Afternoon Hunters
This afternoon I watched a deer bound across the back lawn and into the woods. Within a minute the reason for the deer’s flight entered the same area. There were two wolves coyotes,1 but I was unable to catch both in the same shot.
I did snap five photos of the brief time they spent here; the last shot shows them departing along the same route the deer took.
The large format photos can be viewed at
Footnotes
- I had originally identified these two as wolves but on considering how statistically unlikely that would be, I have deferred to Lord of Leisure’s superior outdoorsmanship (see his comment) and now believe these were indeed large coyotes rather than wolves. ~back~
You may be right about this being a wolf, but it might just be a big coyote. I think wolves would be pretty rare in your area. Perhaps they are expanding their range. Are confirmed wolf sightings common in your area?
LoL
Comment by Lord of Leisure — December 17, 2007 @ 5:09 pm
You may be right that I am wrong. I know there has been and continues to be a controversy about the likelihood of wolves becoming more populous in this area. The state game folks are skeptical; hunters and outdoor types seem to be pro-wolf. Another faction claims that wolves and coyotes mate so often that distinctions are impossible. There are only a few confirmed wolf sightings in the entire state although I’m told Wisconsin (about 20 miles away) has noted an increase. In this case, I compared the profiles for wolves & coyotes, measured the tracks, etc. and at the end of the checklist made my best guess.
Comment by DrHGuy — December 17, 2007 @ 5:42 pm
Regardless, it’s a very cool picture.
–LoL
Comment by Lord of Leisure — December 18, 2007 @ 8:47 am