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Show Coyote: the Sacred Trickster By Pamela Mills Poulson manager of community education Red Butte Garden and Arboretum Twain: "He does not mind going a hun- dred miles to breakfast, and a hundred and fifty to dinner, because he is sure to have three or four days between meals and he can just as ".. The coyote is a long, slim sorry looking skeleton, with a gray wolfish skin stretched over it, a tolerably bushy tail that forever sags down...a long sharp face, with slightly lifted lip and exposed teeth. He has a general slinking expression all over..." - Mark Twain he coyote and his howl are enduring symbols of the American West. Most of have experienced a sunset or sunrise accompanied by his high-pitched song of howls and yips. Coyote was named by the Aztec, coyotl, the gage and capable of instant bursts of 40 miles per hour. The coyote is his ky-O-tee, or KY-oat. Native Americans of which allow him to pursue prey over long distances. Even more amazing is how quickly a coyote can change directions while running at full speed. His long fluffy tail, held hori- across the continent ken during the summer months. The Sioux and Tetons domesticated coyotes as hunting partners, beasts of burden and food. It wasn't until 1804 that Lewis and Clark brought coyote to the attention of contemporary scientists, collecting the first specimen in present-day South Dakota. The expedition was introduced to the qualities of domesticated coyotes and learned to eat coy- ote meat from the Sioux, and used coyote meat many times thereafter as subsistence. The yelps and howls of both the wild and domesticated coyote accompanied Lewis and Clark to the Pacific and back. COYOTE, Canis latrans — Also Knows As: Prairie wolf, — coyote for quick turns. "see how gently the coyote glides along never pants or sweats or ceases to smile... ated reputation for killing sheep, calves and chickens. For years, ranchers, farmers, hunters and federal preda- tor control agents have shot, trapped and poisoned coyotes. Between 1937 and 1969 federal control agents killed nearly 3 million coyotes, and eradication strategies continue today. "The coyote lives chiefly in the most desolate among the mail sacks; and remembering his forlorn aspect and his hard fortune, made shift to wish him the blessed novelty of a long day's good luck and a limitless larder for morrow." @ Coyote's sly smile is the result of yellow, slightly slanted eyes and his usually open, panting mouth. His 42 grinning teeth are designed for grasping, shredding, tearing and shearing. A coyote can stretch his mouth open wider than either a dog or a wolf. "He seems to subsist almost wholly on the carcasses of oxen, mules and horses that have dropped out of emigrant trains and died, and upon windfalls of carrion..." SUMMER AT SUNDANCE Despite Twain's limited observations and most numerous there. Behavior: Superb senses o a and i Keen a ae canine carnivorous el horizontally or bones me when running. High | pitched, yapping cry. What it can be confused with: Domestic dogs, who run with their tails erect, Wolves, who are at least twice the size, Also, the coyote's nose is much smaller than a wolf's and his ears are proportionately larger and more pointed. Cry of wolf a long mournful howl. Cry of coyote a series of baying yelps ending in a quavering howl. Range: Throughout most of North America. Habitat: zontally, acts as a rudder and balances the and He Originally Open conniny, grass: ands, forests, and tundra. Probably still lant depend | upon carrion ofhe 1ammals. Den: In excavated dens, on brush covered slopes, in the roots of an old tree, on riverbanks and rock ledges. Often the same site is used for several years. Cultural Notes: Interbreed easily with domestic dogs. Have earned the enmity of ranchers for their attacks on sheep, calves and chickens. Do have become subject to i programs, few of which have been effective. yeas THEATRE Meredith Willson’s . Where to see it: In spring and sum- THe Music Man THE ENCHANTED Pic by Charles Ludlum mer, more likely to hear it than see it. Eccles Stage King Stage Visit the National Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyoming in winter, where they seck food in the form of dead carcasses. SEASON June 25 through August 30, 1997 ; FEATHERTOP oi Betsey Shere Music by Peter Golub SPECIAL EVENTS REAT AMERICAN MUSICALS ON FILM King Stage and Utah School Tour Outdoor Screen Eccles Stage oh For tickets and information call t he Sundance Box Office 801 99 225.4100 J9Vd ¢ SAWIL NIVINNOW :: A body, small feet and long limbs, all prey. shakes the animal to break its neck, then tilts his head backwards, flips _ the rodent. into his mouth, and swallows it whole. Some scientists believe that the coyote’s howls Coyotes have are communications to other coyotes. earned an exagger- built for speed with a muscular Maiii so’sacred that his name cannot be spo- Sa is or barking dog. (The scientific name Canis latrans also translates to "barking dog.") Spanish explorers metamorphosed the word to coyote, correctly pronounced ky-O-tay, had recognized coyote as the sacred trickster and major character of stories for hundreds of years. To this day, The Navajo consider 2 Coyote fastest North American canine, cruising at 25 to 30 miles per hour and forbidding deserts, along with the lizard, the jackass rabbit and the raven..." In spite of the campaign against coyote, because of his remarkable adaptability and diverse palette, he has increased his range. Within just the past 30 years, the 19 varieties of coyote have moved to inhabit all corners of the United States--even urban areas. This is partly a result of coyote filling niches of other eradicated predators (particularly the Red Wolf), and adaptability to the presence of humans in his historical range. No one is sure why a coyote howls, but some scientists believe that a coyote's howl communicates to his brother coyotes, telling ofa prospective hunt, rallying members ofa pack, impressing a potential mate, or as a warning to non-pack members to stay out of his territory. The coyote song can take seyeral forms--most often a lengthy yowl-l-l, followed by several yip-yip-yips. One naturalist described the call of the coyote as "a prolonged howl, which the animal lets out, then runs after and bites into small pieces.” "We soon learned to recognize the sharp vicious bark of the coyote as it came across the murky plain at night to disturb our dreams f us well be traveling and looking at the scenery..." Although a coyote can hunt for nearly 100 miles per day, when food is plentiful, he needs travel no more than five miles a day. critical commentary, coyote is one of the world's most cunning and resourceful hunters. He will eat almost anything, but 90 percent of his food is rodents. Rodents are obtained by a stalk, wait and pounce method. He stalks with his head down, alert, sniffing the ground. He listens and senses underground vibrations with his fooltpads. Suddenly, he leaps straight up, all 4 feet in the air, and trounces |