![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/western-meadowlark-6115b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"western-meadowlark-6115b-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nI’ve been photographing coyotes on Antelope Island and elsewhere for many years now and this was the most perplexing behavior I’ve ever seen.<\/p>\n
Please bear with me while I set the stage so readers will be able to fully understand what went down.<\/p>\n
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I photographed this Western Meadowlark early in the morning but in order to get a decent light angle on it I had to pull past it on the road and then angle my pickup so I could shoot back at it from the left side of the road. So try to imagine where I was relative to the road – my pickup was at an angle with the left front tire several feet off the road and my ass end hanging out into the left lane. That time of morning on a weekday I have the island virtually to myself but I was still concerned about the possibility of a stray vehicle coming along while I was looking through my lens so I had both my passenger side window and my rear sliding window open so I’d be able to hear any vehicle that might approach.<\/p>\n
Right after I took this shot of the meadowlark something really bizarre happened.<\/p>\n
Suddenly I could hear through my open passenger window the sound of what I immediately presumed to be a dog running very, very fast on the road toward me. It was the sound of padded feet hitting the pavement and the slight clicking of toenails and I could tell the “dog” was running as fast as it could, possibly in a panic. Then as the dog passed the rear of my pickup I could actually hear it panting loudly as if it was exhausted. It obviously stayed on the road so it had to pass within about 15′ of my pickup.<\/p>\n
My initial reaction was anger because someone had obviously let their dog run loose illegally and I thought it might be chasing wildlife.<\/p>\n
But almost immediately after it passed by me I could see it out my drivers side window and it wasn’t a dog, at least not a domestic one.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/coyote-6119-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"coyote-6119-ron-dudley\\"")
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It was a coyote and it was really hauling ass. It took me several seconds to get my lens on it but when it had been closer to me than this I could see it’s tongue hanging out so it had apparently been running for some time. Coyotes can run up to 40mph or more and this guy was doing his best to beat that record. I’ve never before seen a coyote running anywhere near this fast and it seemed to be in a panic.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/coyote-6120-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"coyote-6120-ron-dudley\\"")
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I got off five quick shots in a burst before it disappeared around a curve and down a slope.<\/p>\n
So I quickly chased after it to see if I could locate it again. At first I couldn’t so I turned around again to continue my search for birds but then I spotted it once more on my right and about 100 yards away. It was still running like a bat out of hell as it disappeared over the top of a hill.<\/p>\n
On both occasions I could see for a long ways behind and in front the coyote and there was nothing chasing it nor was it chasing anything in front of it. I can think of only one possible explanation for what I’d seen.\u00a0Coyote fights can be vicious so I suppose it’s possible that this animal had a confrontation with another coyote some time before I saw it and it was still trying to escape its tormentor who had been left far behind.<\/p>\n
During the drive home I puzzled about what I’d seen but I still can’t explain it with any confidence.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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I’ve been photographing coyotes on Antelope Island and elsewhere for many years now and this was the most perplexing behavior I’ve ever seen.<\/p>\n