need arises.
Maybe the feasting of suburban garbage is so good that they're all calling their buddies to come join the buffet?
Heard them again last night, sounded like more and they were much closer. I'll have to spring a trap and catch one... make me a guard coyote. Muhahahahahaha.....
Er, yeah. Good luck with that trapping idea. :)
As for yelling for all their buddies to join in the feast, I know vultures do that, but coyotes I'm not so sure about.
And as for being "more often than not solitary animals" who "will sometimes band together when the need arises," this explains a lot. Apparently a large number of my friends are actually coyotes....
I think we're all a little like that... especially when "party", "food" and "alcohol" all come together!
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