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<\/p>\nI can only guess what caused this coyote to bristle like it did but something ‘out there’ certainly got its attention as a potential threat or rival.<\/p>\n
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1\/1250, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n This is an older photo of a young coyote on Antelope Island only minutes after dawn. As coyotes often do ‘he’ climbed a high point, in this case a large rock on the north side of the island, in order to survey the surrounding area for potential prey and\/or for potential coyote rivals. Here he’s looking almost due east toward the causeway to the island and toward the rising sun.<\/p>\n Almost immediately after ascending the rock he raised his hackles, particularly those on his lower back and to a lesser degree those on the back of his neck. He kept them raised for much of the time he was on the rock and looking in this direction. Coyotes often hunt along the causeway in the early morning so it’s my guess that this guy saw another coyote out there and this was his reaction. Coyote rivals often fight viciously (I’ve seen and photographed the results of some of those fights<\/a><\/span><\/span> and they aren’t pretty) so a reaction like this would be far from unexpected.<\/p>\n Hackles are erectile plumage or hair in the neck area and\/or along the length of the back in some birds and mammals, including dogs. In mammals who have them they become erect when the animal is fearful, as part of the fight or flight reaction or to show dominance over subordinates. Hackles are raised by dogs as a dominance behavior, by cats and hyenas that are fearful or threatened and by moose preparing to attack. Raised hackles can cause the animal to appear larger and act as a visual warning to rivals.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I’ve always loved the series of photos I took of this coyote on the rock in golden light so last night when I stumbled across them again I impulsively made the decision to share one of them.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Notes:<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I can only guess what caused this coyote to bristle like it did but something ‘out there’ certainly got its attention as a potential threat or rival.<\/p>\n\n