A groundhog was hurt during the filming
By Paul Clark (aka motomynd)
We live in the city but have wooded acreage around us. In recent years we have occasionally seen and heard coyotes, but this is the first photo/video proof we have of them. The video was captured by our Ring “pond cam,” which is aimed at a small pond I dug nearly 20 years ago and lined with a scrap piece of rubber roofing. The coyote attacked the groundhog a few minutes before 7 p.m. on July 22, 2022. Only 12 minutes earlier, our resident whitetail matriarch had walked down the same path with her two fawns in tow, who were born May 20th of this year.
In the past five years we have had one fawn attacked and injured by a coyote – the fawn was saved by me with a baseball bat and the deer who ran down and killed the coyote – and the deer have killed at least two coyotes, possibly three. Based on that, this coyote may have decided it was much safer to let the fawns pass and go for the groundhog instead.
“Nothing good ever comes of violence.” Especially for groundhogs. And except for a coyote getting to dine on a groundhog for dinner. So maybe MLK was wrong, at least from a coyote’s perspective.
| Copyright © 2022 by Paul Clark |
Thanks for agreeing to share this with our readers, Paul.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't tell if the coyote killed the groundhog. We had a Shiba husky mix who weighed about 33 lbs who killed groundhogs who wandered into our yard by grabbing them by the back of the neck and giving a fierce shake. Absolutely instinctive, nobody taught her.
ReplyDeleteNeil, this is Paul, commenting anonymously because Blogger doesn't like my anti-virus settings. The groundhog put up a battle, but the coyote did indeed kill it. Apparently, most canids instinctively know it is best to attack in a way that avoids the teeth and claws of their prey, which made the coyote's face-to-face takedown somewhat surprising.
DeleteYears ago I had a 45-pound mixed Tosa/ shepherd we rescued from a dog fighting operation that killed a 27-pound bobcat in the same manner you described. We feared the cat would shred the dog, and it did make it back off at first, but as soon as the cat glanced away the dog grabbed it by the neck and began shaking it. The dog somehow came out without a scratch.
Goodness! My neighborhood is rife with coyotes and deer, yet I never saw or heard of a confrontation. I didn't think any deer would take on a coyote, much less kill it! No groundhogs here: they stay at higher elevations. I think the coyotes dine mostly on rabbit here (and on chokecherries, judging from their scat.)
ReplyDeleteHi, Paul, thanks for the morning show.
Had a cat killed by a coyote. Neighbor's security cam caught it. Poor old guy was deaf, couldn't hear it.
ReplyDelete