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Author
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Topic: Coyote pups ?
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sporterweight
Knows what it's all about
Member # 189
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posted May 17, 2007 09:00 PM
When do coyote pups go w/ the alpha's to begin training ?
And how big of a gap [ballpark] is there between the time when the the first pups hit the ground and the last ?
Is dispersal around labor day ?
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You got space invaders ?-No
You got pac-man ?-No
You got asteroids ?-No -but dad does -can hardly sit on the toilet somedays.
Posts: 91 | From: Meridian ,Idaho | Registered: Apr 2003
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Rich Higgins
unknown comic
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posted May 19, 2007 09:49 AM
quote:
When do coyote pups go w/ the alpha's to begin training ?
Hey Sporterweight, pups are pretty mobile at 3-4 weeks of age, weaned at about 5 weeks and pretty much abandon the dens by 6 weeks. They use "rendezvous" areas instead.
quote:
And how big of a gap [ballpark] is there between the time when the the first pups hit the ground and the last ?"
I assume you mean the gaps beteen first and last litters? That would be as much as 30 days.
"Is dispersal around labor day ?
Dispersal is not an actual season. In fact many biologists now refer to the September -December social season as "recovery" rather than "dispersal" as they did in the past. Dispersal varies greatly with the dynamics of individual interactions between littermates. Dispersal of coyotes, juveniles as well as adults, is caused not by aggression from parents but by avoidance by littermates. The most dominant and the most subordinate juveniles do not bond socially very well with the other pups and are the first to disperse. They just wander off rather than being driven off and this can occur as early as late August and continue on to denning season when the next dispersal spike occurs. A number of variables influence dispersal so no one can tell you what percentage of any litter will disperse nor when they will, if at all.
This morning I spent two hours in the desert with my dogs looking for den sites. No tracks in the washes or trails, only one sighting in the last month, but I hear them often at night. I stopped on a small rise overlooking a series of washes and I barked three times as high pitched as I could. Within ten seconds 5 adults and one football size puppy trotted out of a wash 60 yards away and stood for a minute or so watching me and my three dogs. I can't explain those population dynamics?
Incidentally, I followed their tracks from the area and they used the off-road bike ruts. Their pads and toes blended in with the knobs from the bike tires and just about disappeared. That's why I haven't been able to find trails to and from the dens.
Very cool.
edit for spellin'
[ May 19, 2007, 07:19 PM: Message edited by: Rich Higgins ]
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sporterweight
Knows what it's all about
Member # 189
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posted May 19, 2007 04:57 PM
Thanks Rich ,
I figured you would hook me up w/ some info..
Been doing some reading and there sure are a lot of conflicting 'ideas'.
That sure was an odd group on your last outing.
When you say you and your dogs went out -are you just seeing their reaction to the dogs? I would think the dogs would go ape -shot w/ coyotes staring at them.
I'm living in idaho now and plan on giving the yotes a hard time.Wolves and lions also.
I'm going to get myself a tolling dog when i get a little more settled in cur ? airedale ? something.Well thanks -Mike
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You got space invaders ?-No
You got pac-man ?-No
You got asteroids ?-No -but dad does -can hardly sit on the toilet somedays.
Posts: 91 | From: Meridian ,Idaho | Registered: Apr 2003
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Rich Higgins
unknown comic
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posted May 19, 2007 07:18 PM
quote:
Been doing some reading and there sure are a lot of conflicting 'ideas'.
Coyote behavior just doesn't fit in nice neat categories. "Complex" and "varied" are two of the most common adjectives used to describe coyotes and their behavior because coyotes are most greatly influenced by their individual environments and their most recent experiences. That makes for some big differences.
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