Locked On

[Teton Chuck]

Coyotes are classified as vermin in Wyoming and can be killed at any time by any method. Consequently they are very wary of people. This one lives in the open space around my home. It is one of a pack that frequently sings to us in the wee hours of the morning.

It had locked on to me with a stare, watching to see if I made any sudden or suspect movement. Before too long it went on with its hunt for voles but kept an eye on me until I left the area. My wife and I feel very fortunate to have this pack living in "our back yard". They are beautiful animals. Click on image to enlarge.

[jeeperman]

I am envious, ours are not only rarley seen {too much cover this side of the mountains} but not nearly as beautiful as this. Nice capture Chuck.

[Melkus]

Yep very nice capture

[Bobobird]

Very nice capture. I love how the browns balance out all through the image.

[Teton Chuck]

Thanks to all of you. It is such a treat to get close enough to get a photo. And fun to share with people who care.

cheers, chuck

[terrib]

That is a beautiful shot Chuck. I know how you feel about being fortunate to share space with these animals. I feel that way about the foxes around us in Colorado. It's a joy to watch them. I'm glad your coyotes are wary of people so perhaps they will last longer. Thanks for sharing!

[jamn4ex]

Great shot Chuck. I live on Tn. NC. border. The Indian reservation has a 25 dollar bounty on coyotes, they claim they are decimating the deer herd. ( I think we should allow nature its own balance)

[Tringa]

A lovely shot, Chuck, good DoF and the dry grass background is good too.

Always good to see (and be able to photograph) an animal that is aware (and perhaps very wary) of humans. Your observations about its behaviour are similar, though unsurprisingly so, to those of the fox in the UK.

Foxes here moved into towns many years ago and often are very tolerant of people; in my back garden being within 20 feet of one is not unusual. However, I often meet one that runs a few yards away, but then turns and checks where I am and I'm doing and if it decides I'm no threat, gets on with what it is about, while still keeping just a bit of an eye on me.

I can understand you feel very fortunate in being able to see such animals close to your home.

Dave

[rpcrowe]

Great shot! I have seen that look (sizing me up) from coyotes many times.

I respect coyotes as I respect all living animals. There is often a clash when civilization meets nature. However, coyotes can devastate domestic animals and seem to find domestic cats and dogs a special culinary treat. They are known for snatching small dogs who are being walked on a leash...

Even a six foot chain link fence is no sure barrier to the coyote who can climb the fence or burrow under it...

I am certainly not an advocate of killing animals like coyotes because they inconvenience me. However there are ways to protect your animals from coyotes...

One of these methods, especially for farmers, is a flock guardian dog, such as an Anatolian Shepherd. These beautiful guardians are said to be able to rid large areas (several square miles) of the presence of coyotes. The males run between 110 and 150 pounds (~50-68 kilograms) while the females are relatively small at 80-120 pounds The Anatolian Shepherd Dogs were bred to protect flocks of sheep from groups of wolves. Coyotes are small time operators in comparison to wolves...

https://www.google.com/search?q=anat...w=1280&bih=582

I live in a somewhat rural area and fifteen years ago when I moved here, there was a large coyote presence. Knowing that even my chain link fence would not be a barrier I had a wonderful German Shepherd - Golden retriever - Wolf hybrid who kept my acre free of coyotes. The coyotes had no desire to penetrate my barrier and seemed quite happy that the fence was there when my 85 pound "wolf" faced them down...



The coyotes seemed to realize that they could not attack in pack strength while climbing or burowing under the fence. One night, while outside with my big dog, a pack of coyotes came down the road looking for some juicy morsels. They didn't linger long by my fence when my big dog challenged them.

BTW: human predators didn't mess with her either.

[HMW12]

What a beautiful portrait of a beautiful girl. What a unique genetic makeup. How much wolf in her and how were you able to confirm that? Guess you would need the wolf/Shepard to counter the friendliness of the golden in her