Coyote is always out there waiting, and Coyote is always hungry.

~Tony Hillerman

Winter is the time of the coyote. Always on the move, always ready to take advantage of any food supply, and more visible to those of us that love to watch these amazing canids. It has been a particularly good coyote time these last few weeks. Here are a few of the most memorable encounters with these mid-sized predators.

I was on a snow coach trip to the interior recently and we spotted a coyote high on a ridge line in Hayden Valley.

The coach driver stopped so we could watch it. The coyote took a few steps then cocked its head as they do when sensing something in the snow. A slight crouch and I knew what was next so I raised my camera and took this shot through the window of the coach.

A few days later I was out along Soda Butte Creek when I spotted a couple of coyotes trotting along the creek bank. A couple soon turned into seven and I drove ahead and positioned myself along a high point near the road where I hoped to see the coyotes still following the creek. This has been an unusual winter out in Lamar Valley area with coyotes often appearing in large groups of 6, 7, and even 8 canids patrolling together. From what I have heard, groups of this size were more common back before the reintroduction of wolves when coyotes were the “top dog” in the park. After wolves became established the ever-adaptable coyotes tended to be in smaller units of 2 to 4 animals since wolves are dominant over the coyotes and will chase and kill them if they can. In talking with a few friends that have been here longer, we aren’t quite sure why we are seeing such large groups again. Perhaps it is just family units moving together until next spring.

The group did come closer as they followed the creek and paused at one point to sniff around, providing me with some nice photos (shot with my 800 mm telephoto and cropped).

The next day I was back out on the northern range hoping to see more wildlife. It was cold with temperatures hovering just above zero. Though it was a somewhat slow day overall for critters, the coyotes did not disappoint. As I was headed home I saw a few cars stopped at a pullout in Little America. I soon spotted the reason – a coyote trotting along slowly near the road. I drove on with the intent of turning back and trying to find a place to park when I saw another coyote about 200 yard down the road from the first, and there was no one watching this one. I pulled off the road and watched from my car. It stopped and stood over a spot sniffing the snow. It then dug up a small carcass. I have no idea if this was something it had cached earlier or just found dead in the snow.

The coyote soon started pulling at its find and chewing on it.

–A slow motion clip of the coyote pawing at and chewing on the pocket gopher

It wasn’t long until another car came by and stopped. Two people got out and started walking my way and the coyote looked up from its meal to make sure all was well. This is why I prefer to stay in my vehicle if possible. Most wildlife in the park seems tolerant of cars going by but the second you step out they become more concerned of that human form. If I do get out, I try to stay near or behind my car or squat down to reduce the human outline.

The people stopped and the coyote finished its meal with one last gulp. After looking around for a few seconds, it wandered off angling toward the road.

Now there were three cars watching this coyote as it calmly crossed the road and then walked parallel to us before sitting down. It was close, but not watching us, just scanning out in the distance. It slowly got up and turned away from the road, moving in an irregular path toward a far hill.

As it paused on top of the ridge, the coyote showed me an iconic predator surveying its majestic winter landscape.

The next evening as I was driving through the Blacktail Ponds region, four coyotes were making their way between the frozen ponds. One stopped at a small hole in the ice that has puzzled us for some time now. What causes this hole, a small thermal underneath perhaps?

A coyote checking out the hole in the ice (or perhaps just admiring his reflection).

This next video clip may be a little tough for some viewers. It was getting late as I was driving home and I paused at a roadside jam of some sort to see what was up. I got lucky and found a parking space and walked down the road toward the scene. I was told a deer had been hit by a car earlier in the day and died just 30 yards off the road. Magpies, ravens, and a single coyote were on the carcass and a golden eagle just flew away when the coyote arrived (I had seen the eagle fly across the road as I approached). Within a couple of minutes another coyote arrived. Then someone up the road hollered, “a wolf is coming right toward you guys”. Not a wolf, but another coyote. I heard people call these wolves three times while I was there, a common mistake visitors make when they see a coyote in the park. Here is a somewhat long video clip of the interactions at the carcass. Notice the way the coyotes communicate with one another in addition to the growl and snarls which cannot be heard in this video.

–Coyotes squabbling over access to a deer carcass

As darkness started to settle in I got up and walked back to my car. Coming down the road was yet another small coyote. When I drove around the curve beyond the carcass site another small coyote was trotting down the road in that direction (presumably these last two were juveniles from this year). I stopped and checked the area the next day and there was hardly a sign that the carcass had even been there.

How amazing their sense of smell must be to zero in on these scarce food sources. It just shows the resourcefulness of these misunderstood animals. Before I wrote this blog I saw a news report of a predator “rodeo” where 80 coyotes were killed in one day in a nearby state. Unfortunately, this is a too common response to coyotes on the landscape. But, these song dogs have been around a long time and revered by many indigenous people, hated by many others, and yet they survive and even thrive. They has even managed to expand their range and spread across the country including to my previous home state of North Carolina. They are a creature that plays an important role in rodent control and are a beautiful addition to our lives if we stop to observe them and appreciate their survival skills. I look forward to spending more time with the “trickster” in the coming months here in Yellowstone.