{"id":52054,"date":"2017-09-29T05:00:11","date_gmt":"2017-09-29T11:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=52054"},"modified":"2017-09-29T05:00:11","modified_gmt":"2017-09-29T11:00:11","slug":"coyote-showing-a-mouthful-of-teeth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/29\/coyote-showing-a-mouthful-of-teeth\/","title":{"rendered":"Coyote Showing A Mouthful Of Teeth"},"content":{"rendered":"

As impressive as a coyote’s teeth are they’re not as massive and sharp\u00a0as those of their recent ancestors.<\/p>\n

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1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS\u00a0USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in <\/em><\/p>\n

I photographed this coyote on Antelope Island back in October of 2012. I think I awakened it from a nap and it yawned before going on its way. I’m not happy with the mullein stems behind the mouth but I think the image is pretty good documentation of\u00a0coyote dentition. There’s a bunch of sharp teeth in that long narrow jaw.<\/p>\n

We know from the fossil record that in the distant past coyotes had larger and sharper\u00a0teeth than they do today. Back then their prey was much larger and they needed teeth that were more effective in bringing them down and consuming them. And ancestral coyotes were more carnivorous than their modern more omnivorous\u00a0descendants which prey largely on rabbits\u00a0and rodents\u00a0but they\u00a0also eat plant matter like fruits and grass (I’ve actually photographed four of them\u00a0grazing on grass<\/a>).<\/p>\n

For those who may be interested in a more precise and scientific description of the recent evolution of coyotes, this from Wikipedia:<\/p>\n