Nice Doggie

I've been out to my shack in the desert every Memorial Day for the past 20 years. There's a lot of wildlife and other than rattle snakes and scorpions, most of it is pretty mellow. We've been hand feeding Kangaroo rats for years and had a fox once that would almost eat from your hand. Bob cats and raccoons have been seen there, but not by me. In 20 years, other than roadkills, I had seen only three coyotes, and those were from 100+ yds. Saturday evening, I put out the steak scraps and they were gone as usual Sunday morning.

Yesterday evening changed that! The sun had set and the BBQ scraps were set out. I had a visitor! My 5MP Cannon S500 was in the glove box and set for 640 x 480 and I went for it in a panic. It was dusk and the flash doesn't reach 30 feet so I had to "push" it in Photoshop. :green:



Larry

Wow! Neat catch, Larry.

I've heard that coyotes are much more afraid of us than vice-versa. Is that true?

I got a little closer than that to a couple of coyotes in Arizona once. I was in the parking lot of the Desert Museum in Tucson where a couple of them were standing around and surveying the area. We stood still and eyed each other for a few moments and then I moved on. They actually looked like they were ready to trot off in the other direction if I hadn't left first.

tvodrd said:

The sun had set and the BBQ scraps were set out. I had a visitor!

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Let me know next time you set out scraps, You might see me out there :lolsign: . I like steak, BBQ, tank lights, etc...

That picture reminds me of "American Wereworf in London" with the glowing eyes and all.

-DF

Got one!! Nice job.

Well, if you had the Beast at hand, or maybe the USL, or ? you wouldn't need that silly flash!!

Did he run when you flashed him?

We're in the high desert here and see lots of them, a very mild winter this year let most of the pups make it through their first winter, and we've had a LOT more sightings this year than in the last few.

If they survive the first year without getting hit by cars they get pretty cagey, but a good rabbit whistle will bring them running.

Bill

bwaites said:

Did he run when you flashed him?

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:eeew:

Hey now, this is a family forum. :nana:

-DF

I think we saw each other at the same time. It wasn't remotely dark enough to start carrying a real light. He/she didn't care for the flash and would grab a bite and run off about 20 yds and circle back. I could tell it was far more afraid of me (as it well should have been! ) They generally give people a wide berth and it was a first time for me to be that close to one. I wish I had had enough wits to turn up the camera's resolution and the flash off. I did get one with the flash off but the puppy was in final retreat.

Larry

Larry's flashing animals now? Is there a progressive trend of behavior associated with this act? Let's think about this...some shady pics of Darell & Don are floating around these hallways...next up?

Next thing you know, he'll be on Jay Leno or he'll be hanging out with that Crocodile Hunter fellow?! :nana:

Man, I'd sure be careful feeding those critters out of my hand, in case they thought my fingers/hand/arm were part of the snack!!

BTW - nice catch with the camera!

Tank lights up & running?

Sigman said:

Larry's flashing animals now? Is there a progressive trend of behavior associated with this act? Let's think about this...some shady pics of Darell & Don are floating around these hallways...next up?

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Yikes!!! :laughing:

thats a 15 to 17 month female cool pic

They are not uncommon in Northern California where I live but going out into the country side to see them is the wrong direction. They have adapted *very* well to the "urban interface" and live closer to home these days.

Cool! My only encounter with a coyote was brief; one trotted across a backroad we were on, approx. 100ft. in front of our car.

There was a coyote spotted here in my neighborhood (a city) a few years ago. This is EXTREMELY rare for this area. Usually the most exotic critters we get here are skunks and the occasional possum.

It's a real rush to call them in...go out with a "distressed rabbit call", find a nice hiding spot and make it sound like a crying baby. I've had them running at me - until they discovered I was there and man do they do a fast turn around!

Cool pic larry. I saw one once back several years ago. I had one of those wal mart 1 million candlbe power spot lights and was scanning the field behind our house and saw one run down to the creek. My friends used to chase them in their pickups and shoot at them out the windows with their AR-15's. They were farmers so they didn't want them eating their livestock.

PhotonWrangler said:

Wow! Neat catch, Larry.

I've heard that coyotes are much more afraid of us than vice-versa. Is that true?

I got a little closer than that to a couple of coyotes in Arizona once. I was in the parking lot of the Desert Museum in Tucson where a couple of them were standing around and surveying the area. We stood still and eyed each other for a few moments and then I moved on. They actually looked like they were ready to trot off in the other direction if I hadn't left first.

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You don't need to go to the Desert Museum here to see coyotes. I see them all the time on my way home from work. Usually in packs of 3-5. I'm talking middle of town, regular neighborhoods. Makes you wonder when you see "Lost Cat" signs. Them cat's ain't lost, they's coyote crap by now.

Still haven't seen a javelina. Smell them all the time though.

Planterz said:

You don't need to go to the Desert Museum here to see coyotes. I see them all the time on my way home from work. Usually in packs of 3-5. I'm talking middle of town, regular neighborhoods. Makes you wonder when you see "Lost Cat" signs. Them cat's ain't lost, they's coyote crap by now.

Still haven't seen a javelina. Smell them all the time though.

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I was approached by a javelina at night once. I was standing by a dry creek bed (Tucson again) and one of them approached me slowly, apparently not knowing whether he was approaching friend, foe or lunch. When he got a little too close I started waving my arms and making hissing sounds, and that made him back away. For as much as I love critters, that encounter was kind of spooky cause I really didn't know what he had in mind.

Up here in eastern MA we've had a problem with coyotes moving into suburban areas. Last year there was one on the golf course behind my house--it apparently attacked several small dogs while their owners were walking them.

Speaking of javelinas, a friend of mine who travels a lot had a story. A couple of folks were hunting those things, but not paying very good attention. After they shot one or two the rest of the herd circled behind them and attacked. One guy was killed and eaten, the other ran off and spent two days in a tree. This may have been in South America somewhere, I'm not sure.