The truth about the coyote!

The coyote is often feared and misunderstood. When one is seen, all the worst case scenarios go through a persons head. But once you get a little info from an expert, and happen to be in the right place at the right time with a camera, a new light is shed on the situation!

A friend recently wrote me about a coyote problem in her neighborhood and asked for advice. It's hanging around, killing turkeys and small animals (some unfortunate small pets), and there was a fear for kids in the neighborhood and other pets. I recommended she talk to Belmont's animal control officer, John. He is an expert on coyotes and lectures quite frequently on them.

After contacting him, Celine had this update for me!

Well The coyote story had a lot more to it. Come to find out the female was living in the woods behind us with 5 pups !!! Cute as ever they are . ( I will send along some pics).Plus the male is out and about also. They come prancing through the yard on a daily basis.

So I ended up calling John Maguranis in Belmont for advice.He's the nicest guy ever. He talked to me for almost an hour on the phone regarding coyotes and there behavior , what to do etc. He totally reassured me they are not out to eat me and all my critters ..LOL.... Told me not to worry to much about my feral cat as she is certainly aware that they are here and she is a WILD animal also. And very aware of her surroundings ..........So thanks again for referring me to someone who actually knows the facts on these creatures .

I now have a new found respect for them and find them very interesting .... I now find myself looking for them, often with camera in hand...There have been no other incidents with the Turkeys . Actually several times the coyote has come through the yard and the Turkeys just look at him like "Yuh try it".And he just keeps on walking. One neighbor said she actually saw 2 turkeys chase the coyote one morning...John told me it is highly unusual for them to attack Wild Turkeys . But the one she did kill in my yard that day was injured (one leg).The sick and injured go first. So he was easy prey and they are an opportunistic hunter.....

And even better.... she got pics!

Thanks for the wonderful story Celine. So glad everyone is able to be friends and work it out....and that you had your camera ready this day!!! Awesome pics! Very cute!

Playtime with Quinny.

Quinny is doing great! He's up to 826 grams and had his first walk outside yesterday. He wasn't thrilled, but he'll get used to it. He's out of quarantine also so I brought him in to see the little kids, Tosser and Mo. Mo couldn't be bothered and Toto peed himself! ha ha He's so brave!

Here he is exploring while I set up a bigger cage for him.

Funny looking raccoons

No masks and no ring tails! But pretty cute none the less. Got a group of 8 opossums....all boys too! Mom was hit by a car and killed along with 2 other siblings, but these guys were found and rescued in time. Mary is our resident opossum expert so I RAN to her when I got them! ha ha

These little guys are about 47 grams. They are not self feeding yet, but they are close....so I got some instructions from Mary and we split them. I'll take care of 4 of them until they start self feeding then we can reunite them all again and they will stay at Mary's until released.

Fishing, grapes & a walk in the woods.

Well the gang had a blast fishing for minnows the other day! No one ate any of them....but they sure enjoyed catching them then playing with them! The water turned muddy pretty fast with all 11 getting in on it.

Tosser with his catch! (or rather the catch he stole!!)

Surprisingly, Tosser was the most excited! He kept running down, grabbing a fish (usually from someone else after they fished it out!) and bringing it up to play with it on a shelf. He did this about 5 times.....back and forth....back and forth! What a riot to watch!

Here he is running up a tree to a shelf away from everyone after stealing someones fish! Too funny!!

Stinky chills....he lost interest pretty quickly....once they stopped wiggling!

The excitement of fishing set the mood....it was all out craziness for a while after the fishing!

Nosey says "Thanks for the fish mom!"

Tugger with her "crazy, I'm gonna pounce on you" look.

Mmmmmmmm.....yummy grapes!!

Tosser on his walk in the woods.

Ringer has 4!

Ok, just came in from out back. Not too much activity around 10pm. After a couple minutes of talking out loud, Ringer came in to the coondo. Followed by 2 kits.....then another......so I was so wrong about her kit count! She took some fig newtons and scratches from me, but wouldn't settle.

Then I heard someone calling from the bushes. Sure enough she went out there, then came back and kept pacing, then running up to me for scratches, then pacing again. I decided someone was too shy to come in....so I moved away. Ringer followed, with 2 of her kits on her tail. A couple minutes later, I looked back at the coondo and there were 2 kits up there. One more good back scratch from me, then she ran back to the coondo ( with 2 very cute rolly polly butts waddling behind her) collected the 2 there, everyone met in the middle, then she marched back to me. She's got 4...boy was I wrong all right.

I can't believe it but all 4 followed her right up to me as she asked me for one last scratch! I didn't move to try to pet them or anything....I knew they wouldn't let me.....but they all came up to my feet for a curious sniff. Then Ringer took off into the bushes by the water and one call from her and they were quick to follow.

It was so comical to watch them. They are HUGE....almost as big as her already, and beautiful! What a wonderful mom she is....and a wonderful feeling to know she is doing so well out there and willing to let me remain a part of her life.

Playtime with the new kid

Well our new little friend has settled in well. He's up to 601 grams and now loves to lay on his back in my lap after his bottle and play. Words (and still pics) cannot begin to describe the cuteness!!! He is just learning that those "things" that keep moving in front of his face are his very own back legs...and what a fun toy they are...always wiggling around and all!! ha ha

The fun doesn't stop when he goes back to his cage either. He's very good at keeping himself occupied with those wiggly things.

He's got a wonderful, sweet personality! I'm thinking I may call him Quinny in honor of the man that rescued him...but I haven't decided for sure yet.

More fun!

Just some various pics of the gang again. Look how much they have grown! Here's a perfect example of the size range. We have the smallest guy Tosser in front followed by Seeker, one of the biggest boys!

Another group wrestle in the hammock.

Mohican rolls his eyes at mom agin....taking more pics as usual!


Teddy hanging out.

Growler gets chewed on by Buster and kissed by Tosser.

My little Toto....Tosser in all his cuteness.

Seeker decides to pose for "Playcoon". What a sexy beast!

Seeker being a wiseguy as he plows over Buster to try to get to the bottle, then tries to take it from Tosser while he eats!

Buster wants to take up the flute so he's practicing hard here!

Buster and Seeker wrestle it out over a bottle they will never get!

Would you trust that face??? Seeker is definitely up to no good, the little devil!

Growler tries out her sexy pose for "Playcoon".

The little kids chow down before the big kids invade. Tosser and Mohican in the middle and Nosey and Stinky are the bookends.

My cuties Toto and Momo! (My pet names for Tosser and Mohican)

As you can see they are all just as cute as ever and loving life! Tosser and Mo are going to have to possibly winter over because they are so small. I'm not sure if they will catch up to the rest of the gang when it comes to packing on the weight in time. But since the new guy will probably have to stay and will need company, it will be the perfect situation for them all.