June 15, 2004
Tracking the Coyotes

Last night while goofing off on the computer I heard the coyotes outsdie begin to howl. Soon the neighborhood dogs were barking up a storm in jealous rivalry. Obviously, the coyotes had found yet another meal in the wilderness that is South Pasadena.

After work and dinner today, I took the girls for a walk behind the house to the righ-of-way area where I last saw the coyotes. I told them we were looking for coyotes and coyotes signs. The said, "What are coyote signs?" "Dead animals.", I replied.

Off we went. Not 100 yards into the walk, did we find the first cat remains. I poked at them and we discussed what part of the cat they were. The girls weren't squeamish, just eager to find more. After a bit more, we found the first skull.

Obviously a cat skull, the coyotes must have had a nice meal from this little feline. As we wandered were found the remains of at least four cats, possibly six. Four different furs and large distances between the remains mean well fed coyotes. We found a second skull that was even larger and still had stink coming from it.

We found several places with feathers strewn about. Even Bluejay feathers, so the cats were quite busy as well. The best was finding a cat collar that was still closed. There were teeth marks on the leather, so you know the coyotes played with it a while as they devoured the poor kitty.

Here's what the remains of a leg looked like. It didn't smell bad and the fur still felt smooth.

When we got home, we told Michele about our adventure and she wants to go see for herself. Perhaps we'll head up to another unexplored part of the right-of-way tomorrow.

So get your ass up from the computer, get yourself outside, and see what carnage is going on in your neighborhood.

Posted by michael at June 15, 2004 09:23 PM