posted July 10, 2007 06:00 PM             

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What are your thoughts on the fact that not only is that coyote smelling another coyote, but he may very well be smelling a dozen different coyotes at the same time? Do you think he can tell that there is more than one coyote in that mist? "

I believe that they do indeed smell everything in the mist, at the same time, and are able to isolate each odor. Tracking dogs are able to follow individuals through heavy traffic urban areas that are covered with layer after layer of epithelia cells from every human that has passed before, which is actually the source of the scent that the dog detects. Canines are known to detect odors in layers. You have to consider that the long snout of the coyote contains more than 250 million olefactory receptor cells and they are capable of detecting odors in PARTS PER TRILLION. I readily admit that I am incapable of understanding that degree of sensitivity to scents. It's probably like trying to explain color to a blind person.

"How much do you think that freaks him out?"

That would depend entirely on the coyote's security level at that time. If it is in freak mode and on high alert, I wouldn't expect to gain much from the use of mist. If the coyote is going about business as usual when it hits the mist I would expect it to start tripping one trigger after another until that sensory overload stage kicks in.

And second, from reading Gerry's prequel to your article, did you wash your hands before you guys ate lunch?

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posted July 10, 2007 07:24 PM             

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QUOTE] Are more details conveyed through feces than urine due to glands

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It's obvious that they use a squirt of urine a lot more frequently than poop in territorial marking. Sometimes a dump is just a dump.

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This subject is worthy of a long thread by itself.
In three separate studies, three biologists, Kleiman, Ewer, and Ralls all arrived at the same conclusion, that scent marking with urine may be only indirectly related to territorial defense, and its primary function may be to provide the resident coyote with a familiar odor to uncrease its feeling of security. There's the all important security level issue again.

The same is very true of scat deposits. Contrary to popular belief, coyotes are very social animals and often do not exclude all non-member coyotes. Scat deposits along roads and other thoroughfares are most often social calling cards, a "Kilroy was here" thing rather than boundary markers. Coyotes have a gland on each side of its anus that they control at will to deposit their personal scent to the scat so it is identifiable regardless of diet and they deposit their graffiti when they care enough that only the best will do.

Dr Camanzind found a coyote "latrine" on the NER inside an abandoned hay shed that contained more than 500 scat. One of Jaegers students found a similar "latrine" under a bridge that crossed a dry creek bed.

Joe Melton, Az. Game Commissioner and trapper told me that coyotes use scat deposits to locate food sources such as carrion, deadpiles, mesquite bean groves, melon fields, and grapes. The coyote simply follows the back trail from the interesting scat deposit to the origin, sometimes from great distances. He says that the transient coyotes honor territories that they travel through or in which the source is located by traveling a straght line and not meandering as they usually do. That is why calling in an area of high numbers of deposits is relatively unproductive.

posted July 10, 2007 09:09 PM             

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PS, I specifically excluded other urines from my example! And, I know why we do it. Remember, I taught you, right?

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You did teach me and I am eternally grateful.
However, excluding the other scents changes the apples to oranges and is irrelevant, I humblely opine.
Gary, thank you.
No one has commented on that marvelous photo that you took. Was it included in the article? What size? That was a major acheivement and you nailed it on a very, very short deadline.

posted July 11, 2007 06:11 PM             

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I may just have to try this misting and see if any benefits in this area are seen.

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