Our suburban environment in San Diego is riddled with canyons and mesas, which makes for interesting views, annoyingly non-linear streets and a treacherous fire season. It also provides inland access and habitats for all sorts of critters that you might not expect in the ‘burbs.
The other night as I was drifting off to sleep after a hard weekend of feasting, I began to hear a police siren wailing. From its Doppler effect, you could tell it was getting closer, and pretty quickly…
Whhhheeeeeeeee—-oooooooooo, wheeeeeee—-ooooooooo
And then closer by, maybe a dozen new sounds started to pair up with it
Ahhhoooooooo—oooh, Ahhhoooooooo—oooh
Yes, the coyotes that live in and around the canyon we live on were answering “the call” of the police car. Literally a siren song.
After the police car receded, the coyotes broke into what can only be a joyful crescendo (of the kind that we think usually signals a kill…)
Yip-yip-yip-yip-yowl-yip-yoowwl-yip-yip-yip-yooowwwll!
I wonder if in their lore, the siren represents the visit from some coyote god – strong-voiced and incredibly fast and a cause for celebration for the pack. At least I like to think so.
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This is a great post! I wonder if the coyotes every send someone out to investigate and catch a glimpse of the great god that comes to visit.
By the way, I just saw your (Ho)^3…. you are such a nerd! I love it!
How cool! I love coyotes. I hate that they seem to have a bad reputation; but then, I don't live in an area full of coyotes, so maybe I don't know enough about what problems they may cause.Have you ever heard of The Daily Coyote? Interesting stuff about a young woman living in basically a log cabin in Wyoming with an orphaned coyote she rescued. …Also, it generally satisfies my need for adorable pictures and whatnot. :)Also, the Doppler effect was my favorite thing we learned about in high school physics. I was broken-hearted when we then proceeded to skip the entire chapter about sound and all those things that make music nerds happy.
I neglected to mention that The Daily Coyote is a blog. Hey-o.
Got tons of these guys around my house though they have only been in Michigan for about the last 20-30 years. The sheep farmer across the street from me isn't their best friend however…:(75 points for working the Doppler effect into a post dude!!
That's super-cool. We have a wooded park right by our house and occasionally a deer or wild turkey will go through my yard. I love feeling somewhat in touch with nature even in the city.
Sounds of wildlife is so cool…especially when you're in your house! Sometimes even not so wild life, like hearing a herd of cows moo, is nice too! We hear them sometimes in the early morning and have no idea where they're coming from. I must say, though, that the sounds of coyotes howling isn't as safe feeling when you're out camping! :-)
This is funny. We have an infamous three-legged coyote, a lone prowler we see sometimes in our neighborhood. Wonder if his pack rejected him?
But only good in the sense that it's cool, although I don't find it cool to have coyotes living in such close proximity. I think I prefer my chubby little squirrels and the occasional possum.
In populated areas — like ours — you see an awful lot of "Lost Pet" banners — coyotes are known to take a lot of small pets, even being known to leap backyard fences to get at them.
My favorites near us are the California Quail (they're the ones with the little dangly on their heads…) — I've been trying to get a pic of one, but I never have my camera when I see them.
I can't imagine that I would like it very much if I were camping — I get a little self-conscious when I take our dog our for her evening "constitutional"!
I'd like to think that a 3-legged coyote that was tough enough to survive would find a home in the pack — but I think I'm more sentimental than a coyote.
I think the squirrels and possums would like coyotes being around even less than you!
We hear a lot of coyotes in the hills around our town too. Heard a pack howling when we were mountain biking/camping at night one time many years ago. That was pretty nerve wracking I must say, even though they generally stay away from people.