A Lone Coyote

Photo courtesy of Donn Craig.
Today's picture features a lone coyote standing proud at Furnace Creek in Death Valley. Master photographer Donn Craig shot this amazing image from 30 yards away on March 20, 2006.

Like wolves and jackals, coyotes are members of the dog family, and their amazing ability to adapt to changing conditions has enabled them to survive and even extend their territory in recent years as development slowly diminished their habitat. Although they are rarely seen, coyotes are certainly not rare. For good reason, they choose to live discreetly among us - even in many urban areas.

One of the most important areas in which coyotes have adapted is in their diet. Their constantly decreasing habitat has led to a shortage of their natural foods, and to compensate they began to prey upon livestock and smaller farm animals. Of course the farmers and ranchers don't like this one bit, so for years they have eliminated every coyote they could find - even going so far as to offer bounties for their carcasses.

But even with the increasing loss of their habitat and their long-term battle with farmers and ranchers, the wily coyote is still with us and they probably always will be. They'll simply try to stay out of our sight and continue to adapt as necessary in order to survive. Hopefully, the most distinctive howl in nature will continue to be heard across this great land for a long, long time.

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