The Coyote Project

THE COYOTE PROJECT
(c) Jay Ryser
www.jayryser.com

The Myths, The Mammal, and The Model The Coyote is a well known well known animal with a rich history in the Americas; a central figure in Native American myth and folklore, a popular cartoon character, and the most wide spread predator in North America. The coyote is known by many different names: the American jackal, the prairie wolf, Steppenwolf, brush wolf, and lobo. His Latin designation (Canis latrans) is translated as “barking dog,” but the name coyote comes from the Aztec word, coyotl. The coyote is also a misunderstood animal, irrationally feared by many, and frequently the subject of misplaced anger and city-sponsored efforts at eradication.

It seems like most Native American tribes, from Central America to far North America, have a myth regarding the coyote. He is frequently referred to as “The Trickster,” and is usually described as smart , inventive, mischievous, and evasive. In many myths, the coyote is a Promethean figure, who stole fire from other god-like beings and gave it to Man. He is variously credited with creating Man, saving Man, creating the world and other animal species, and as an agent of change in the world. Most of the time he is considered a force for good, sometimes as a force for evil, and occasionally as a buffoon and an object of ridicule. He is always portrayed as male, and usually as having many anthropomorphic features.

Given the various and often contradictory ways Native Americans viewed the coyote, it’s not surprising that modern Americans share a sometimes-love and mostly-hate relationship with the coyote. Part of the problem is that the coyote is a remarkably smart and adaptable animal. As humans take over more wild land, most species are forced out; not the coyote. They are easily able to adapt to a changing environment and even thrive living among humans. Most neighborhoods in North America have resident coyotes, and most of the time they go unnoticed. But as population densities increase, so do interactions with coyotes. In Colorado, many people living close to undeveloped areas have lost pets to coyotes. In my neighborhood, our once sizable feral cat population has gone from numerous to rare due to the presence of a pair of coyotes who live nearby and regularly cruise the neighborhood after dark.

The reports of coyote attacks is also on the rise. I was surprised to find so many reported coyote attacks on humans with a quick Google search. Unfortunately for the coyotes, it seems like the majority of attacks are based on fear and alarm rather than actual aggression. Many people who see a coyote assume it’s sizing them up for a quick meal, and react and report accordingly. One local newscaster reported she was “attacked” by a coyote in the parking lot at work (she pulled into a parking place at work, and a coyote came running up to the door of her car – he’d obviously been fed by humans before and was looking for a hand out – but she was in fear for her life!).

All the reports of coyote attacks by concerned citizens have spurred some cities into action, many times into irrational actions, including authorizing residents to fire upon coyotes in their neighborhoods (I don’t trust my neighbors with power tools – the thought of them taking pot shots at imagined blood thirsty coyotes in my neighborhood scares the bejeebers out of me). Some cities have hired coyote snipers to remove them from local parks, with minimal concern for the actual welfare of the people they’re “protecting” with these actions!

The coyote is actually fairly modest by predator standards. They’re typically a gray/brown/reddish color that provides a surprisingly effective camouflage in their chosen environment, from grasslands to woods to urban environments. Males are usually a bit heavier than females. Studies have males usually weighing between 12-15kg/26-33lbs – about the size of a medium dog (my Akita outweighs the average coyote by about 3 to 4 times). This size makes them very effective predators with a variety of smaller game, including rodents, rabbits, birds, frogs, insects, and snakes (you’ll notice that humans are not on that list). Coyotes have been known to attack and consume pets, with and without their owners present. The coyotes at my local park are also adept at hunting the Canada geese there, particularly in the winter when the lake is frozen over.

The Project
I’ve noticed coyotes in my neighborhood, around dusk and dawn, but I hear them frequently too – I live close to a fire station and they respond to sirens with their own howls. I also noticed a coyote in my local park, just a couple of miles from my home; it’s a big place, popular with families, dog walkers, fishermen, etc. It has a 60 acre lake, lots of grassland, and even a wildlife sanctuary surrounded with a barbed wire fence. Lots of birds, too: geese, ducks, coots, herons, hawks, kestrels, even pelicans at certain times. I’ve seen raccoons, nutria, snapping turtles, among other wildlife. In the Fall of last year, I decided I needed a new wildlife challenge, something a little different, and something a little more difficult than my usual subjects. The coyote at the local park seemed like an ideal candidate – as it turns out, this turned into my most difficult photographic subject I’ve ever experienced. Thus started The Coyote Project.

I wasn’t expecting things to be easy – I knew that coyotes were smart, and for a lack of a better word, wily. I just wasn’t prepared for how smart and wily they actually are. I haven’t noticed any big Acme crates, but so far they haven’t needed any. I decided to start by going to the park as often as possible close to sunrise and sunset. I got to the point where I could usually find the coyote and had a general idea of where he lived, and had down some of his more frequent routes. Early morning, before sunrise I’d either find him out on the frozen ice of the lake, or cruising the frozen pond in the Wilderness Sanctuary, then later in the morning I’d find him in the field to the west hunting for voles.

Strategy & Tactics
I decided to start in the Wilderness Sanctuary. It’s enclosed with a barbed wire fence with several gates. There’s a small pond inside, with a trail running around its circumference, and several wooden blinds close to the shore. Early in the morning, I could usually find the coyote inside the sanctuary, but I could never get close enough or have a clear enough shot, so I had to change my tactics. I started by hiding in the tall reeds, facing west, with the sun at my back, ready to catch the coyote with some nice catch light in his eyes. I figured that with the sun behind me, he wouldn’t be able to see me while moving east towards me. Boy, was I wrong – as soon as he turned a bend in the trail, he immediately spotted me and ran off. So much for that plan.

After that, I decided to use the wooden blinds. Since they were a permanent part of the sanctuary, animals were not concerned with their presence and ignored them. It quickly became obvious that the blinds were designed for bird watchers observing waterfowl on the pond, not coyote photographers. If I got to the sanctuary well before sunrise and stayed quiet, I could sometimes ambush the coyote. The problem was that when I was facing the pond, the coyote would be behind me, and when I was facing away from the pond, the coyote would be on the pond. Either way, the coyote would quickly spot me and disappear for the remainder of the morning. There were times when I met with some brief success; I could sometimes get several shots by ambush, but the sound of the shutter firing would always give me away. It would take the coyote a few seconds to locate me by sound, and then he was gone. I needed to change tactics again. I started using a sheet of camouflage material to hide my human silhouette. This actually worked well a few times – I even had the coyote stalk by my position less than 10 feet away – too close for my lens to focus! I stayed quiet until I had a firing solution and managed to nab a few frames before he bolted an ran. Partial success.

One morning I got in place very early – at least an hour before sunrise. I quietly set up my gear and waited. I discovered what I thought was only one coyote was a pair of coyotes who apparently live in the sanctuary. The more I observed them, the better I got to know their behavior, and the more I learned of their behavior, the more impressed I was with their intelligence. It became obvious that the female in particular was very human-phobic. The male would deliberately make an appearance, make sure I noticed and was following him, then lead me out to the tall grass to the west, where he would quickly outpace me and disappear. That strategy worked well for a while, until I started to feign tracking him and quietly head back to the sanctuary and ambush the female after she thought I had left the area.

Since that time, I’ve observed at least four different coyotes in the park, and I suspect there are at least a dozen living in and around the park. It’s taken a while, but I can now identify at least four individuals by slight variations in their coats and behavior (coyotes do look a lot alike until you spend some time with them). I keep hoping that they’ll get used to me and accept my presence, but so far that hasn’t happened, with one exception. There’s a big male that I call “The Big Male” (not real creative, but I do try to not anthropomorphize wildlife more than I already do). While the others weigh in around 25-30 pounds or so, I’m estimating this guy is 40-45 pounds – big for a coyote. We have a partial understanding – I can follow and photograph him as long as I don’t get too close, and he keeps an eye on me at all times while hunting to make sure I’m not getting too close. Not a great relationship, but better than complete avoidance.

The Gear
I’m always out early, so a tripod is a must with the shutter speeds I find myself using. The temps are usually pretty low Fall through Spring, too, so the tripod is a must to prevent tired, sore arm muscles and cold related shaking. The more rigid and secure the tripod is, the better. And for you folks with long lenses, a gimbal head is an absolute must-have item. I’m a fan of fast primes, and my lens of choice currently is a 300mm f/2.8. I need as fast a lens as I can get to work in low light, and for most of my subjects, it’s plenty of focal length. I frequently use a 1.4TC for a little extra reach without losing too much speed. Despite this, I still longed for additional reach with these uncooperative critters. I’d love to get a longer super-telephoto in the 500-600mm f/4 range, but neither my bank account nor my marriage would survive that purchase.

I did try a Sigma 150-500 lens for a brief period of time, specifically with coyotes in mind, but wound up selling it quickly. At the long end, the aperture was f/6.3 at its widest, and even when I had sufficient light, it was painfully slow to focus, would hunt back and forth, and take forever to finally lock on the subject. Most infuriatingly, when I thought it was locked on, I’d hit the shutter button, and it would start the hunting for focus all over again. Despite this, I got some of my favorite coyote shots using this lens.

I finally gave up on using the camouflage material. I discovered that as long as I stayed behind the tripod and kept my face to the viewfinder, my human silhouette was sufficiently broken-up for the coyotes to not immediately recognize me. I’ve had several coyotes at relatively close range see the tripod with me behind it, hear the shutter firing, but still continue to approach me. It was only when I took my face away from the camera and look around it that they recognized me as human and ran.

Note to self: NEVER TAKE YOUR EYE AWAY FROM THE VIEWFINDER!!

Conclusion The worse the economy gets, the more appealing it is to find subject close to home. These coyotes are only a couple of miles from my home. Despite their proximity, they remain a huge challenge. The coyotes quickly adapt to my behavior, forcing me to adapt more quickly as well. And because they’re such a challenge photographically, they’ve forced me to up the ante on my game, photographically speaking. I’ve had to become a better photographer, and a better outdoorsman, to have a chance at getting images.

My respect for the coyote has also made huge leaps. I knew they were smart, but I was unprepared for how intelligent and adaptable they are. They outsmarted me many times (granted, not a huge challenge), and worked cooperatively to thwart my best efforts. I’m still amazed at how well they can blend in with their environment, and at times just magically disappear. There have been times when I’ve turned my head briefly and looked back to where a coyote was only moments before to have them vanish, sometimes for the rest of the day.

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