Coyote, Joshua Tree National Monument, California
Copyright © 1996, Don Baccus (dhogaza@pacifier.com)
Copyright © 1995, Don Baccus
All images copyright © 1995, Don Baccus
Coyote are common throughout the area. They can often be seen "mousing" in fields and other areas where small mammals are common, as well as in the marshes during spring where they attempt to take birds. Frequent scavengers, they often take the blame for kills they exploit, but don't cause.
Coyote are persecuted by local ranchers and are subject to a predator control program on Malheur Refuge as well. Thus, getting close to a coyote is nearly impossible here. A coyote "mousing" or feeding will often ignore a distant human in a car, but any attempt to approach or the first sign of pointing an object in its direction will cause it to flee.
Observing coyote is a different story, though. I've many fond memories of watching coyote interact with other wildlife in the area. Once, an Elderhostel class I was teaching was able to observe a pronghorn mother repeatedly chase a coyote through a deep marsh, in an attempt to prevent the coyote from scavenging her kid, which apparently had been stillborn.
On another occasion with another Elderhostel class, a female northern harrier repeatedly dive-bombed a coyote, which was invisible in the sage except for the tips of its ears. Apparently it had found the bird's nest, and was dining on the contents.
I most frequently see coyotes near Round Barn, the southern portion of the Malheur Refuge, and on the lower western slope of Steens Mountain.