Life isn’t easy for coyotes in Yellowstone National Park. Even when potential meals are plentiful, they frequently come at a steep price.
One coyote that tried to snatch a fawn from a herd of pronghorn (antelope) in Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley early Friday ended up running for its life with a band of irate does on its tail for more than 30 minutes.
The chase was captured on video by a wildlife observer, who shared a clip of the most intense part of the chase with Cowboy State Daily.
Does Just Wouldn’t Quit
Krisztina Gayler, a field assistant with the American Canid Project, told Cowboy State Daily that she’s seen plenty of drama unfold between coyotes, wolves and potential prey animals such as pronghorn and bison.
With female bison and pronghorn having recently given birth to calves and fawns, the canine predators take every opportunity they can to snatch the young.
But protective mothers can get downright vicious.
Kicks and stomps from potential prey animals are one of the most common causes of injury and death for wild canines, Gayler said.
This particular mother pronghorn and her band of followers refused to quit, as their pursuit of the coyote went on and on, Gayler said.
They even kept hunting for the coyote after it found a hiding spot along the banks of the Lamar River.
At one point, “there was a contact” when one of the pronghorn does walloped the coyote, she said.
She and her friend, Laurie Lyman of Yellowstone Reports, watched from a distance — and it was difficult to tell if the blow injured the coyote.
“We saw that coyote the next day and he looked fine, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have a broken rib or something,” Gayler said.
Dramatic Video
Gayler said they’ve been observing goings-on among the abundant wildlife in the Lamar Valley, and had already witnessed pronghorn does chasing off a few coyotes.
When a doe started chasing this coyote away from her fawn at about 8 a.m. on Friday, they expected it to be over quickly.
But the pursuit went on and on, and became wilder as more does joined in.
Gayler started taking video. By her estimation, the incident lasted about 36 minutes before the coyote finally slipped away.
A roughly 2-minute video clip of some of the most intense moments shows the coyote trying to get away by zigzagging, then cowering for a few seconds behind an old tree stump right after suffering the hit from the doe.
Unusual Circumstances
Rich Guenzel of Laramie worked as a wildlife biologist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and has focused on studying pronghorn since retiring in 2011.
He said pronghorn fiercely protect their young, and what’s depicted in the video shows them taking it to an unusual level.
“I have seen adult pronghorn chase coyotes and eagles,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “Usually, it involves one or two does who have fawns. Coyotes are not usually a threat to adult pronghorn, except in certain circumstances.
“The number of pronghorn seen chasing this coyote is a bit unusual. Usually, when you see does bunched up like that, it's before they have a fawn,” he added. “But they are known to chase coyotes outside of the fawning period. The does will step on, kick or otherwise contact the coyote if they get a chance.”
Gayler said watching the pursuit unfold gave her a new appreciation for the tenacity of pronghorn, as well as the risks that coyotes take just trying to get meals for themselves or their own young.
“Hunting is a very dangerous business for these guys,” she said.
Contact Mark Heinz at mark@cowboystatedaily.com
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
