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Coyote Story It was a typical hot desert morning with the sun heating up the sand and rocks. The mother coyote woke up and began to feed her seven newborn pups. She was a good mother, who, before giving birth had dug a hole into the hard rocky desert ground. This coyote den was deep enough to keep her and her babies warm at night and cool during the day, when temperatures reached well over 100 degrees. The pups were only days old, and their primary mission in life was to drink their mother's live-giving milk, and to sleep and grow. Suddenly, and without warning, their world was about to change forever. It started as the mother coyote's ears twitched as they do when a strange sound is heard. Their ears are sensitive to the slightest noise, even at a distance, and can turn around in all directions like a radar dish. A low rumbling noise and the sound of rocks being crunched began to agitate her. As the sound came closer and louder, she slowly and cautiously poked her head out from the opening to the family's den, being careful not to move too fast and give away her children's location to a would-be predator looking for a quick meal. But what the mother saw from her coyote eyes was a most frightening sight: a huge orange monster blowing black smoke from its head, and growling while digging the earth. As it moved relentlessly toward the coyote den, the mother reacted quickly. She knew that she did not have time to move the babies to safety, so she was going to use an old coyote trick. She would run away from the den and the large predator would chase her, leaving the pups alone. What the coyote could not understand was that this orange predator was not alive, it was not another animal, it was a bulldozer. The mother coyote swiftly ran out of the den hoping to distract the bulldozer so it would chase her, but of course it did not. The giant bulldozer was heading straight for the den, ready to scoop up the ground and crush the seven little coyote pups. As the bulldozer approached the coyotes' home, a worker saw the mother coyote run from the den. This human ran across the desert terrain waving her arms to attract the attention of the great orange bulldozer. Seeing this lady wildly waving her arms, the driver suddenly stopped the giant bulldozer…just a few feet away from the den. The woman and the driver peered into the hole where the mother had just run, and saw the young helpless pups whining for their mother. Needing to continue their work and Searching around and not finding the mother coyote anywhere in sight, the workers immediately contacted a local wildlife sanctuary. The babies were rescued by the wildlife sanctuary staff, then fed and housed at the sanctuary temporarily. Wildlife Associates was asked to take two of the baby coyotes, and to give them a home for the rest of their lives. The seven coyote pups will never be returned to the wild, both because of current laws and also, since their mother cannot raise them, they will never learn the skills necessary to survive in the harsh desert environment. The coyotes are now lining with us at Wildlife Associates, and their story will be told to school children throughout Northern California. Their names are Zuni and Kachina, bother and sister, and their future adventures will be posted here for you to read. You will learn about their personalities, their diets, their favorite games and toys and fascinating natural history facts and fun pictures. Check back to see and read more! |
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"To gaze into the eyes of these magnificent beings brings us closer to a true understanding of our place in nature's web of life. Along with human intelligence and dominance comes responsibility. We must leave the next generation with the proper knowledge and motivation so they can act responsibly toward the earth". Steve Karlin WildLIFE Associates |