2021—The Pounce

What a week in Yellowstone National Park! The Coyotes became our primary target when on our first morning, we encountered a lone Coyote trotting along the groomed roadway. We saw Coyotes on each of our five days in the park and were able to get close to them and get glass on them four of the five days. Despite there being far fewer people in the park this year due to a combination of Covid and weather, we did have some competition from sledders who would stop to photograph our target Coyotes, often causing the Coyotes to veer off the road to avoid harassment as we watched from a distance. Moose knows animal behavior well so he directed us to be patient and strategic in our deployment. We would drive further down the road in the direction the Coyote was originally taking. The path of least resistance was the groomed roadways so the Coyotes would trot down the center of the road, leaving it only to mouse, scent mark, or avoid harassment. Because we stayed still and close to our vehicle, the Coyotes didn’t see us as a threat and trotted straight toward us, veering off only to avoid a close encounter. This Coyote left the roadway near us and stopped after apparently hearing something under the snow, a potential meal. One of the characteristics of a hunting Coyote is the pounce. All seven of us were rewarded with capturing almost identical sequences as this Coyote pounced on its unsuspecting prey beneath the snow.