Monday, December 14, 2009

Melanistic coyote?



I'm fairly certain that this recent game gam photo is of a melanistic coyote.

You can see why we've been tempted to buy a new camera with a faster trigger. We get a fairly high percentage of this type of shot (only part of a moving animal).



Here he is going in the opposite direction.



Here's that same photo, lightened up a little.

Without seeing the face, I can't say for sure that it's not a coydog. I don't think those are very common here either, though.

Keep your fingers crossed that we'll get a better photo of this individual in the coming weeks.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whoa Cool! I have been thinking of getting that type of camera.
Thanks for sharing.

robin andrea said...

That's very interesting. I do hope you get a shot of its beautiful dark face.

R.Powers said...

Yes, We all want to see more of that one!

Tonia said...

Eeeww Coy dogs can be dangerous! They arent as leary of humans as Coyotes but are very much a wild animal. Anywhere you have a lot of coyotes and stray dogs you are going to have coydogs. We have/had a big problem with them here in Missouri. One place we lived at had a pack of stray dogs and coy dogs. They were wiping out chickens and getting calves alot! Between us and the neighbors they were taken care of pretty quickly.
They maybe pretty but they are NOT safe...

Pablo said...

This makes me want to set out my game cameras again. Thanx for sharing!

Deb said...

Someone in northern MN recently released a game cam photo of what they claim to be Bigfoot. Methinks it looks a lot like a bow hunter in dark camo attire.

Gail said...

Wonderful shot...I think I would like to have a wildlife camera! gail

Rurality said...

Barbara, it really opens your eyes to what happens late at night! :)

RA, me too.

FC, keeping my fingers crossed.

Tonia, there aren't many stray dogs here, and the coyotes do not seem as numerous as they used to be. I doubt that it's really a coydog, but can't be sure til I see it better.

Pablo, you need to see if anything is creeping around your porch. :)

Deb, I have had the BF people email me about my gamecam pics before! (They thought they saw something in the background...)

Gail, they are lots of fun, and the prices have come down some, too. The trigger times are better as well.

Misti said...

We saw this post a few days ago and my husband did some googling and he thinks it could be a silver fox (silver morph of the red fox).

Just an idea!

Rurality said...

Misti, well that's an interesting idea. I would tend to doubt it, just based on the size, but you never know... I hope we'll get a better photo soon.

Pamela said...

Looks like a wolf!

I don't know that I've ever seen a coydog.

Two weeks ago I was walking the creek when a coyote came right up out of the water - after apparently crossing the creek - and skedaddled right across in front of me. Scared me.

I've never been so close.

Jenn said...

Do you have the grey fox in your area? They are larger than the red fox, and are not really closely related.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_fox

The tail doesn't look quite right, but that could be an individual quirk.

lisa said...

Very cool! I'll be anxiously awaiting an update.

Karyl said...

Wow, he is just beautiful. I hope you get the better shots you are after!