September 10, 2015
Blog by Michelle Leighty-Jones
Wildlife Resources Manager
Last week, coyote pups from Texas arrived at the Museum, joining our beloved adult coyote Charcoal in a new temporary enclosure in the Thelma & Kent H. Smith Environmental Courtyard. The four coyotes are bonding and winning over the hearts of staff and guests.
On April 22, an adult female coyote was struck and killed by an automobile while crossing a Texas highway. The vehicle's driver, who had a medical background and tried to provide assistance to the animal, noted her large belly upon examination and determined she was pregnant. Acting quickly, he used his knife to deliver four healthy pups via C-section on the side of the road. The pups, two male and two female, were taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center. Despite the efforts of the rehabbers to prepare them for the wild, the little coyotes became too tame for release and were in need of a permanent home.
I traveled to Texas to meet the four coyote pups and was tasked with evaluating their dispositions to see if any might make a suitable pal for Charcoal as well as be friendly and motivated enough to be trained and cared for by our staff. I approached their pen, hoping for the best, also knowing that coyotes are shy and cautious creatures by nature and might be intimidated by a new person.
I stepped into the enclosure and barely managed to close the door behind me before I had four energetic pups bounding into my arms, licking my face, showing off their toys, and enticing me to pet and play with them. I spent hours that afternoon and the next morning observing and interacting with them, lamenting that I only had two hands to give tummy rubs, the ultimate gift of affection to these sweet canines. Now my mission had become more complicated. They all seemed like a great fit for our exhibit and appropriate companions for Charcoal!
Over the past three years visitors have enjoyed watching the captivating Charcoal grow into a beautiful young adult. With the Museum's
expansion project and
renovation of the Perkins Wildlife Center, we have the opportunity to build Charcoal a much larger exhibit that could also accommodate additional coyotes in need and give her some playmates.
I headed back to Cleveland to make phone calls to zoos, wildlife centers and other museums that exhibit groups of coyotes. Charcoal made caring for a coyote easy, but she was alone. Housing multiple coyotes is a very different situation. The coyote social structure can be very complex, and I wanted to research as thoroughly as possible what combination of males and females had the best chance of success. I spent hours on the phone with curators, keepers, rehabilitators and biologists, listening to their stories, weighing if a pair or a group might work better. The factors to consider were endless. How would siblings interact with an unrelated coyote? What about the age difference between Charcoal and the pups? Should we take multiple males or just one? Do females live well together? Charcoal would be moving to her temporary courtyard exhibit soon. Would it be better to let her get used to it first, or should we introduce her and the coyote pups to it at the same time? Would the older Charcoal be dominant or would a male become alpha? Reading my notes at the end of my calls, I came to the conclusion that it is nearly impossible to predict how coyotes will adapt to a new environment. A zoo in Massachusetts wanted one of the female pups to pair with its lone male, leaving us with three to consider. We decided to take all three: two males we’ve named Red for the color of his coat, and Tex after the pups state of origin, and a female we call Ember in honor of Charcoal.
The pups made the road trip from Texas to Ohio with the two caretakers who raised them, giving them something familiar to help with the transition. Charcoal was introduced to the new exhibit last Thursday, and just a few hours later the Texas pups arrived and joined her. Charcoal was a bit perplexed and nervous at first but is warming up to them. The pups have adjusted without a hitch and have been exploring their new terrain and are taking well to training from the Wildlife staff. They will how to learn to stand on feeding stations, go into kennels for transport to the vet, hop onto a scale, and other behaviors that will help us take care of them.
Charcoal, Red, Ember and Tex are perfect ambassadors for their often-misunderstood species, and the Museum is proud to give them a permanent home. It will be fascinating over the coming years to watch the interactions of our new pack. The pups are adorable, rambunctious and playful as can be. The courtyard exhibit offers great viewing opportunities of the delightful group, and we are thrilled that our new permanent coyote exhibit will have four coyotes when it opens next spring.
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