From the June 2010 Conservationist
By Eileen Stegemann and Jenna Kerwin
Coyote or Dog?
While out with a 4-H group in a hemlock swamp near Ithaca on March 23rd, I unexpectedly came across what I believe is a coyote den. Looking in, I was surprised to see the movement of puppies. I snapped several photos and quickly left, not wanting to disturb things any more. Are these coyotes?
Your photo certainly piqued the interest of our biologists. We checked with Robin Holevinski, a PhD candidate studying coyotes at SUNY ESF, and here's what she had to say:
"The den site sounds like it corresponds to what a coyote would use, but these pups do not quite look like coyote pups. A photo that we collected last year of a coyote den shows some differences in the shape of the pups' faces, although they do look similar. I also would not expect to see the white markings on the toes (of the standing pup) in a coyote pup. The fact that the pups were about 12 inches long on March 23rd indicates breeding in early January, which is not typical, but not impossible for coyotes."
Robin provided this photo of known coyote pups, so we thought we'd let our readers decide. It would be nice to see the pups again in a few weeks to know for sure, though.-Dave Nelson, Editor