Coyote Valentine
Do coyotes celebrate Valentine’s Day?
Damn straight! For about the past two weeks, while some of us humans have been contemplating, courting, or even copulating to celebrate, it’s also been coyote mating season. Isn’t it cute that their roughly two-week love-fest culminates around Valentine’s Day?
How do I know? Well, not necessarily because they’re more vocal during mating. Coyotes get vocal—or quiet—for a variety of reasons. But this time of year is when the female is in estrus, and so they mate. It’s in their DNA. They don’t know that it leads up to Valentine’s Day. But I knew, and since I also teach a course in Human Sexuality at a community college, I figured that when the coyotes be doin’ it was an interesting time to study them. Here’s the first part of the story and some photos.
Years ago, my school approved me for a sabbatical leave to study a subject of interest. As a Public Health professor in a Biology department, I felt my biological sciences knowledge was woefully lacking. I received the windfall of a year off with 80% pay. Half the year I studied nutraceuticals (food as medicine), which directly related to the other course I teach, Contemporary Health Issues. The other half year I studied ecosystems, which indirectly related to the same course (a unit on Environmental Health), and made me a more informed member of my department. Population, climate change, habitat loss, and the many threats to the “web of life” were and are of paramount concern to my colleagues. Coyotes interested me because they are such a successful species. My study of ecosystems included a trip to a coyote research station associated with a university.
At the time this sabbatical leave came through, I was going through a divorce and feeling emotionally very downtrodden. I had applied for the leave when I was still in a couple, and my husband and I had planned to make this trip together. Now I was alone, something I hadn’t been in a long time. I found that taking care of a property and many pets, not to mention myself and my job, the bills, court, our angry emails, etc. etc. quite daunting. Plus, I am a nervous traveler, so going to this unknown place created both fright and excitement side by side in my jittering heart.
I flew into the nearest city in the western United States, rented a car, and drove a couple hours up into the mountains. There were walls of snow plowed to the sides of the highway, and it was already snowing again as I headed north.
The university was in a small town, but the research station was out in the country. I had trouble figuring out which of the roads was the right one because it had grown dark and everybody was inside for Super Bowl Sunday. Eventually I found the nondescript back lane, and a security guard met me at the gate and took me to the house trailer where I would stay. Before it got too late, or the snow too deep, I headed back down the curvy lane to find a grocery store in town. I stocked up on some staples and went back to unpack and set about making the place a home. It was nothing fancy, and I had been warned that other “Visiting Scholars” (ooh, I liked my new title) might need to share the space. I didn’t like the idea that some strange man might come to stay in the bedroom next to mine. But for now, I was alone, and I was happy to be in charge of the thermostat that controlled the heat.
The Visiting Scholars’ house trailer was old and plain, but comfortable enough.
And then it happened. A coyote’s mournful howl. So close it sounded like it was in the trailer! And another and another, then many others, with accompanying yips and yowls and hoots and wails, until I thought there must be hundreds coming for me! I would learn the next day that there were about a hundred coyotes on the many-acre property. One of the interesting things about their vocalizations, though, is that they can make themselves sound like lots more—so that two or three coyotes can telegraph “Stay away! We’re a large pack!” to frighten away rivals and larger predators. It’s one of many reasons why coyotes are so successful.
My work would involve two parts: I’d meet at the university with some of the top coyote experts in the world to learn whatever they could teach me, and I’d get to observe the coyotes themselves. To prepare for the meetings, I read some of the scientists’ published journal articles so as to not feel quite so dumb in their presence. For the observations I’d be given free rein—I could go out anytime to the ‘blinds,’ little huts that were within the coyotes’ fenced territories, where researchers could watch the coyotes’ mating and other behaviors, and sometimes perform procedures such as chipping (identification tagging) a new pup or drawing blood to measure health status. I, of course, would just be observing and photographing, and I really appreciated the trust that had been placed in me to go about my business. I also appreciated the down coat that had been given me by a friend; did I mention that the temperature sometimes reached 30 below zero?
Anyway, the morning after I arrived, I was having my coffee when Knock, knock, knock! Who could that be, I wondered. When I opened the door, there stood … an extremely handsome man! I was still in my flannel PJs but grateful that I had at least brushed my teeth and combed my hair. It turned out he was the Director, there to welcome me. It also turned out that he was married, so he would be little more than eye candy. But who doesn’t need a little candy leading up to Valentine’s Day? 😉
He would be my guide for the next two weeks. He would also tell me a story that shocked and frightened me to my core. We’ll get to that in Part 2. And yes, we’ll get to the coyotes doin’ it, too.
In the meantime, here are a few more photos to set the scene.
…and alone.
So there I was—a scaredy cat surrounded by 100 predators, alone in a trailer in 30 below weather, and about to find out something terrifying. But Happy Valentine’s Day, right? ❤
Read Part 2 (coming soon) to find out what happened next!
I’m hooked – looking forward to parts 2 and 3. Deidre
Oh, I’m so glad! Thanks for reading, Deidre. I’m working on part 2 now. 😉
Hi Lynda … you have me hooked also … can’t wait to find out what’s going to happen next! Bring on Part 2 !
Thanks, Cindy! I’m working on it! 🙂
Love this Lynda. I had no idea what you really experienced. The trailer is cute. Nice images!
And this was just the quick overview, Sherry, with a primary focus. There was so much more!
Oh Sherry. I should have asked your advice before buying a (admittedly very small time camera.) But you would have had advice about shooting animals). What’s more precious to me is the memories!
It keeps getting more interesting every sentence. Just to be able to experience all of this in person sounds super exciting you must of been enjoying all of this , keep it up.
It was super exciting, Andrew! Even if some of what I learned wasn’t pleasant. Hope you also read Part 3!
Such a cool opportunity to be able to observe such fascinating creatures. I can only imagine what 30 below zero felt like!! I am intrigued and cannot wait to read the rest of the parts.
Oh, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Yes, 30 below is hard to imagine. Hope you enjoy the two that follow as well. They’re all posted.
What a great experience!! To be honest, I don’t think I could ever survive in 30 below zero degrees but I am sure it was all worth it considering everything you got to observe.
It was definitely worth it, and there was so much beauty – but I wouldn’t want to live there either! 🙂
Hello Lynda, this definitely changed my perspective upon coyotes drastically, this post was very interesting and informative i found your journey amazing and how beautiful the scenery and coyotes were. knowing the fact that the mating season for coyotes is during valentines day is very rad.
Hello Lynda, I found this post very informative and interesting however I would have personally had to observe them from inside a car because I would’ve been terrified. The female coyotes look like my cousins husky.
This had mee hooked, can’t wait to read up on part 2. I honestly would’ve been terrified to even get near the wolfs. They are extremely beautiful though.
They were in pens so I was never that exposed. And they are so beautiful! It was one of the greatest two weeks of my life!
Mother nature never ceses to amaze me and you highlighted that well in this post. I wonder if any other animals demonstrate the same behavior patters as these coyotes during this.
Pretty much every species has its own behavior patterns that are dictated by their biology but influenced by their environment (hey – kind of similar to us, LOL!) Only by studying them in detail can we see them too, and with wildlife that’s not so easy. Glad you were amazed!
Oh my goodness! This sounds like the most awesome experience ever. I think that being in nature is very healing. As someone who loves animals, I think that your adventure sounds thrilling as I would love to be in such close proximity with those cool animals. I really like the photos you included of the coyotes. They really are adorable. Excited to read part 2!
It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life. And I just found out about them and asked if I could come. Sometimes it’s amazing what we can have if we only seek and ask!
Hello Lynda, thank you for sharing your experience and the beautiful photos along with it. I too have experienced listening to their howls at night, not knowing which direction they are coming from and it sounds extremely eery. I look forward to reading parts two and three!
Thank you for sticking with this story! In the future, maybe those yips and howls won’t sound so eerie. They’re just talking! 😉
Thanks for sharing this story. I enjoyed how you were still able to overcome the obstacle the life throws at you and continue with the studies. The images of the wolves were a nice touch. I must have been a great experience!
It was wonderful. But they were coyotes, not wolves. 😉