Thursday, January 24, 2008

That explains it



We've never had much of a raccoon problem here. I suspected that the coyotes were taking care of that for us.

At first, this picture made me wonder if coyotes carried nesting material! But when I zoomed in and brightened it, and increased the contrast, I saw a little striped tail sticking out of the coyote's jaws. (Click on the picture to enlarge.)

Now, if only I could get them interested in armadillos...

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy looking coyote, even from the rear. I wonder if that was what happened to the two or three youngish raccoons that were eating up all the cat food at our house.

Anonymous said...

Damn! What a great capture.

robin andrea said...

That is a great shot. That game cam really does click some amazing images. Look at the tail on the coyote. Very nice.

wineandroasts said...

What a beautiful animal! Our coyotes are scrawny and sickly looking.

Must not be enough raccoons over here to keep them plump...if only they ate field mice....

Annie in Austin said...

Wow, what a picture, Rurality!

Bet there's something pretty satisfying about having your theory proven.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Anonymous said...

Great shot! Better raccoons than all the neighborhood cats!

I made this my "weekly delight" on my site.

Sandy said...

Terrific shot! Hopped over from Karmyn's and she's right - it was worth the trip. Great post and a really good looking coyote.

Driftwood and Pumpkin said...

Glad to meet ya! I too lived in the suburbs and moved to a rural area. I hop skipped and jumped over from Karmyns. We only have foxes in MD...no coyotes.

Rurality said...

Mark, I wouldn't doubt it. The rabbits are definitely fewer this time of year too.

Dave, I can't help but wish she were headed in the other direction!

RA, I am wondering if it's too early for them to have pups...?

CG, I think all ours are *really* well fed. They ate enough chickens, that's for sure!

Annie, yeah, it's the first time I've seen anything like this. We did find a long trail of chicken feathers once.

Karmyn, thanks very much! Sadly I think they have eaten several local cats.

Sandy, thanks, and thanks for visiting!

Tracey, I've never seen a fox here, or gotten one on the game camera. I've read that coyotes drive them out. And apparently wolves drive out coyotes if they are in the same area. (No wolves in Alabama though.)

R.Powers said...

Yet your ground nesting turkeys seem to be thriving. Isn't that odd?
I second the armadillo as coyote dinner idea.
Great shot!

Anonymous said...

Cool photo! Though, I do feel a bit sorry for the coon! Coyotes and foxes will share territory - our game camera takes photos of both on a regular basis, along with bobcats, deer, coons, rabbits, possums, squirrels, birds, etc., etc. We don't encourage domestic cats, so they are definitely not a food source, but there are more than enough rodents and cottontails to keep all our predators satisfied.

Pamela said...

I guess they have to feed their young ones, too.

Why can't they all eat tofu?

Anonymous said...

Is that a north-bound coyote? I don't have my game cameras set up at Roundrock yet.

KFarmer said...

The armadillos are the devil for sure. I saw on the Travel Network some where in Mexico they know how to prepare and eat them... Maybe we could start a business and slip and ship them? :)

Rurality said...

FC, yeah that is strange now that you mention it. Not sure how they do it.

Therese, interesting... I guess you can't always believe everything you read!

Pamela, they probably don't have woks to stir-fry it in anyway... :)

Pablo, yep. As usual!

KF, did you know that they are the only animal that can carry leprosy?! I'm not eating that! :)

Anonymous said...

I don't get it. What's wrong with armadillos?

Dirty Fingernails said...

HOLY MOLY!!! as long as it isn't a pet.. We have one here that is pretty stealth, but stays near the creek and lake around here. Good capture of the photoe.

lisa said...

Hooray for coyote! I wonder if they'll eat possums?

Dora Renee Wilkerson said...

How do you get these pictures? That is so neat. Every time I see something like that I never have my camera with me. Then when I do have my camera I never see anything..lol..

Dora Renee' Wilkerson

P.S
I love reading and seeing your site!

Rurality said...

DF, yeah it could very well be a pet, if we weren't careful!

Lisa, I think they probably do.

DRW, thanks! It's a game camera, a Cuddeback 3.0. If you click on the "game cam" link below the post, you can see some other posts where I talk about it more.