A woman's Great Pyrenees helped track down a rare black coyote after they became backyard buds
Every day for a week, the strange, happy visitor would drop to play with her Great Pyrenees. She thought Ruth Bader, the dog, had made a new dog companion. Nope, it was a coyote. And the animal was on the lam.
By Francisco Guzman and Brian Ries, CNN 2 days ago
© Vanessa Prior
Researchers with the Atlanta Coyote Project told Vanessa Prior, Ruth Bader's human, that they had been trying to track down the rare, black coyote for over a month. It had been spotted around the Smyrna and Vinings, Georgia, areas playing with neighborhood dogs.
© Jessica Slater The black coyote went around playing with dogs in Georgia.
"It was very friendly," co-founder of the Atlanta Coyote Project Christopher Mowry told CNN. "It was following people to try to play with their dogs while they were walking them."
The group, which is made up of scientists devoted to learning more about coyotes living in the Atlanta area, first attempted to find the animal when people started to get a little freaked out by it coming too close for comfort.
They figured it was best for everyone -- people, dogs, coyote -- to move the animal to a safer place.
The friendship between a dog and coyote
Prior said she first noticed the new friend last week, when the coyote dropped by her backyard for some playtime.
Since then, "she came every day to play," Prior told CNN. "They would chase each other, play on the pool cover, gently wrestling or nap side by side."
At first she thought it was a wild dog, or maybe a big fox.
But when she posted a photo of the two playing on her Facebook, a friend told her to call a pet rescue center. The group told her the Atlanta Coyote Project had been trying to catch the coyote for months.
So Prior and her friend set up cameras in her backyard to see if the rare animal would come back. Of course it did -- the two animals had become fast friends.
"Because of their friendship and because she kept on coming back to play, they were able to catch her," she said. "They put some traps in the back of my yard and one night she finally got into it."
Prior said she has mixed emotions over her role in the capture.
She's happy the coyote is in a safe place, but feels sad when she sees Ruth Bader looking forlornly for the friend who hasn't returned, she said.
The rescuers took the animal to the Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary where it will live with another coyote.
"It's not a good situation for a wild animal like a coyote to be interacting with people,'' the Atlanta Coyote Project's Christopher Mowry assured. "They need to maintain a natural awareness to humans and pets and keep to themselves."
Coyote experts will look into the genetics of the friendly animal to try to learn why it was interacting with people. Mowry believes it could have a history with well-meaning humans.
Time will tell how the animal's experiences will translate in its new friendship with another of its kind.
Researchers with the Atlanta Coyote Project told Vanessa Prior, Ruth Bader's human, that they had been trying to track down the rare, black coyote for over a month. It had been spotted around the Smyrna and Vinings, Georgia, areas playing with neighborhood dogs.
© Jessica Slater The black coyote went around playing with dogs in Georgia."It was very friendly," co-founder of the Atlanta Coyote Project Christopher Mowry told CNN. "It was following people to try to play with their dogs while they were walking them."
The group, which is made up of scientists devoted to learning more about coyotes living in the Atlanta area, first attempted to find the animal when people started to get a little freaked out by it coming too close for comfort.
They figured it was best for everyone -- people, dogs, coyote -- to move the animal to a safer place.
The friendship between a dog and coyote
Prior said she first noticed the new friend last week, when the coyote dropped by her backyard for some playtime.
Since then, "she came every day to play," Prior told CNN. "They would chase each other, play on the pool cover, gently wrestling or nap side by side."
At first she thought it was a wild dog, or maybe a big fox.
But when she posted a photo of the two playing on her Facebook, a friend told her to call a pet rescue center. The group told her the Atlanta Coyote Project had been trying to catch the coyote for months.
So Prior and her friend set up cameras in her backyard to see if the rare animal would come back. Of course it did -- the two animals had become fast friends.
"Because of their friendship and because she kept on coming back to play, they were able to catch her," she said. "They put some traps in the back of my yard and one night she finally got into it."
Prior said she has mixed emotions over her role in the capture.
She's happy the coyote is in a safe place, but feels sad when she sees Ruth Bader looking forlornly for the friend who hasn't returned, she said.
The rescuers took the animal to the Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary where it will live with another coyote.
"It's not a good situation for a wild animal like a coyote to be interacting with people,'' the Atlanta Coyote Project's Christopher Mowry assured. "They need to maintain a natural awareness to humans and pets and keep to themselves."
Coyote experts will look into the genetics of the friendly animal to try to learn why it was interacting with people. Mowry believes it could have a history with well-meaning humans.
Time will tell how the animal's experiences will translate in its new friendship with another of its kind.
Experts Capture Rare All-Black Coyote On-Video Playing With Great Pyrenees
THE COYOTE WAS OVERLY FRIENDLY TO HUMANS AND DOGS, FOLLOWING DOGWALKERS AND EVEN JUMPING FENCES AND ATTEMPTING TO CRAWL IN THROUGH DOG DOORS. JESSICA SLATER
By Madison Dapcevich 21 FEB 2020
Editor's note: Researchers confirmed that Carmine is a male on February 21.
Wildlife biologists have successfully captured an overly friendly, all-black coyote that had been teasing the greater area of Atlanta, Georgia, for the last two months.
The animal made headlines after a woman captured it playing with her Great Pyrenees in her backyard. Other reports agree that the wild animal was overly comfortable with humans and dogs, seemingly habituated to the presence of humans.
“Wild coyotes are naturally wary, and they typically avoid humans and keep out of sight. This particular coyote's behavior was just the opposite,” Chris Mowry, a biologist with Berry College in Georgia, told IFLScience. He added that the animal was seen jumping fences into backyards, following people while they were walking a dog, and even attempting to enter homes through dog doors.
“This was not a safe situation for the coyote or for local human residents and their pets. The usual protocol of trying to re-instill fear of humans by hazing it did not work. This is what made this situation unique and is why we intervened,” added Mowry.
The unique all-black coloring of the coyote – now named Carmine – is connected to a condition known as melanism, a similar genetic mutation to albinism that instead replaces a lack of pigment with black pigment. Melanism is rare in Canis latrans but the frequency is higher in the southeast part of North America. Previous studies have found at least nine melanistic coyotes over a nine-year period in Georgia, but its cause remains unclear. The same gene also occurs in wolves and could have occurred in coyotes through introgression, a gene jumping from one species to another through hybridization. Dark-colored wolves are more prevalent in forested habitats, which means it could be used as a camouflage strategy, studies suggest.
To begin piecing together the curious case of Carmine, researchers constructed a map to pin down the whereabouts of the black coyote based on reported sightings and locations it likes to frequent. Capturing and relocating coyotes is not generally an option in Georgia as trapped coyotes are required by state law to be euthanized. However, Mowry says that his team was given special permission to relocate the animal by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Led by local no-kill trappers and expert volunteers, the team was able to capture the coyote in the middle of the night in a cage trap, “completely unharmed” and “totally docile” during the entire process of capture and relocation.
The coyote, who was likely just searching for a mate and territory, now has a new home at Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary (YRWS) in suburban Atlanta. The canine is currently doing well and is slated to get its first exam tomorrow.
“Believe it or not, we still aren’t entirely sure of its sex, but strongly suspect it is female. We should know for sure tomorrow,” said Mowry.
Carmine will have to remain in quarantine for some time before being introduced to Wilee, the resident coyote at YRWS.
The coyote has a rare genetic condition known as melanism, which results in its black coloring. Glenda Elliott
Thanks to everyone who has kept us informed as to the whereabouts of the black coyote in the Smyrna/Vinings area. We have constructed a map based on reported sightings and we are well aware of certain locations that the coyote likes to frequent. This coyote is not acting at all aggressively, but it is a wild animal and should be treated as such. Please DO NOT attempt to pet, feed, or capture it, and try to prevent your dogs from interacting with it, if possible. We are attempting to capture this coyote in a manner that is safe for everyone, including the coyote, and if we are successful it has a home waiting for it at the Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary in Lilburn. Please understand, however, that this is a very unique situation and relocating coyotes is generally NOT an option. Trapped coyotes are typically euthanized according to state law. If we did not have a home for this particular coyote and permission from the Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources we would not intervene.
Coyotes are very smart animals and they do not willingly allow themselves to be captured. Contrary to what you might think, sedating or tranquilizing animals can be very tricky and must be done under tightly controlled conditions. A safe dose of sedative requires time to take effect, which means the animal has time to wander off and into an unsafe environment or situation. We are doing all that we can using a variety of capture methods and we might not reach a successful outcome, but we are hoping for the best. Our capture efforts are costly and the long-term care of the coyote at Yellow River will require funding, so if you are inclined to eventually donate towards the welfare of this animal we will let you know how you can help. Until then, please keep us informed if you spot the coyote, drive safely around your neighborhood so that the coyote is not hit by a car, and please visit the Atlanta Coyote Project’s website to learn more about coyotes in particular and urban wildlife in general. Thank you again for your support and concern.
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