Jennifer Murphy's photos with the keyword: eastern coyote

When I was young, we had a healthy population of fox in our area. I don't know if they've diminished because of lack of habitat or the presence of coyotes in the area. I was elated to capture one on the game camera recently. You can clearly see the difference between the two canines.

Hard to see, but watch as the coyote moves to the right of the screen. I was so excited to get this type of hunting behavior on video! I can't tell if it actually caught whatever vermin was under the snow, but there were two other spots in the pasture where it tried this technique again.

A terrible shot through the window, but the only one that really shows the beautiful coat on this coyote. The markings make me think it's possibly the bold pup from this summer, but their coats change so much season to season, there's no telling. When I caught this one out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn someone's dog was out in my pasture, and very close to the mules. Mules naturally hate dogs, and will kill or seriously hurt any that get too close unless they've been raised with them. Even then, they will tolerate their dogs, but not strange ones. Both of my mules were standing not ten feet away, calming staring at the house trying to Jedi mind trick me into bringing out their breakfast. Maybe they lose that aggressive streak as they get older. Fargo is now 20 and Flea is 21. Or maybe they realized that a coyote alone, hunting mice in the long grass, is no real threat.

My favorite song dog filling up on dropped mulberries.

One of two pups belonging to The Beast. The pups are marked almost identically, so it's difficult to tell them apart.

I had spotted this creature twice at a distance, and couldn't understand what I was looking at. Canine, sure...but it was too big to be a coyote, we don't have wolves here, maybe someone was missing a white shepherd type dog? My neighbor soon solved the mystery with his game camera - a blonde coyote, and a big one. I'm not sure which parent it is, but it does have two pups and another adult that it travels with. How do I know? This shot is from my own game camera. I'm obsessed with this contraption! This is the first daytime photo I've captured of The Beast (my affectionate nickname) with the game camera. I've been lucky enough to snap some pictures with my DSLR through the window, and in all of them he/she looks more yellow than white. With the naked eye, it's a nearly white animal. Right now he/she is coming in nightly to eat the windfall mulberries under our tree. They don't bother the mules, and my mother's cat is smart enough to keep her distance. I have run them off in the mornings because I don't want them getting too comfortable and hanging around all day. As much as I love watching these clever song dogs, they are still wild, and comfortable wildlife always means trouble.