Coyote Pups photo by George Gove
Not long ago, I read a comment spoken by Dan Ashe, Director of our Federal Fish and Wildlife service in Washington. This is what he said ~ “Chimps are one of the world’s iconic species because of their CONNECTIONS AND SIMILIARITY TO HUMANS.”
READ THAT AGAIN…. BUT WHAT CONNECTIONS AND WHAT SIMLITARITIES? I want to speak of one in particular here….
Are they the only ones….by no means! Wild beings who live complex social lives, like we do, have the same capacity to experience the joy of companionship and family life, and the grief of their loss as well.
So Coyotes because of their social nature are especially vulnerable to mourning and grief. Those of you who have dogs, I’m sure have experienced their grief personally yourselves. Below are two links where our domestic canines are expressing grief and mourning, and honoring their dead. Coyotes do the same….you just don’t see this very private part of their lives. Here is the first ~
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dog-cries-owner-grave-wiley-video_n_3156141?utm_hp_ref=tw
Here is the second~
www.eonline.com/news/433463/dog-buries-puppy-in-viral
Yes, the wild ones have this same capacity for grief and honoring their dead, and they also have the capacity for play and happiness, that those of you who share your lives with your dogs, get to experience every day. So the following link gives you a rare glimpse into that joyful, intelligent play of our wild dog, Coyote~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vwD7KU1SkJY
So then…..what about our human behavior to them? Why do we tolerate the lack of their protection from human violence and cruelty? So what happens to the little coyote pups you see above when their parents are cruelly killed just for sport?
