Why Coyote (part 1)

So I've got a few more minutes here and I thought that I'd explain why I'm calling this blog "Coyote's den". There are a large number of reasons for this and so this topic will cover many posts. This is Part 1.

I really like coyotes. I think that they are really survivors. Wolves have been arguably the apex predator in North America but unfortunately they were the villian in European folklore and they collided with the cattle industry and were almost hunted to extinction during the 1800's and early 1900's. Wolves may have been superior predators but they were almost wiped out. Coyotes are in not anywhere as feirce as wolves but they were survivors. People tried to kill off the coyote but the coyotes are still here. People hunted them, but they survived. Ranchers tried to poison them but they survived. Almost no coyote eradication program has ever succeeded. This gives me hope for life on this planet.

Here are a couple of links about coyotes:
http://www.fundwildlife.org/coexist/coyotes.html
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/inhsreports/winter-01/coyote.html


So coyotes resourcefulness and survival in spite changing habitat and determined efforts to eradicate them have endeared them to me to the point where I've claimed them as a symbol of my aspirations and hopes.

Not too uncommonly, when I'm out for an early morning ride, or on my way to work I see a coyote. I always make a point of speaking to it and thank it for being there. Usually it is too far away to hear me, but for me these mumbled words are more like a prayer, they only have to be said not necessarily heard for them to be meaningful.