Tuesday, November 11, 2008

City surprise

I was working in front of the house this morning when my neighbor came out on his porch and said, "Hey, is that a fox?!" He pointed across the street.

I looked. "Whoa! That's not a fox! That's a coyote!"
I ran inside, grabbed my camera and gave chase. Wily guy, with a pronounced limp. He probably had been hit by a car, but he was trucking pretty well nonetheless. I couldn't approach close enough to get anything beyond these craptastic photos on zoom. One in a front yard, and another in the alley.
He was moving at a pretty good clip south. I know coyotes are considered vermin, but I'm hoping this one was able to make it somewhere safe without getting hit again. He'd already beaten some serious odds to join my life list of city critters.

12 comments:

  1. Poor guy! There are coyotes near my house, too. The landscape is chaparral and at least they get to feast on an abundance of rabbits.

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  2. awe! poor thing. I hope he makes it safe, as well.

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  3. Aw poor cayote! We have some of those around my house.
    ps. Ive tagged you in my recent post if you have time : )

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  4. Poor guy. Injured and probably hungry. They fare pretty well around here... not too densely populated and lots of food for them.

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  5. I'd be thrilled to see a coyote. I've never seen one except in pictures. I know that they've been seen in Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC which always seems amazing to me.

    I do however see foxes regularly at the large Baltimore City park I go to every morning.

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  6. Coyote is a tricky guy, he will most likely be just fine. 9and not vermin either)

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  7. His coloring looks a little like a fox's though. Don't think I've ever seen one.

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  8. hope he made it through.
    no foxes/coyotes here. leopards wander into residential areas up north, in bombay. stray cases but they come out of the national park because of encroachments. Even the residential parts are encroached zones but have been passed by authorities.

    joanne: the only good looking coyotes i ever seen was on Ugly Coyote. :op
    A fox looks a lot bushier than the coyote and has a richer coat colouring.(?)

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  9. Val, sounds like you're a slightly more rural area. This one could probably find a fair amount to feast on, too, but we're urban enough that a pack probably would not be tolerated for long.

    Mimi, I did feel sorry for it. Out of its element and injured.

    Thanks, Jessy! I'll take a look.

    Betts, you've probably got lots of critters there in the wildlands.

    Julie, I thought it was thrilling, too! I've seen them in the country only rarely, and never in the city before.

    Alecto, you might change your mind if they got your chickens!

    Joanne, yes, fox-like, but grayer, and much larger.

    Ari, a leopard would be something to see! We do have mountain lions in some of the suburbs closer to the mountains. They're scary!

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  10. I feel so bad for these critters having to live with us humans. It can't be easy. They're just trying to make a living.

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  11. I've seen a coyote over here east of City Park before! I wasn't fast enough to capture him on camera. Hopefully the injuries aren't too bad.

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  12. Tuesday must have been coyote day.

    I woke uo that morning with Manchac, one of our labs, bleeding in my bed. Turns out a 'yote had gotten to his tail and a flank. Cleaned him up with Bactine and salve and use a bit of pressure and he was a happy boy again.

    Rory, our stock dog, gets coyote wounds on his head, which shows you which way he is facing them. Rory knows his job and we haven't lost any livestock.

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