Young Coyote Pups by Randy Lubischer
Coyote pups are born tiny, blind and completely dependent on their parent’s care. They are not born knowing how to hunt for their food. They must learn that skill by first practicing on small insects like grasshoppers and crickets, then watching their parents as they pounce on a mouse or corner a rabbit or squirrel or take down a weakened or sick deer. They must practice the “pounce” over and over again, failing many times before they perfect it. In the meantime their parents continue to bring them the food they have hunted
But there is more to being a wild hunter than the “pounce.” The pups must learn where the rodents can be found, using their powerful sense of smell to seek them out, they must learn the behaviors of their prey and how to out-maneuver them. They must learn who their prey are, and what time of day and season of the year to seek them out. All this and much more they must learn from their parents if they are going to survive.
That is why it is so important for Coyote families to remain stable, and not be affected by malicious human behavior that would send their very complex social lives into chaos. Coyote pups need to have a stable upbringing just as human children do. Their survival depends on it.
