Hedonist Coyote

These are probably some of my favorite Coyote (Canis latrans) video clips that I've been lucky enough to get with a camera trap.

The majority of the pictures and video clips that I have of Coyotes are fleeting....mostly I have quick shots, or blurry shots of an individual before it was spooked and ran off.

Not the case here.  In fact, this Coyote appears to be luxuriating in the fact that he can roll around in a bit of urine.  Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) urine to be precise.

I'm obviously anthropomorphizing, but he almost appears to dive in with great relish.....and expresses little obvious concern for any potential threats.  This is not at all what I'm used to from Coyotes on my cameras....

He also gets alittle mouthy on one of the stakes that I use to hold scent....

Now.....in the past, I've gotten pictures that appear to indicate Coyotes show some hefty aversion to the red LEDs on the camera traps (see here and here).

This individual shows none of that (particularly in the second clip below, where he must be getting a face-full of red LED).  I've been camera trapping this site for over a year now.  Perhaps that's enough time for them to fully acclimate.  Also...the fact that we are not too ridiculously far out of the mating season (January/February) may have something to do with it.

Also of interest:  there is a similar scent stake on the left of our field of view that is holding Coyote urine.

Untouched.

Once satisfied, Wil E. decides to move along in search of other opportunities.

I've posted on this type of "scent rolling" behavior in the past (involving a Gray Fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus) from North Carolina.  I also included a brief review of existing literature that I could find on the topic, which I'll re-post at the bottom.

Roughly half an hour later, a trio of rather concerned White-tails cautiously come along to check things out.
 
If they are the group I've seen most of the summer/fall, it's a doe and her twin boys.....

The reason why canines roll in scented-stuff is not fully understood or agreed upon.  Although a plethora of anecdotal and pseudo-scientific explanations for this behavior can be found on many websites (usually associated with training domestic dogs), I have not found one that backs their claims up with hard data, or references to scientific literature.

Mech and Boitani (Wolves: Behavior, Ecology & Conservation, 2003) summarize research that has been done on wolves to help better understand this phenomenon.  But even the work they cite, although giving good information about what type of scent-stimuli wolves will choose to roll in, does not clearly indicate why they do it! 

The general possibilities proposed to explain this behaior include: (1) "familiarization with novel odors or change in odors", (2) "strong attraction or aversion to particular odors", (3) "concealing one's own scent with something more pungent" (an obvious advantage for a hunting carnivor), and (4) "making oneself more attractive by applying novel odor".  An interesting study on African wild dogs found that females will roll in the urine of the lead male in a pack they are trying to join.  This may increase their chances of acceptance becuase they are coated in a scent familiar to the pack they are hoping to get in with (Frame et al. 1979).  It has also been proposed that individuals roll in specific scents to bring back information to others in their packs.  For example, bringing back information about the age of a carcass found to others in the pack.....

Literature Cited and Further Readings on Scent-Rubbing in Carnivores:

Frame, L.H., J.R. Malcolm, G.W. Frame, and H. van Lawick. 1979. Social organization of African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus) on the Serengeti Plains, Tanzania 1967-1978. Zoological Tierpsychology 50:225-249. (note: I could not find the above article, and was not able to read it....so my comments on this study are based on what Mech and Boitani report)

Reiger, I. 1979. Scent rubbing in carnivores. Carnivores 2:17-25.

The Otter Latrine Redux

The Otter latrine site continues to be monitored.  Since I last posted any of my findings from this camera trap set on April 10th, 2011 (see Back to the Otter Latrine), alot has has happened. 

Of course, as I've shown you before, Otters aren't the only critters that like this spot.

There are eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis)....

Once, and only once, some Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) waddled by.....

Also, for a few weeks....Beavers abound!  A pair of flat-tails (Castor canadensis) work the area pretty heavily....this is not far from two other locations where I've camera trapped them at roughly the same time (see Busy Little Beasts posted on March 28, 2011).  They haven't been back since.  Because I like Beavers, I can't help but post one picture from every time they passed.

But, really...Raccoon is the word!  I have hundreds of pictures of these guys from this set.

If Raccoon is the word, then deer is the punctuation....ever present and in no short supply.

Even the Whistlepig (Marmota monax) wants in on the action....his camera set is not far away from here either.

Of course, a batch of pictures from this set wouldn't be complete without one of my favorites....Canis latrans.  I really like this picture.

But the critter of the hour is our buddy the Otter (Lontra canadensis).

Below is a great series of three pictures that shows an otter scraping together a mound of debris to deposit scent on....

...a few hours later....someone stops by to inspect the scent mound....

...and the next day something very interesting happens....an otter "scent rolls" in the leavings!  See other posts regarding animals doing a scent-roll in smelly stuff in Gray Fox at the Stink Pole (posted on March 4, 2011).

...then no Otters for a week...until....

Another long period between visits.  This time the family group is back.

...a solo otter laying down alittle scent about a day later....

Another solo Otter swings by.....

...then again....nothing for weeks.  But these critters will not give up on their favorite dumping spot!

It has now been almost a month since any otters have visited this latrine spot.
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Upon arriving at the latrine site in early May, I noticed a real lack of fresh scat.  This puzzled me, as it would have been the first time this spring that the otters hadn't used this latrine site in between my visits. 

As I was preparing to leave, I happened to glance down the sloping bank towards the stream.  The water was fairly low at that time (and still is today) and an exposed sand bar, as well as several large flat rocks in the streambed, were near the base of the "slide" associated with the latrine I have the camera over.  Even from high up on the bank, where I have the camera, I could clearly see otter scat and tracks on one of the sand bars below.  The otters had abandoned the bank latrine for one in the sand bar/rocks in the streambed.

Above: a photo of the otter slide and sandbar latrine from across the stream.  Note the normal latrine site that the camera is monitoring is up on the bank at roughly the top of the slide in this picture.  This picture and the picture below were taken during the "low-water" period within the last month.

Above: For this picture, I stood parallel to the latrine, pointing the camera down-stream.  That way you can see the relationship the latrine site has to the larger river.  You can also see the exposed flat rock and muddy/sandy bars in the water.

And what post about an otter latrine would be complete without more scat pictures!!

Above three pictures: Example scats deposited on the sandbar below the bank from the normal latrine site (5/12/2011).

Above: tracks around the sandbar where the "temporary" latrine site had been set up (5/12/2011).

Above Two Pictures: Close ups of the otter tracks (5/12/2011).  Not great pictures.  I had to turn the flash off, as it was washing the tracks out completely in that sand...but any camera shake and the pic ends up blurry without the flash. 

Above Two Pictures: Otter latrine located on flat rocks in the stream just below the camera set on 6/14/2011.  This was very near the latrine location found on 5/12/2011.

Above Two Pictures: Close-ups of the scat on the latrine found on 6/14/2011.  As usual, full of crayfish.

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So...what does this minute altitudinal shift in an otter's latrine mean?  All I can think of is that the water's lower....it's more work to climb up the side of the bank than it's worth because the water's so low and so they simply leave their message in the most accessible spot near their normal latrine.

Might be time to move a camera next week!



Gray Fox at the Stink Pole

Well, we finally deployed our drift fence traps and engaged them for the first time on Wednesday.

No captures.

Also, nothing under the coverboards.

Despite the fact that we had gotten a brief warm up and rain over the weekend, the temperature dropped this week.

During the day it's been in the 50s and 60s....but at night is a different story.  I checked the temperature when I woke up this morning and it had dipped down to 27. 

So, no new herp-related stuff to share, which means I'll continue to regale you with mammals and camera traps.

Last fall, after a summer of no carnivore activity (aside from raccoons and oppossums), I started getting alittle antsy.   I wanted to see some fox or 'yotes, or something.  The 'yotes did show eventually (see here: Coyote Cams, posted Feb 19, 2011), but it was the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteneus) that first decided to play ball (although it took alittle bit of persuading).

In mid-September 2010, I set one of my cameras along a small wooded stream.  The stream ran parrallel to a game trail (the stream is on the left of the field of view in the picture above, and the game trail is on the right).  I placed the camera in between these two, hoping something would cross from the stream to the game trail and vice-versa. 

At first, I baited the camera with an open can of dog-food that I buried about 3-4 inches.  I also added a drip of my secret weapon to a stick that I placed on the soil: skunk essence!  Something about it draws in the critters.

My first glimpse of a carnivore was actually a gray fox...but it was just a glimpse.  The animal really was not interested in getting right up to the bait, and although he came close, he never really gave in to temptation.  Perhaps it was the red LEDs that glow when this camera takes a photo at night?  Perhaps it was the noise that the IR filter on the camera makes when taking a picture?  Who knows?

He's difficult to see in the picture below, but he's there.....

Not long after his appearance, a steady string of raccoons finally dug up the can of bait and removed it to an undisclosed location.

The gray fox, however wary at first, appeared to acclimate to the camera enough to return.  The thought of a potential meal, coupled with curiosity, must have brought him back.

First, he stuck his nose in the empty hole left by the removal of the dog food can.

When nothing presented itself, he took a second to roll in that good ol' skunky stink!

The reason why canines roll in scented-stuff is not fully understood or agreed upon.  Although a plethora of anecdotal and pseudo-scientific explanations for this behavior can be found on many websites, I have (to-date) not found one that backs their claims up with hard data, or references to scientific literature.

Mech and Boitani (Wolves: Behavior, Ecologyh & Conservation, 2003) summarize research that has been done on wolves to help better understand this phenomenon.  But even the work they cite, although giving good information about what type of scent-stimuli wolves will choose to roll in, does not clearly indicate why they do it! 

The general possibilities proposed to explain this behaior include: (1) "familiarization with novel odors or change in odors", (2) "strong attraction or aversion to particular odors", (3) "concealing one's own scent with something more pungent" (an obvious advantage for a hunting carnivor), and (4) "making oneself more attractive by applying novel odor".  An interesting study on African wild dogs found that females will roll in the urine of the lead male in a pack they are trying to join.  This may increase their chances of acceptance becuase they are coated in a scent familiar to the pack they are hoping to get in with (Frame et al. 1979).  It has also been proposed that individuals roll in specific scents to bring back information to others in their packs.  For example, bringing back information about the age of a carcass found to others in the pack.....

But...I digress....

Some time in October, I had the good fortune to come across a freshly road-killed eastern gray squirrel.  I took the carcass and wired it to a stake in front of the camera.  I placed a dollop of commercial trapper lure, specifically for coyotes, on the stake and sprayed the stake with some commercially purchashased/preserved coyote urine.  So, the stake (a.k.a. the stink pole) has becomes very hard to resist! 

Although a raccoon and opossum fought over and removed most of the squirrel carcass before a fox or 'yote could get at it.....a gray fox eventually shows some interest.   

Still alittle shy, however.

Each week, I continued to add alittle more scent lure and coyote urine to the post, until...finally....he grew bold enough to really show off for a close-up!

It's around this time, that my gray fox captures on many of my cameras goes through the roof...even cameras that I didn't put scent or bait in front of. 

A combination of seasonal activity shift and acclimation, perhaps.

BTW...I have many more gray fox pics to show you!!  They are one of my favorite critters in our area, so I hope you all don't mind!

Literature Cited and Further Readings on Scent-Rubbing in Carnivores:

Frame, L.H., J.R. Malcolm, G.W. Frame, and H. van Lawick. 1979. Social organization of African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus) on the Serengeti Plains, Tanzania 1967-1978. Zoological Tierpsychology 50:225-249. (note: I could not find the above article, and was not able to read it....so my comments on this study are based on what Mech and Boitani report)

Reiger, I. 1979. Scent rubbing in carnivores. Carnivores 2:17-25.