2111_0150 Coyote
I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've had close encounters with a Coyote while I was on foot. This was the most recent, and here's what happened...
I was in a remote corner of the park, about to drive up into the hills, when I glanced to my left and saw a Coyote. It had bedded down in a dirt scrape on a hillside and was soaking up some mid-morning rays. I stopped, shot some pics from the car, and eventually it got up, yawned and stretched a couple of times, then disappeared over the crest of a low hill.
I drove a hundred metres farther up the road, hoping to get another viewing window, but the hill was in the way. Thinking I might be able to place myself in the Coyote's line of travel, I got out and climbed the hill, which took about 20 seconds. And I guessed right: there it was, ears up, watching me. I was downwind. That's a key. Coyotes live in an olfactory world. It saw me, but did it know what I am?
Hoping to arouse its curiosity, I ducked down in the tall grass, and saw its ears start to move toward me. Popped up to let it see me again, and back down. The Coyote circled me, coming into full view; by now I was lying on my back shooting across the length of my body as the animal moved in closer and closer. It showed no fear. Thirty feet; twenty. Eventually its head filled the frame, My best shots came a little before the full frame images. By then it had my scent, and - evidently satisfied - it turned away. Even when I sat up, then stood up, it didn't run, didn't flee. To win a wild animal's trust, even for a few minutes, is the highlight of any outing.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada) despite the map's inability to differentiate Sask from Montana. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2021 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
2111_0150 Coyote
I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've had close encounters with a Coyote while I was on foot. This was the most recent, and here's what happened...
I was in a remote corner of the park, about to drive up into the hills, when I glanced to my left and saw a Coyote. It had bedded down in a dirt scrape on a hillside and was soaking up some mid-morning rays. I stopped, shot some pics from the car, and eventually it got up, yawned and stretched a couple of times, then disappeared over the crest of a low hill.
I drove a hundred metres farther up the road, hoping to get another viewing window, but the hill was in the way. Thinking I might be able to place myself in the Coyote's line of travel, I got out and climbed the hill, which took about 20 seconds. And I guessed right: there it was, ears up, watching me. I was downwind. That's a key. Coyotes live in an olfactory world. It saw me, but did it know what I am?
Hoping to arouse its curiosity, I ducked down in the tall grass, and saw its ears start to move toward me. Popped up to let it see me again, and back down. The Coyote circled me, coming into full view; by now I was lying on my back shooting across the length of my body as the animal moved in closer and closer. It showed no fear. Thirty feet; twenty. Eventually its head filled the frame, My best shots came a little before the full frame images. By then it had my scent, and - evidently satisfied - it turned away. Even when I sat up, then stood up, it didn't run, didn't flee. To win a wild animal's trust, even for a few minutes, is the highlight of any outing.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada) despite the map's inability to differentiate Sask from Montana. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2021 James R. Page - all rights reserved.