The New York Times best-selling account of how coyotes--long the target of an extermination policy--spread to every corner of the United States Finalist for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award "A masterly synthesis of scientific research and personal observation." -Wall Street Journal Legends don't come close to capturing the incredible story of the coyote. In the face of centuries of campaigns of annihilation employing gases, helicopters, and engineered epidemics, coyotes didn't just survive, they thrived, expanding across the continent from Alaska to New York. In the war between humans and coyotes, coyotes have won, hands-down. Coyote America is the illuminating five-million-year biography of this extraordinary animal, from its origins to its apotheosis. It is one of the great epics of our time.
To discover what becomes of Mexicans who cross into the United States without a visa, Conover traveled and worked alongside them for more than a year. This is the chronicle of his journey. “Ted Conover has written a book about the Mexican poor that is at once intimate and epic. Coyotes is travel literature, social protest, and affirmation. I can compare this book to the best of George Orwell’s journeys to the heart of poverty.” --Richard Rodriguez, author of Brown and Hunger of Memory
Some dogs have a bark bigger than their bite. But Sweetie, The Great Dane, can't afford to bark -- or bite. After three little nips and three masters, the next stop is the pound. So when the burglar comes calling, he waves his tail. When coyotes come prowling, he tries to make peace -- as they howl in scorn. They promise they'll return -- to eat his food, his friends, Red the Irish Setter, Poky the Beagle, and Sweetie for dessert! If Sweetie can't protect them they'll all perish! How can he outfox twelve hungry coyotes?
Originally published in 1978, this text pulls together much disparate research in coyote evolution, taxonomy, reproduction, communication, behavioral development, population dynamics, and ecological studies in the Southwest, Minnesota, Iowa, New England, and Wyoming. (Animals/Pets)
An eye-opening celebration of the unique personalities found within the animal kingdom—and of the special links between us and our non-human friends. Blending cutting-edge science with personal anecdotes, a wildlife expert explores the mysteries of animal behavior in this “thoroughly enjoyable and informative read” for animal and nature lovers (Booklist). Why are some cats outgoing and others standoffish? Why are some dogs adventuresome and others homebodies? As any pet owner can attest, we feel that the animals we've formed bonds with are unique—as particular (and peculiar) as any friend or loved one. But is there any scientific basis for this feeling, or are we just projecting our complicated human ideas onto the animal world? It turns out that science has been reluctant to even broach the subject of individuality in the animal kingdom. But now, a fundamental shift in scientific understanding is underway as mainstream scientists begin to accept the notion that animals of all kinds—from apes and birds to crabs and spiders—do indeed have individual personalities. In Mousy Cats and Sheepish Coyotes, veteran wildlife expert Dr. John Shivik brings us stories from the frontlines of this exciting new research. Researchers are finding that each wolf, bear, and coyote has a different tendency to follow its predatory nature or to shyly avoid conflicts. Some bluebirds are lovers, others are fighters. Some water striders are passive, others bellicose. Unique personalities can be discovered in every corner of the animal kingdom. Even microscopic organisms can exhibit unique tendencies. The array of personality types among all species is only beginning to be described and understood. As Shivik argues, individuality in animals is important not only for the human-animal bond, but also for evolution, adaption, and species diversity in the wild.
Frank the coyote is sad when his friend Angelina moves away, but then he finds a new friend when Larry moves into the den next door. Larry is different than Angelina, but Frank soon finds that Larry is special in his own way. Full-color illustrations.
The most comprehensive book about coyotes, presented in a format that is easy to read and enjoyable. The author spent years studying the collective body of coyote research and thousands of hours in the field. Now you can become an expert on the most intelligent and adaptable animal in North America by reading this book. Whether you are a coyote hunter, deer hunter, photographer, wildlife observer, or enthusiast, you will find this book fascinating and beneficial. It will give you a true appreciation of the coyote. Order a copy today and expand your appreciation of this amazing animal and learn how you can apply the knowledge in this book to get close to coyotes in the wild!
A hiking trail through majestic mountains. A raw, unpeopled wilderness stretching as far as the eye can see. These are the settings we associate with our most famous books about nature. But Gavin Van Horn isn’t most nature writers. He lives and works not in some perfectly remote cabin in the woods but in a city—a big city. And that city has offered him something even more valuable than solitude: a window onto the surprising attractiveness of cities to animals. What was once in his mind essentially a nature-free blank slate turns out to actually be a bustling place where millions of wild things roam. He came to realize that our own paths are crisscrossed by the tracks and flyways of endangered black-crowned night herons, Cooper’s hawks, brown bats, coyotes, opossums, white-tailed deer, and many others who thread their lives ably through our own. With The Way of Coyote, Gavin Van Horn reveals the stupendous diversity of species that can flourish in urban landscapes like Chicago. That isn’t to say city living is without its challenges. Chicago has been altered dramatically over a relatively short timespan—its soils covered by concrete, its wetlands drained and refilled, its river diverted and made to flow in the opposite direction. The stories in The Way of Coyote occasionally lament lost abundance, but they also point toward incredible adaptability and resilience, such as that displayed by beavers plying the waters of human-constructed canals or peregrine falcons raising their young atop towering skyscrapers. Van Horn populates his stories with a remarkable range of urban wildlife and probes the philosophical and religious dimensions of what it means to coexist, drawing frequently from the wisdom of three unconventional guides—wildlife ecologist Aldo Leopold, Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu, and the North American trickster figure Coyote. Ultimately, Van Horn sees vast potential for a more vibrant collective of ecological citizens as we take our cues from landscapes past and present. Part urban nature travelogue, part philosophical reflection on the role wildlife can play in waking us to a shared sense of place and fate, The Way of Coyote is a deeply personal journey that questions how we might best reconcile our own needs with the needs of other creatures in our shared urban habitats.
Coyotes hold a peculiar interest as both an enduring symbol of the wild and a powerful predator we are always anxious to avoid. This book examines the spread of coyotes across the country over the past century, and the storm of concern and controversy that has followed. Individual chapters cover the surprisingly complex question of how to identify a coyote, the real and imagined dangers they pose, their personality and lifestyle, and nondeadly ways of discouraging them.
