Paws 'N Claws

For The Love of Coyotes
by Karen Orth


Orphaned coyote pup in rehabilitation.

Opportunistic. Amazing. Intelligent. Cunning. 

These are just a few of the many words often used to describe our friend, canis latrans, the coyote!  Because they easily adapt to our rapidly changing world, coyotes are thriving in virtually every area in North America.  They seem to build on prior learning and learn to take advantage of every situation.  They are obviously here to stay, and humans can learn quite a bit from these marvelous animals!

Relying on their keen sense of smell and hearing, coyotes can locate a rodent beneath over a foot of snow and smell a predator from a mile away or more! Although their diet consists mostly of rodents, other small mammals, eggs, birds, fish, snakes, frogs, crickets and other insects, as scavengers, they can eat almost anything.  Rats and mice are a preferred meal. 

Historically, farmers, ranchers, and others have been in conflict with coyotes due to their reputation of killing livestock and small pets and have tried, unsuccessfully, to eradicate them. However, nature has developed a survival system to keep the population stable. When the numbers decrease in a given area, the females will produce bigger litters of pups with higher survival rates, and other coyotes will move into the area to fill the void.  This is the way the ecosystem works. Every species has an important part to play. It has been said that, “Killing coyotes is similar to mowing your lawn. It just grows back thicker and hardier than before!”  Consequently, people are learning ways to coexist not only with coyotes but also nature as a whole instead of trying to dominate and control.

Typically, coyotes live in very small packs of 2-5 consisting of an alpha male and female and any offspring that haven’t left to go out on their own. The alphas who are mated for life, do not allow the younger members to breed, thus, encouraging the pups to create their own family units by the following year.  Typically, it is these alpha adults with larger litters to sustain that prey on sheep, goats, chickens and small pets. With decreasing territories, they are forced to seek food elsewhere.  

        Juvenile coyote

Litters can be anywhere from 1-12 pups depending upon the existing population.  The pups nurse for the first four weeks of life and then begin to venture out of the den. At this point, both parents care for the pups by chewing, swallowing, and then regurgitating their food providing nourishment.  The packs are very social and will communicate amongst themselves and other nearby packs by howling, yipping, barking and growling. They use body language to express other emotions such as tail wagging and submissive rolling to greet each other. Ear and tail positions play a part as well. Coyotes are one animal that exhibits play behavior throughout life such as frolicking, chasing and wrestling. Tricksters by nature, they love to perform surprise pounces and steal items from their other family members!

Coyotes mark their territory by urinating along the perimeters. They will cache or bury excess food and even urinate on top of it to discourage other potential diners. Excellent runners and swimmers, they can jump 14 feet high. I have personally seen one of these amazing athletes running at full speed in one direction and then jump high, turning around midair to hit the ground running in the opposite direction! 

The presence of coyotes is a reminder that we are part of a bigger universe in a natural existence that goes beyond our everyday routines.  One where every species plays an important role and works to maintain a delicate balance. They deserve our respect and should be given the space to be safe, happy, wild and free! 

About the Author:  Karen Davis Orth, a co-founder of All Thing Wild Rehabilitation and former vice-president, has been saving and rehabilitating wildlife for over 24 years.  She specializes in coyotes, foxes, and raccoons at Little Rascals Rescue near Dripping Springs.
 

Amber, our wildlife vet tech, holds an orphaned coyote pup recently brought to ATW.  Orphaned coyotes easily imprint on people so they are best raised with others of their species.  Because ATW doesn't have any other pups, the little guy will be transferred to Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation in Kendalia where he will grow up and be released with other orphaned coyotes.

KIDNAPPED!
 
Don’t be a well-meaning kidnapper.  
Leave wildlife alone.

When wildlife rehabilitators say an animal has been kidnapped, they mean that the animal didn’t need to come into rehabilitation.  The baby would have been better off left in the wild.  At All Things Wild, the animals we see kidnapped most often are songbirds, rabbits, and whitetail deer fawns.  These young animals have been taken from their mothers by people who think they are abandoned and are trying to help them.  In truth, they are doing more harm than good.

Raising a wild animal in captivity is labor-intensive, time-consuming, expensive, and, when the baby has been kidnapped, not in the best interest of the baby animal.  There is no substitute for a mother’s nourishing milk and expert care.  Animals raised in human captivity have no wild mother to teach them how to hunt or how to survive in the wild. 

 Fledgling Songbirds 

Young songbirds, who have left the nest and are on the ground, are being watched over by their parents who bring them food.  During this phase of their development, the birds are learning how to fly, find food, and recognize danger.  Birds raised in captivity will learn to fly.  But when they are grown and released to the wild, the captive-raised birds will not be able to recognize food in the wild or danger because they have not had natural parents to teach them these survival lessons.   

During spring, there are lots of fledgling birds on the ground.  They look like little miniature adults but with short tails and maybe a few tufts of baby fuzz on their heads.  Usually they move around and are very good at hiding from danger.  Common bird species that fledge to the ground include northern mockingbirds, northern cardinals, blue jays, English sparrows, and grackles.

Fledgling blue jay. Photo: Google Images 

The young birds need to be left alone unless they are obviously injured, e.g., blood, a bone sticking out, or unable to sit up and move around.  Unfortunately, there are cats everywhere so cats in a neighborhood or big birds circling overhead are not sufficient reasons to kidnap a fledgling.  If the bird is in the middle of the road or in immediate danger, it’s OK to pick him up and move him to safety as long as you move the bird nearby so the parents can find their off-spring.  

 
Cottontail Rabbits
 

Nest of cottontail rabbits.   Photo:  Google Images  

Mother rabbits do not stay with their babies.  To do so would be to attract predators.  The baby rabbits are in a nest that is often a shallow divot in the ground lined with dry grass and pieces of fur that the mother has plucked from her chest.  The mother visits during the night, usually after dusk and again before dawn, to feed and tend to her babies and the nest. 
 
If dogs are present, the nest can be covered to keep the dog out of the nest during the day and uncovered when the dog comes in the house at night and  when the mother comes to feed.  The nest cannot be moved, unfortunately, because the mother will not find her babies.
 
Normally, baby cottontails should be left alone unless they are obviously injured or in immediate danger. 
 

Whitetail Deer Fawns

Mother deer do not stay with their babies.  Like rabbits, to stay with the baby would be to attract predators.  The fawn lies alone in the grass with the mother visiting to nurse and care for her baby.  If the baby is lying curled up, chances are the baby is OK.  A test to check if the fawn is healthy is to lift the baby’s tail.  If the baby’s bottom is clean, the mother is caring for her fawn.  If the baby’s bottom is smeared with feces, the baby is in trouble and needs to come into wildlife rehabilitation.

 

 While the baby nurses, the mother stimulates and cleans. 

We agree that fawns are adorable, but don’t think you are doing the fawn a favor by raising it in your house.  The game wardens get very upset with people who keep fawns in captivity and will issue a big fine.  These are wild animals, and it is against the law to keep a wild animal in captivity without a state permit.  Besides, fawns raised by people become imprinted on people, never learn how to forage properly, can be dangerous when seeking food from people, and always, always, come to a tragic end.  Just don’t.

Please, before you become a well-meaning kidnapper, call All Things Wild for advice:  512-897-0806.

 
Click here for more information on kidnapping wild animals in Texas.

Red-Eared Slider
 

              Red-eared slider            Photo:  Google images

All Things Wild receives several turtles each year with the red-eared sliders being the most common.  Native to the southern United States and northern Mexico, the red-eared slider has become one of the world’s most popular pets and is listed as one of the 100 most invasive species in other countries where it is not native.  
 
The turtle gets its name from the red markings behind the eyes and the turtle’s ability to slide into the water at a moment’s notice.  The turtle’s shell can reach up to 16 inches in diameter, and the turtle can live 20 to 30 years.  Turtles live shorter lives in captivity than they live in the wild.

 

Notice the red marking on the side of the head. Photo:  Google Images 
 

The female is larger than the male, but the males have longer claws and a longer, thicker tail.  Red-eared sliders are poikilotherms, which means they are unable to regulate their body temperatures independently and are completely dependent on the environment.  They are omnivores eating aquatic vegetation, small fish, and decaying material.
 
Most of the turtles who come into rehabilitation have been hit by a car, run over by a lawnmower, or mauled by a dog and have a damaged shell.  In most instances, the staff at All Things Wild is able to patch the shell.  There are a myriad of techniques for repairing turtle shells including fiberglass, epoxy, dental resin, zip ties, hooks and eyes, or metallic tape to hold the shell together until it mends on its own. 

 

Red-eared slider with a damaged shell. Photo:  Google Images

If you see a turtle crossing the road and want to help, move the turtle to the side of the road in the direction in which it was traveling.  If you put it back where it started, the turtle will only across the road again.
 

For more information on red-eared sliders, click HERE and HERE.