Jennifer Murphy's photos with the keyword: coyote

When I was young, we had a healthy population of fox in our area. I don't know if they've diminished because of lack of habitat or the presence of coyotes in the area. I was elated to capture one on the game camera recently. You can clearly see the difference between the two canines.

Hard to see, but watch as the coyote moves to the right of the screen. I was so excited to get this type of hunting behavior on video! I can't tell if it actually caught whatever vermin was under the snow, but there were two other spots in the pasture where it tried this technique again.

A terrible shot through the window, but the only one that really shows the beautiful coat on this coyote. The markings make me think it's possibly the bold pup from this summer, but their coats change so much season to season, there's no telling. When I caught this one out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn someone's dog was out in my pasture, and very close to the mules. Mules naturally hate dogs, and will kill or seriously hurt any that get too close unless they've been raised with them. Even then, they will tolerate their dogs, but not strange ones. Both of my mules were standing not ten feet away, calming staring at the house trying to Jedi mind trick me into bringing out their breakfast. Maybe they lose that aggressive streak as they get older. Fargo is now 20 and Flea is 21. Or maybe they realized that a coyote alone, hunting mice in the long grass, is no real threat.

At first I thought this coyote was one of the pups, but now I'm not sure. This one has been coming in alone; it's half the size of The Beast, and I'm fairly certain it's an adult or perhaps one of last year's pups. And yet another interesting coat color and pattern; much darker and more rust colored than most average coyotes I've seen.

My favorite song dog filling up on dropped mulberries.

One of two pups belonging to The Beast. The pups are marked almost identically, so it's difficult to tell them apart.

I had spotted this creature twice at a distance, and couldn't understand what I was looking at. Canine, sure...but it was too big to be a coyote, we don't have wolves here, maybe someone was missing a white shepherd type dog? My neighbor soon solved the mystery with his game camera - a blonde coyote, and a big one. I'm not sure which parent it is, but it does have two pups and another adult that it travels with. How do I know? This shot is from my own game camera. I'm obsessed with this contraption! This is the first daytime photo I've captured of The Beast (my affectionate nickname) with the game camera. I've been lucky enough to snap some pictures with my DSLR through the window, and in all of them he/she looks more yellow than white. With the naked eye, it's a nearly white animal. Right now he/she is coming in nightly to eat the windfall mulberries under our tree. They don't bother the mules, and my mother's cat is smart enough to keep her distance. I have run them off in the mornings because I don't want them getting too comfortable and hanging around all day. As much as I love watching these clever song dogs, they are still wild, and comfortable wildlife always means trouble.

Spotted this coyote hunting the freshly mowed field just down the road. I had to rush back to the house to get my camera (dog in tow), and by the time I returned it had retreated toward the woods. I was a good distance, so the quality of the shots isn't great, but what a beautiful animal!

I swear, sometimes I hate cars. A car killed my favorite doe. A car injured her yearling daughter. A car killed this beautiful coyote. I get so tired of seeing roadkill. I know there are many instances where it's near impossible to avoid hitting a wild animal, but I also know there are many instances where people are driving too fast, are not paying attention, or just don't care because drivers have a "if they're dumb enough to get in the road, it's their own fault when they get hit" attitude. I'm no PETA-esque gal; I've held a hunting license, raised and slaughtered our own livestock, and have no issue with killing animals for meat. Senseless deaths though?...not cool.