I was about 50 feet from this coyote at Yellowstone National Park when this one let out a sound that is still ringing in my ears . I just wish I was recording the sound. I don’t think the coyote knew I was so close.
“Howling is a basic communication behavior in coyotes,” says Gary San Julian, a Penn State University professor of wildlife resources. “It has several functions. One is to call the pack—really a family group—back together again after a period of individual hunting. A second reason that coyotes howl is to advertise their presence to other packs, essentially warning those other family groups against trespassing across territorial boundaries.”
Ahooooooo!!!!!! Nice capture.
It was your classic Ahoooooooooooooo
LOL
cooooooooooool! Gruß Alois
Wow, look at those chompers! 😉 Hearing coyotes always raises the hair on the back of my neck, even though I know I am safe, it is clearly a primal fear kind of thing. And I’ve never heard them THAT close!
Yes Eliza, I think the hair on my back raised as well
I just remembered, years ago, our seeing a pair of ‘disabled’ coyotes in a local zoo when my kids were small. My two-yr.old was standing next to the fence and one took a look at him and set to howling, woke up his partner and the two of them chorused. Even though there was a fence between us, the mama protector in me grabbed that kid in seconds flat!
I love the idea of what they do for an ecosystem, but I have trouble with them in my yard, lol.
Is it safe to be so close to the coyote?
Coyotes or wolves don’t bother humans. I didn’t seee him and he didn’t see me until he started howling
Nothing like throwing your head back and letting rip
Great photos!
Great capture!
Wow! Wonderful! 🙂
Lindy
Ohw wow, that is so cool! Must have been a tremendous experience. I would love to hear that sound once in real life!
Thank you for sharing 🙂
Have a great day!
Kind regards,
Tieme
You’re welcome Tieme
Love these photos! We have coyotes here in Georgia, and I have seen several from a distance but none up close.
I never saw this one until he started howling.
What a terrific opportunity that was!
What a great capture … and exceptional experience. Gotta try YNP in winter sometime soon.
Thanks Jim. Yes, Yellowstone is special in the winter time.
Beautiful shots! My husband had the privilege of watching this with a pack of wolves about 50 yards away while on a tour in Yellowstone a few years back.
That would be quite a moment. I was driving a snowcoach in Yellowstone a few winters ago and got really close to the most beautiful wolf I had ever seen. But I did not have my camera with me to get the shot. These coyotes were beautiful too
Good timing and wonderful shots ! I’ve seen the film Wolf Totem yesterday, and your post makes me think about it. These creatures are fascinating.