Pack of Coyotes

[rumpel]

howling on our street...

I have not heard them for many months and they were not this close the last time. They spook me...

(our dogs did not like it a bit)

...and now it's quiet.

Is it a warning of "deception" to come?

Personally, I like the hooting of our great horned owls better...

[Angel Wings]

1. WOW!!

I can't imagine that. I'm an extreme urban dweller. But, that does sound creepy. I hope the howling coyotes just mean that the coyotes are howling and that they move farther away again soon.:-)

[rumpel]

4. The thing with them is

that they go after small animals regardless of whether they are someones beloved pets - occasionally they go after fawns.

They stalk and watch you from within tall grasses as you walk your dogs - one was so bold as to follow me almost back to my house and only disappeared, when one of my neighbors came to the front door and asked if I need help...

But more than that - my direct encounter of Navajo wisdom - when a Coyote crossed in front of the 40 some foot motorhome I was driving heading towards Kayenta, AZ for an ad shoot. I had 2 tanks both were empty, it was past 2 am and there are no more gas stations until Kayenta. Everyone was asleep, except one of the male models, who said - "Did you see that, isn't that cool?", I just said, yeah - even though I knew I am, according to the Navajo, being warned. I made it - yet, with cold sweat in my palms the entire drive because diesel is as such that when you run empty - you need to call out a mechanic - and in those days there were no cell phones - I just did not tell anyone how close we were to being stranded and not making the schedule.

In any event all mysterious things happened during that trip. Lightning struck the marquis of the 2 story Holiday Inn- knocking out power but worse - electrocuted 2 cooks in the kitchen - the EMT is volunteer and the closest Hospital is in Flagstaff some 70 miles away. At the time, this motel had built a facade of a hogan for tourist attraction inside the building at the entrance to the restaurant. This was done against the advise and wishes of the council of elders. For the Navajo a lightning strike is punishment. Thereafter, all Native employees left. Holiday Inn later took down that hogan and slowly things returned to normal.

On this same trip I encountered that bad medicine man, who according to my friend, no one knows where he lives and supposedly turns himself into coyote at night. (I posted that encounter some time ago here) Years later, she figured out what was going on. Today, I believe it was his doing. There are those, who have not forgiven and he represented them. At the time my friend was married to the GM of the H. Inn, a non-native, and she helped tourists- she said, they did not like that at all. That night perhaps he warned us to stay away...that we were not welcome. Ever since, I have been trying to find any scientific facts or possible explanations of the powers of the shaman and our own potential powers.

There are real coyotes and illusionary coyotes and I never know which is which... :)

[cassiepriam]

10. I have a little 12 lb dog, the yard is fenced, but I keep an eye on her....

Hubby says she would be a tasty morsel for the coyotes :(

[rumpel]

12. Yes be careful

Some years ago, my elderly neighbor was walking his 2 small dogs off leash at night at the end of the street. he was watching one do her business the other one was behind him - just disappeared - not even a collar was found -
We don't know if it was an owl or them - his wife was so upset because he did not put them on a leash as she told him to.

[cassiepriam]

13. Oh dear me. Thank goodness, my little dog does not go out much....

She has "food issues" since she was starved before we got her as a pup.
So she loves to eat, cries terribly if I try to restrict her calories.
So she is a bit on the plump side, and hates exercise. Will only go on
a walk if I carry her. :(

I don't think the coyotes can jump the fence, but we did see deer tracks in the back
yard recently so the deer can jump it. But coyotes are smaller, I don't think they can
jump as high as deer.

[rumpel]

14. I also think they don't jump

and usually are not that bold - normally they shy away from people - only easy prey -

[BlueIris]

2. Is that what coyote howling portends? Deception?

Might explain why we have so much of that around my place.

[rumpel]

6. there are several different messages

from coyote.

as for last night - "deception" immediately came to my mind -

Generally he is known as a trickster and clown -

"Of all the animals that take part in the creation stories, none appear more frequently than Coyote. He was admired for his wisdom, skills, and keenness; his ability to survive in times of peril was a trait that all people wanted to possess. In some tales, Coyote is represented as a wise, elderly man who respects his friends as well as the earth."

"When Coyote is part of a creation story, or any other tale, it is certain that a moral or surprise will be present. One such tale comes from the Nez Percé, who lived in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. They trace their ancestry back to the tricky Coyote."

http://www.worldandi.com/public/1998/cljul98.htm

[RayOfHope]

3. Nothing quite like a pack of howling coyotes, is there?

My mother in law has a pack that lives on her land and they are LOUD. If their howl is indeed a warning of deception, then it's fitting they live near her ;-)

We have an owl nearby. It was perched on the garage next door 2 weeks ago, it flew over my husband's head as he took out the trash. He said it was super cool.

[cassiepriam]

5. Oh we have coyotes living behind us..... their cries at night are blood curdling.

One of the worst sounds you can imagine.

You know what is supposed to happen right after their cries??
Not good.

[rumpel]

8. I know...

:(

the sudden silence gives me shudders.

[cassiepriam]

9. Yes, because you know why it is silent.

Too awful....

[stellanoir]

7. Trickster spirits they are. . .

Always foolin' around. . .not to worry really.

When they are TRULY warning you you will know. They're funny like that.

[rumpel]

11. since deception came to mind

I do not know whether it is addressed to me or in general -

considering that the !$%@# administration is drumming, we all can all see what's going on... confirmation maybe :)

[Angel Wings]

15. yeah, could be

since its on more peoples minds now than just us crazy liberals.

Also, forgive my east coast city dweller ignorance but, what exactly is the horrible meaning when the silence comes after the coyote's howl. I assume something is dead. So, dose the howling mean they've caught their prey?

[rumpel]

16. my understanding is

that they encircle their prey and confuse them with their howling and yapping. They stop when the kill is done.

[cassiepriam]

17. Yes.

Sounds like something straight from the depths of Hell.
Really.
Then the dead silence. Literally. :(

Even my husband, who could sleep thru Armageddon, wakes
up when the coyotes start.

[rumpel]

18. I think what makes it so eerie is

that you feel so sorry for the prey and you can't and probably should not, do anything about it. (unless it is someone's pet and you happen to stumble upon it in time of course)

[cassiepriam]

19. I know, I know.

Hubby says it is the law of the jungle, stay out of it. :(

And in the middle of the night, God Himself at my side would not make me
venture into the middle of the hounds of hell howling.

[Angel Wings]

20. WOW, I think that's sounding scarier

than gunfire in the streets to me, LOL.

[cassiepriam]

21. Actually it is, gunshots sounds better than coyotes.

We better stop Rumpel, we are going to freak everyone out :)

[peacebuzzard]

22. It is not the coyotes that are spooky. They are actually fearful of humans,

their only natural predator left this decade. What is scary is that humans have succeeded in killing off natural coyote predators such as the big cats. The humans have also succeeded in killing the coyote's prey which is small animals: rabbits, squirrel, wild birds etc. As a matter of fact, humans have succeeded in totally destroying the whole natural predator chain and in return complain that the one's left to scavenge (like the coyote pack) are a nuisance to be feared. When in actuality these critters are starving and looking for a meal (that has been killed off by hunter's harvesting methods) It is an unnatural development that has happened all across this country that was once rich with wildlife and now has become almost mono species with the human variety.

Coyotes by nature are a timid animal with a social hierarchy but, just like the pack dogs of Katrina that had to fend for themselves, they are starving and afraid.

I am sorry this situation developed in your neighborhood. It is sad that our civilization of north america has destroyed all the original habitat for what was once a rich and busy wildlife chain. I don't know of any area left in the country or this world that is not on a constant slaughter path of the world's animals.