Coyotes

On a morning after heavy rain or snow, coyote prints can be found in this area. If you return to this trail, you’ll notice the coyotes take the same path day after day. The protected eagle area provides an oasis for a large variety of animals, allowing them to exist with minimal human interactions. The coyote, while well adapted to urban areas, prefers privacy to raise their young and hunt their prey. The hill near the shoreline, southwest of the sign, is a highly suspected location for coyote dens. During the spring and summer, coyotes utilize these dens to raise their pups. Coyotes are thought to mate for life, raising litters of 5-7 pups. The young emerge from the dens after several weeks of their mother providing them with food. They practice their hunting skills on grasshoppers, but quickly move onto small rodents and birds. The abundance of prairie dogs provides coyotes with a steady supply of sustenance. Coyotes are opportunistic, however, and have no issue consuming plants and seeds when the going gets rough. You can find coyote scat and prints on the trails of Standley Lake, as they like to mark their commonly walked trails with their scent. To identify a coyote print, look at the space between the paw pad impressions. If the space forms an “x”, it’s likely a coyote print. If it forms an “h” it is likely a dog print, as they are larger and rounder.