Mainly clear. Low around 45F. Winds light and variable..

Mainly clear. Low around 45F. Winds light and variable.

Last Friday morning my wife and I sat up on our hill in our camper overlooking the pond when a coyote appeared along the water’s edge.

Now this was no normal coyote like we usually see. It was extremely light colored, almost white. He worked his way along the pond’s far bank, stopping and sniffing here and there. A once-submerged muskrat hole had his attention for a moment, but then he moved on.

When he was directly across from us, he stopped for a drink. A couple of minutes later he disappeared into the deep grass below the dike.

We knew we had a coyote hanging around. Pat has seen its scat on the dike when she mows. They are definitely creatures of habit. We just happened to see him the other day, but he’ll travel the same route most every day in search of food. We’ll put out one of our trail cameras and get a picture of him one of these days.

I remember when the first coyotes were seen in the area. Back then we called them coydogs. Their nightly howls could be heard on the hillsides. People wondered where this new animal came from.

But these animals aren’t a cross between a coyote and a dog. They are a hybridization of the western coyote and the gray wolf. They were first found in the northern Great Lakes area and moved eastward, filling a niche.

So what’s the difference between our eastern coyote (coywolf) and a western coyote? It comes down to size.

I was on an elk hunt in southwestern Colorado some years ago. As we drove along the top of the mesa heading for a canyon filled with dark timber a coyote ran across in front of us. It was small — maybe twenty-five to thirty pounds — far smaller than its eastern cousins.

I’ve seen many that hunters have shot here in this area and our coyotes are twice the size. I shot one in the Adirondacks many years ago that weighed over 70 pounds.

Color is another difference. Our coyotes come in a variety of colors, from nearly black to the pale white one we saw the other day. I’ve seen them red, tan, and gray as well as a nice marble-like pattern. The western coyote is far less colorful — basically just a brownish-grey.

Now I know some of you folks will be upset because I shot one, but wait until they come into your backyard some night and make a meal out of Fi-Fi or Rover.

Dogs and cats are some of their favorites. They hunt in family groups or packs and will kill any domestic dog no matter the size. During the spring when the deer have their fawns, many newborns are eaten by coyotes.

An old-timer in the Walton area told me he watched a doe go out in his meadow to feed her newborn fawn. A coyote was up on the hill and watched the mother do her thing like she does several times a day.

When she left, the coyote ran down, grabbed the fawn and disappeared into the brush with the baby in its jaws. Coyotes are smart and creatures of opportunity. They help control the woodchuck population and eat a large quantity of mice, moles, and other rodents. Apart from all that, coyotes are here to stay. Ask the ranchers in the west. There is no true population control. Their numbers seem to stay rather steady.

On a final note: I was in a Zoom meeting Tuesday morning in the camper, and the whitish-colored coyote made his rounds again today. I’ll try for a picture later.

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