Coyote in the Rain

A light rain brings the wild in a little closer.  Today a coyote ran up the road ahead of me and darted up the hill.When I see how powerful and handsome they are, I can understand why the native people “…worried about Coyote. They had to be careful of their women.”  What I don’t understand is why their eyes have such a distinctive shine when photographed.  Neither rabbits or deer have that look in the photos I’ve taken.  Is it just predators?

This one was casual about my presence. While I focused my camera, he shook off the rain and then trotted off. (Don’t you like the way canines’ lips flap when they shake?)


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tom MORELAND
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tom MORELAND
12 years ago

is this a local coyoto as I have seen one with the same coloring,

Staff
Member
12 years ago
Reply to  tom MORELAND

Tom, This was over by Marsha’s place so yes, it was local. The coyote’s I remember from my childhood were much grayer not so German Shepherd looking. But this is what the Salmon Creek ones look like now. Beautiful creatures.

Bill Vallotton
Guest
Bill Vallotton
12 years ago

Its always wonderful to get to See,Hear, or Watch a Coyote or Coyotes
To me they are a sign of the good health of a habitat,.
For many many years in Humboldt, Co. Coyotes were Trapped, Shot, or Poisoned by the
Ranchers here, Mostly the Sheep Ranchers,. We have very few large Ranches in the area any more and even less Sheep,. For Many years Coyotes were not a very common sight but I do believe they are on a pretty steady come back to the area,. It means there is plenty of there natural food returning to the area also, So I feel its a win win situation,. Thank you for the wonderful post Kym,. And soooo cool you even got to take Pics,.
Peace Out Brother Bill & Suzi

Bill Vallotton
Guest
Bill Vallotton
12 years ago

Its always wonderful to get to See,Hear, or Watch a Coyote or Coyotes
To me they are a sign of the good health of a habitat,.
For many many years in Humboldt, Co. Coyotes were Trapped, Shot, or Poisoned by the
Ranchers here, Mostly the Sheep Ranchers,. We have very few large Ranches in the area any more and even less Sheep,. For Many years Coyotes were not a very common sight but I do believe they are on a pretty steady come back to the area,. It means there is plenty of there natural food returning to the area also, So I feel its a win win situation,. Thank you for the wonderful post Kym,. And soooo cool you even got to take Pics,.
Peace Out Brother Bill & Suzi

Mr T
Guest
Mr T
12 years ago

Dear Kym,
I don’t wish to be rude, I always appreciate the work that you do and love the beautiful photos you post. I often click on them to enjoy their full-screen beauty. My experience of your new page background is that it is very un-lovely.

Staff
Member
12 years ago
Reply to  Mr T

Mr. T,

you expressed that very kindly. I’ve had mixed reactions. I love the better visibility and hate the graffiti look which isn’t what my blog is about. Any volunteers to help me decorate? Someone who knows how to change code?

Mr T
Guest
Mr T
12 years ago

Dear Kym,
I don’t wish to be rude, I always appreciate the work that you do and love the beautiful photos you post. I often click on them to enjoy their full-screen beauty. My experience of your new page background is that it is very un-lovely.

Staff
Member
12 years ago
Reply to  Mr T

Mr. T,

you expressed that very kindly. I’ve had mixed reactions. I love the better visibility and hate the graffiti look which isn’t what my blog is about. Any volunteers to help me decorate? Someone who knows how to change code?

Ernie's Place
Guest
12 years ago

Kym
I saw a coyote on the Lone Pine ranch south of Zenia that was almost solid rust/red.

The reason that this coyote is a different color than the ones that you remember as a kid is because it’s a different coyote. They come in various colorations of grey, black, rust, yellow and white, depending on their age and genetics, but most all of them have various shades of the same coloration. The patterns are always the same.

I checked with a coyote expert. He said that in the snow country that their winter coat will be grey and white, with a very thick undercoat and shaggy white tips. He said that he saw a male with a grey undercoat and a black guard coat, that appeared as a black coyote from a distance. He said that he saw a young female that was almost completely red. So they have variety.

I had a friend that said that “when the whole world comes to and end and all life fades from the earth, cockroaches and coyotes will be the only critters left, and the coyotes will be fat from eating cockroaches”.

He left me with the impression that he thought that coyotes were pretty hardy.

Staff
Member
12 years ago
Reply to  Ernie's Place

I love that quote, Ernie. Coyotes are very resilient and smart.

Ernie's Place
Guest
12 years ago

Kym
I saw a coyote on the Lone Pine ranch south of Zenia that was almost solid rust/red.

The reason that this coyote is a different color than the ones that you remember as a kid is because it’s a different coyote. They come in various colorations of grey, black, rust, yellow and white, depending on their age and genetics, but most all of them have various shades of the same coloration. The patterns are always the same.

I checked with a coyote expert. He said that in the snow country that their winter coat will be grey and white, with a very thick undercoat and shaggy white tips. He said that he saw a male with a grey undercoat and a black guard coat, that appeared as a black coyote from a distance. He said that he saw a young female that was almost completely red. So they have variety.

I had a friend that said that “when the whole world comes to and end and all life fades from the earth, cockroaches and coyotes will be the only critters left, and the coyotes will be fat from eating cockroaches”.

He left me with the impression that he thought that coyotes were pretty hardy.

Staff
Member
12 years ago
Reply to  Ernie's Place

I love that quote, Ernie. Coyotes are very resilient and smart.

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olmanriver
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olmanriver
12 years ago

Many animals have a tapetum lucidum behind the retina at the back of the eye. This acts like a mirror, reflecting light back onto the light sensor cells in the retina. As much as animal eyes at night seem to glow… it is a reflection.
Some of the factors determining which color of eyeshine we see are distance of light to the subject, intensity of the light, line of sight
or perspective of the viewer, spectrum of the light source, and the kind of tapetum lucidum the animal has.
The Field Guide to the Mammals of North America by Burt and Grossenheider states that Coyotes, mountain lions, and bobats eyes are yellow green at night. Everyone seems to agree that bears have red eyes at night.
Only pig’s eyes reflect back less light than do human and other primate’s eyes.

The night hunters with the greatest eyeshine generally have more rods (light receptors) and fewer cones (color receptors) in their retinas. There is a trade-off of better night vision for daytime color blindness for these predators.

I would think that the coyote has a great eyeshine than do the deer and rabbit and that is why you see this phenomena with coyotes

Alternatively, if you continue to see Coyote’s eyes glow in the daytime, you may wish to consult your local shaman.

Staff
Member
12 years ago
Reply to  olmanriver

What would I do without you?

olmanriver
Guest
olmanriver
12 years ago

Many animals have a tapetum lucidum behind the retina at the back of the eye. This acts like a mirror, reflecting light back onto the light sensor cells in the retina. As much as animal eyes at night seem to glow… it is a reflection.
Some of the factors determining which color of eyeshine we see are distance of light to the subject, intensity of the light, line of sight
or perspective of the viewer, spectrum of the light source, and the kind of tapetum lucidum the animal has.
The Field Guide to the Mammals of North America by Burt and Grossenheider states that Coyotes, mountain lions, and bobats eyes are yellow green at night. Everyone seems to agree that bears have red eyes at night.
Only pig’s eyes reflect back less light than do human and other primate’s eyes.

The night hunters with the greatest eyeshine generally have more rods (light receptors) and fewer cones (color receptors) in their retinas. There is a trade-off of better night vision for daytime color blindness for these predators.

I would think that the coyote has a great eyeshine than do the deer and rabbit and that is why you see this phenomena with coyotes

Alternatively, if you continue to see Coyote’s eyes glow in the daytime, you may wish to consult your local shaman.

Staff
Member
12 years ago
Reply to  olmanriver

What would I do without you?

Kyle
Guest
Kyle
12 years ago

Wow! Olmanriver nailed it with that response! Thanks for the thorough explanations. I once watched a coyote searching burn piles for rodents. It would stomp on one side of the pile and then quickly position itself to be able to pounce on the fleeing rodents leaving the other side. The one particular animal I saw was so healthy it looked like it had been at a dog grooming salon the day before. I have also read that coyotes consume a lot of grasshoppers during the summer and early fall season. Too bad the Grizzly Bears have been removed from our ecosystem. We’d have some great stories to tell and an opportunity for practicing more humility.

Kym,
I wonder if the background behind your photos was black it may do more to compliment your exceptional shots. Maybe the program you are using won’t allow that. I sure miss the country feel of the last set-up but this one loads up much faster. Can’t we have it all??

Kyle

Staff
Member
12 years ago
Reply to  Kyle

Kyle, In a perfect world I would have a dark background (or at least a dark frame around my photos) but I can’t figure out how. I, too, miss the country feel but I like the speed of loading and I like the ease of reading….I’ll keep searching for a perfect skin.

Kyle
Guest
Kyle
12 years ago

Wow! Olmanriver nailed it with that response! Thanks for the thorough explanations. I once watched a coyote searching burn piles for rodents. It would stomp on one side of the pile and then quickly position itself to be able to pounce on the fleeing rodents leaving the other side. The one particular animal I saw was so healthy it looked like it had been at a dog grooming salon the day before. I have also read that coyotes consume a lot of grasshoppers during the summer and early fall season. Too bad the Grizzly Bears have been removed from our ecosystem. We’d have some great stories to tell and an opportunity for practicing more humility.

Kym,
I wonder if the background behind your photos was black it may do more to compliment your exceptional shots. Maybe the program you are using won’t allow that. I sure miss the country feel of the last set-up but this one loads up much faster. Can’t we have it all??

Kyle

Staff
Member
12 years ago
Reply to  Kyle

Kyle, In a perfect world I would have a dark background (or at least a dark frame around my photos) but I can’t figure out how. I, too, miss the country feel but I like the speed of loading and I like the ease of reading….I’ll keep searching for a perfect skin.

Ben Schill
Guest
Ben Schill
12 years ago

I was awfully pleased to see your link to the Coyote Makes the Falls story. Perhaps it was his/her beautiful winter coat that caused the Storytellers to say: “Coyote, he was a handsome man.” Which brings up the question of why Coyote was always a guy in the stories… the females are also quite beautiful.
When that Coyote holds you in his shining gaze, call out to him: “Grandfather, thank you for your work in this World… If you have something to say, tell me now, I’m listening.” Then see what happens. Nature is talking to us all the time if we listen. What a wonderful photograph.

Ben Schill
Guest
Ben Schill
12 years ago

I was awfully pleased to see your link to the Coyote Makes the Falls story. Perhaps it was his/her beautiful winter coat that caused the Storytellers to say: “Coyote, he was a handsome man.” Which brings up the question of why Coyote was always a guy in the stories… the females are also quite beautiful.
When that Coyote holds you in his shining gaze, call out to him: “Grandfather, thank you for your work in this World… If you have something to say, tell me now, I’m listening.” Then see what happens. Nature is talking to us all the time if we listen. What a wonderful photograph.

olmanriver
Guest
olmanriver
12 years ago

Thanks Ben.
I floated the question of eye color at night on the blogs this winter and got no responses, so I had to take a three hour tutorial with Dr. Google at the School of Links to come up with my answers. It’s not like I really know what I am talking about.

Don’t you like the way canines’ lips flap when they shake? actually Kym, if you shake your head side to side like that your lips will flap too. With a slight exhalation you can sound like a horse whinnying, adding a little sound, and it’s the three stooges. What would you do without me?

olmanriver
Guest
olmanriver
12 years ago

Thanks Ben.
I floated the question of eye color at night on the blogs this winter and got no responses, so I had to take a three hour tutorial with Dr. Google at the School of Links to come up with my answers. It’s not like I really know what I am talking about.

Don’t you like the way canines’ lips flap when they shake? actually Kym, if you shake your head side to side like that your lips will flap too. With a slight exhalation you can sound like a horse whinnying, adding a little sound, and it’s the three stooges. What would you do without me?

olmanriver
Guest
olmanriver
12 years ago

Humboldt Standard (12/1/24):

” A superstion among Klamath Indians that when an Indian dies the spirit is transmitted to a coyote, is proving to be an obstacle to the trapping and poisoning operations of government trappers….
‘Indians have been destroying traps, stealing poison meat and filching the dead coyotes this summer and fall.’ Jewett said. ‘We were at a loss to understand why until one old red skinned patriarch explained’ … ‘Me know coyotes kill sheep, chickens, Me know he hard on farmer. But when white man kill coyote, he kill spirit of my brother, he kill my father, my daughter. We Indians no like it.’ …

‘This superstition explains more than any one factor, why there are more coyotes concentrated on the northern part of the Indian reservation than any other section in Klamath.
Government Trapper Sawyer, who has been operating on the reservation, has had much of his equipment destroyed or stolen. Galarneau also has been unlucky in this respect.
I understand that the superstition is only prevalent among the older members of the tribe.'”

olmanriver
Guest
olmanriver
12 years ago

Humboldt Standard (12/1/24):

” A superstion among Klamath Indians that when an Indian dies the spirit is transmitted to a coyote, is proving to be an obstacle to the trapping and poisoning operations of government trappers….
‘Indians have been destroying traps, stealing poison meat and filching the dead coyotes this summer and fall.’ Jewett said. ‘We were at a loss to understand why until one old red skinned patriarch explained’ … ‘Me know coyotes kill sheep, chickens, Me know he hard on farmer. But when white man kill coyote, he kill spirit of my brother, he kill my father, my daughter. We Indians no like it.’ …

‘This superstition explains more than any one factor, why there are more coyotes concentrated on the northern part of the Indian reservation than any other section in Klamath.
Government Trapper Sawyer, who has been operating on the reservation, has had much of his equipment destroyed or stolen. Galarneau also has been unlucky in this respect.
I understand that the superstition is only prevalent among the older members of the tribe.'”