Got him!

Well, sort of.

I went across to the vacant lot/new bush, to see what's happening in January. It was as expected, soggy underfoot, treacherous with trailing, leafless blackberry canes and rusting wires, bleak under its coat of dead grasses and bare trees. But there was life there, and I followed the trails, bending to watch things swimming under the ice of the puddles, or chase a beetle until he scuttled under a mass of rotting weeds.

I rounded the base of a rise near the back of the lot, and there, almost spitting distance in front of me was a coyote. A big adult, looking healthy and alert; well fed.

He saw me at the same time. By the time I'd focused the camera, he was racing off into the bush along the creek.

But I got a photo. Not a good one.

Just the top of his back visible. The orange thing is a piece of trash caught in the branches. His head is behind that.

I retraced my footsteps, and went around the hill to enter the creek bed from the far side, hoping to maybe catch another glimpse of him. But he was long gone. What I did find was his scat.

Coyote scat. A nicer word than poop, but the same thing. By the feather remains, I gather that he's been eating birds.

Looking up coyote scat id for confirmation, I learned a few things.

• Recognize the shape of coyote scat. Coyotes produce scat that is about the diameter of a cigar and is tapered at one end. (ehow.com)

Check. The taper isn't too obvious in the photo, as it's at the far end and tangled in the grass.

• Droppings will also be frequently located at strategic locations such as cross roads and along trails as coyotes use their droppings to mark territory. (ICWDM)

Check. This was a well-travelled trail I was following.

• Coyote scat often does not have much of a scent. (Wilderness College)

Check. I didn't notice any scent. A dog's droppings, fed as he would be with processed dog food, has a strong, offensive smell.

• In one Missouri study of coyote scat, local coyotes were found to have consumed 47 different animal species and 28 different plants.* Thus, don’t be surprised if your coyote scat contains fur/hair, berries, nuts, garden crops, bone bits, grass, leaves or dozens of other appetizing tidbits. (Nature Skills)

This guy has been eating meat. Birds at least, probably rabbits; I've seen several in the undergrowth along this creek. I wonder if he'd also tackle young raccoons? Several raccoons that I've seen have been maimed in some way; one has no tail, another has lost an eye. In a fight with a coyote?

(More on the vacant lot goodies tomorrow.)

Midnight visitor

What made these tracks?


Tuesday night, around midnight, I looked out and saw these in the new snow. They are bigger than a cat's feet, smaller than some dogs. They came out from under a fence with about 6 inches clearance.

Clearly marked toes, a tendency to drag. No tail dragging.

Closer view.

There was no poking around; the tracks went straight across the patio, down the path and across the lawn towards the street.

What animal made them? My guess is a raccoon or a skunk.* What do you think?

*A while later: I think it's a raccoon, because of the gait pattern; one big, one small, side by side. Next step, the sides alternate. I found some good photos and diagrams at Bear Tracker.
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First Post of 2007: Visiting Raccoon

Recently we spent a couple of nights at my daughter's house in Strathcona, house- and cat-sitting.


The first night, I heard some scritching noises on the back porch; a large raccoon, trying to get at the dog food, stingily stashed in a sturdy but transparent plastic container. I rushed for my camera, and snapped wildly through the rain-spattered windows. He sat there placidly, not minding the flash, until I opened the back door to get a clear shot. Then he left, in a hurry, so that all I got was his backside, a lump of grizzled fur on the steps.



Here, though, is one of the photos through the window; recycling containers, leftover Christmas "snow", old summer chair, dogfood and the 'coon, all smudged by the dust and rain on the window.


And an enlargement and enhancement of the important part of the photo. He looks very tame, sitting there, very dog-like.


They warn us about these raccoons. They may seem tame, but if frightened or trapped can inflict nasty wounds. And since they sometimes carry rabies, a bite victim may need a series of protective (and expensive) shots.


I have never heard of an actual case where a person was bitten, but they do tangle with cats and dogs fairly frequently. The pets usually get the worst of it.


And they can be real nuisances in populated areas. They make nests under porches, in basements, in garden sheds. They rummage through the garbage, dig holes in the garden. And eat the cat and dog food, if they can get at it. "Masked bandits", they are often called.


My daughter, like her neighbours, keeps the garbage in a container with a tight-fitting lid, the compost well covered and the dogfood zipped up. The cat eats inside. But this guy obviously is finding plenty of unprotected edibles; look at the size of him!


There's a good side to the raccoon. They are often (properly vaccinated) kept as pets, and I hear that they can be good companions. (As a child, I read the book, "Rascal", about one such pet raccoon; how I envied that boy!) In the wild, they bother no-one; like the bears they are related to, they fish, hunt, pick berries, root for insects. Like the bears, they will raid an orchard or harvest your corn in season. And of course, if you catch them doing so, they're fair game; a raccoon stew is very tasty, I've been told by them as should know.


And, nuisance or not, they belong here. Long before the first Europeans sailed, paddled or hiked to these shores, this raccoon's forebears were collecting mussels and clams along the waterfront, fastidiously washing the sand off before they ate them. We have built houses and roads in his berry patches and polluted his fishing holes; maybe he's entitled to a mouthful of dog food now and again.


So, to start the New Year off, a nod to our fellow-creatures; may we long live in peace and mutual respect.

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Posted on Friday Ark, January 5th