Re: Yosemite Mountain Lion vs. Coyote

Wow!

That's excellent! Lions still scare me though.

That would have been interesting to see.

That one dog didn't get the "leave no trace" memo, but I'd
be doing what it did if I saw a big cat up close.

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AnotherDave
That one dog didn't get the "leave no trace" memo, but I'd
be doing what it did if I saw a big cat up close.

Wasn't that a coyote?

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boomtown

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AnotherDave
That one dog didn't get the "leave no trace" memo, but I'd
be doing what it did if I saw a big cat up close.

Wasn't that a coyote?

Yes it is a coyote not a dog, you can see the other coyote in that frame and also the two of them together in other frames. I did think it was funny that action was caught on the video. I guess if you gotta go, you gotta go.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2014 12:31PM by parklover.

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AnotherDave
That one dog didn't get the "leave no trace" memo, but I'd be doing what it did if I saw a big cat up close.

The coyote was leaving a message. That pile was a marker saying; "This is my territory. No cats allowed?"

And, look, that huge cat was afraid of a little coyote one third her weight. Make a loud noise and charge at the cat; it will run away.

I was aware that those were coyotes. In my neck of the
woods, we sometimes simply call them dogs.

I thought it was a Dingo.

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chick-on
I thought it was a Dingo.

One of the commentators on the Youtube site said "That's not a Coyote, that's a Coywolf."

considering mountain lions prey on coyotes, I'm surprised by the behavior of the lion
had it never encountered coyotes before?
was it spooked by the human presence?
something else?

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qumqats
considering mountain lions prey on coyotes, I'm surprised by the behavior of the lion
had it never encountered coyotes before?
was it spooked by the human presence?
something else?

Cougars are very defensive when they are not hunting. They will avoid any physical confrontation if at all possible (besides stalking and pouncing on unsuspecting prey). Any injury could be certain death. There were more than one coyotes and they seemed to be stalking the cat.

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boomtown

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chick-on
I thought it was a Dingo.

One of the commentators on the Youtube site said "That's not a Coyote, that's a Coywolf."

I recently saw a documentary about the Coywolf and they are in the Eastern US and Canada. It was really interesting. There have been no confirmed sightings in California or in any other western states. While OR-7, the male wolf that came into California from Oregon has been looking for love, there has been no documentation that he has found a mate. In fact, I can not even find any recent tracking information on him and the battery on his collar has probably lost power last year. Edit - I just found that OR-7 was last recorded in California on December 12, 2013 and then he returned to Oregon. Oregon does not post daily locations of wolves.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/2014 07:10AM by parklover.

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parklover
Oregon does not post daily locations of wolves.

It's probably good that they don't.

His name was Bingo.

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chick-on
His name was Bingo.

I remember that now that people called him that. I wonder where he is now and hope that a hunter did not get him.

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boomtown
One of the commentators on the Youtube site said "That's not a Coyote, that's a Coywolf."

That would be difficult considering there are no wolves in California for it to breed with. I've had quite a few visitors telling me they just saw a wolf. I tell them it was a coyote and that they're fat and happy eating all the road kill.

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Dave
I tell them it was a coyote and that they're fat and happy eating all the road kill.

Road kill and food they beg from turons.

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eeek
Road kill and food they beg from turons.

Those usually get run over in a few months. If I see one begging, I get out of my truck and start running after it. They usually come back a few minutes later. Like the bears, a fed coyote is a dead coyote.

I heard a statistic that there are hardly any (none?) pure bred coyotes in the US, they all have a bit of dog in them.

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hotrod4x5
I heard a statistic that there are hardly any (none?) pure bred coyotes in the US, they all have a bit of dog in them.

I am curious where you heard that. According to what I have read coyotes and dogs interbreeding is rare. There have been incidences in Texas or in other places where they have interbreed because of an increase in the coyote population and where it is warm during most of the year. However it is not common enough for it to be said that there are hardly any pure bred coyotes. Not to mention the behavioral differences between dogs and coyotes. I can tell you that where I live the coyotes would rather kill and eat the dogs rather than mate with them.

"Coyotes readily breed with domestic dogs and bear fertile offspring (coydogs), who also can breed with either dogs or coyotes. While all members of the Canis genus can (and do) interbreed (dogs, wolves, and coyotes), due to the size difference, male wolves are known to breed with female coyotes or dogs, but not typically the other way around. Before the advent of Man, geographic isolating mechanisms kept the various species from interbreeding. With coyotes coming into heat only once a year in late winter, and dogs twice a year, overlapping breeding periods are not common (male coyotes are only able to breed when females are in estrus – males can only produce viable sperm for a period of 3 to 4 months). With male dogs capable of mating year-round, most coydogs are from male dogs and female coyotes. Since male coyotes help in pup-rearing, while male dogs do not, this lessens the likelihood of successful coydog raising. Additionally, estrus in coydogs comes especially early, producing young in January or February; a time unfavorable for survival. For these reasons, the amount of domestic dog genes in coyote bloodline is probably extremely low" http://www.bobpickett.org/order_carnivora.htm

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Dave

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AnotherDave
That one dog didn't get the "leave no trace" memo, but I'd be doing what it did if I saw a big cat up close.

The coyote was leaving a message. That pile was a marker saying; "This is my territory. No cats allowed?"

And, look, that huge cat was afraid of a little coyote one third her weight. Make a loud noise and charge at the cat; it will run away.

The comments on the YouTube video claim the cat wasn't scared but drawing away the coyotes from her two babies. This video is a couple years old so not sure what the whole story is.

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chicagocwright
The comments on the YouTube video claim the cat wasn't scared but drawing away the coyotes from her two babies. This video is a couple years old so not sure what the whole story is.

There is no evidence to support that. Most likely she would not have brought her cubs into the valley. Too many people.

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parklover
That would have been interesting to see.

I was there. Did you see me? I saw you!

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tomdisco

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parklover
That would have been interesting to see.

I was there. Did you see me? I saw you!

You must have been hidden so well that I did not see you. The person you thought was me was my alter ego that never leaves Yosemite but lurks behind trees and rocks.

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parklover

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tomdisco

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parklover
That would have been interesting to see.

I was there. Did you see me? I saw you!

You must have been hidden so well that I did not see you. The person you thought was me was my alter ego that never leaves Yosemite but lurks behind trees and rocks.

I was having fun with you, referring to my avatar.

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tomdisco

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parklover

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tomdisco

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parklover
That would have been interesting to see.

I was there. Did you see me? I saw you!

You must have been hidden so well that I did not see you. The person you thought was me was my alter ego that never leaves Yosemite but lurks behind trees and rocks.

I was having fun with you, referring to my avatar.

My mind must be slipping, I didn't think of your avatar. However, that does not mean that my alter ego is not lurking somewhere watching you. LOL With the storms coming in I wish my real self was going to be there.

Word there Dave. I'll definitely charge at a cat if I happen to get close to one.

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KC
I'll definitely charge at a cat if I happen to get close to one.

I'd take pictures first.

Mountain Lion commercial: Llama... it's what's for dinner

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chick-on
Mountain Lion commercial: Llama... it's what's for dinner

A mountain lion killed one of my llamas last October.

I didn't meet, but heard lots of stories while on the JMT this past year, about "Catwoman", who got that trail name for a mountain lion encounter that she endured somewhere near Sunrise Creek on one of her early JMT days. My buddy came across her blog recently. When I first saw the blog she had some video "selfies" of herself trapped in her tent that were pretty powerful, but I can't find them on her blog now...perhaps she removed them. From all I heard, she was interviewed by rangers afterwards and her siting was verified.

The blog has great pix and makes a great read, if you can get past the language issue (warning) Blog

Thanks for that link. I remember hearing about that story. It's pretty frightening. It's fortunate she had a pot in her tent and was sleeping near the trail.

I met the catwomen the day after it happened. her name was Helen from Belgium. I went down to the river in LYV to get some water (near where sunrise trail begins) and ran into a gorgeous girl barely dressed hanging out in the water washing her clothes! turned to go get water elsewhere but she said no its ok come back if you need water. Chatted w her well over an hour and heard the whole story and she was still frightened and scared to death the next day. At the end of my week backpack a week later ran into her again on the bus from the valley to get my car in Tuolumne. have a pic w her ill find later. She just beat on a pan all night long, said she was too scared to yell as she did not want the cat to hear the fear in her voice. made noise all night long and she heard the animal all night long until morning when couple guy backpackers came by. Cool nice girl but small and thin so likely one reason she was stalked.

Oh my gosh Ted!!! (and of course HI to all the others ;c) I just backtracked a link on my blog (my blog shows me where there is a link on the internet to my blog) and I found this forum :c) Actually I didn't really wanted to write something here, but now that you commented here I just had to say hello!!! How are ya? The picture you're talking about: You can find it below this post on my blog: http://walkingwomad.blogspot.de/2013/12/the-freedom-of-going-solo.html
It's kinda funny that so many people heard about me on the JMT this year. After taking the shuttle to Tuolomne I got back on the trail and summited Whithey about 18 days later. It was an amazing hike, especially coming all the way from Belgium to do this on my own. Concerning "my" mountain lion: During the rest of my hike I did stay scared at night and I always set up camp near other hikers. Now that some time has passed, I have a different perspective and I feel very very greatful to have met that beautiful animal. I will never know why it stayed around me all night, but I can see the beauty of that encounter now. I've learned so much that night, and I continue to learn. The mountain lion has brought up a lot of fears, sometimes irrational ones, but it made me more aware, more grateful, more loving and more curious. Well we'll see whether I am lucky a second time or not and meet another one while thruhiking the PCT in 2015. I look so much forward travelling back to America and being back in the Sierra!!!
(O btw I took the videos off my blog again... I somehow felt embarrassed...)
And: Sorry for my English... Jee I guess it's really bad right?
Anyway, wishing you all amazing times in Yosemite and if you'd like: a safe mountain lion encounter ;c) Lots of greetings from overseas, Helen aka cat.

Cat,
Your English is better than that of many Americans.