Seeing a coyote
Coyotes now turn up in towns across most of North America. Wildlife experts ask people not to befriend them but to keep them wary, a lesson in the kindness of a clear no.
What it may mean
The coyote crossing a suburban street at sunrise is doing what coyotes have learned to do almost everywhere: living close to people without living with them. The arrangement works only while the animal stays wary. Coyotes that are fed, on purpose or through open trash and pet food, lose their caution, and those are the ones that end up in trouble. So wildlife agencies teach hazing: stand tall, wave your arms and shout until the coyote leaves. It looks unfriendly, yet it protects the animal as much as the neighborhood. The same logic holds for a friend who borrows too often or a habit you keep feeding: a firm, clear no can protect a bond better than an easy welcome. Among Native nations, Coyote is a figure of many tales, told differently by each people.
Depending on how you saw it
A coyote crossing your path at dawn
Coyotes travel at first light and dusk along quiet routes: creek beds, rail lines, golf courses and back streets. A coyote crossing ahead of you is most likely commuting, much as you are. Which of your daily routes do you share with others you never really see?
A coyote in the neighborhood in daylight
Seeing one at midday is not automatically a sign of trouble; in spring, parents hunt longer hours to feed pups. Keeping pets close and food indoors is the practical answer. Which ordinary need in someone else have you mistaken for a threat?
A coyote that stops and watches you
A coyote that pauses to look back is sizing you up. Making yourself big and loud tells it to keep its distance, which is what keeps both of you safe. Where would a little more firmness from you make a situation calmer for everyone?
A coyote near your pet
Coyotes sometimes treat small dogs and cats as prey or as rivals, especially in spring when they are raising pups. Keeping pets leashed at dusk and indoors at night removes the temptation. What do you leave out in plain view that would be safer brought inside?
Why it happens in nature
Coyotes have spread from the western plains to nearly every part of North America, including large cities, by eating almost anything and avoiding people. They are busiest at dawn and dusk but are often seen by day. Wildlife agencies advise removing food sources and hazing coyotes, with noise and big gestures, so that they stay afraid of people.
What folk beliefs say
Rio Grande (Native American)
In the Rio Grande country, a 1903 collection reports, Native people took a coyote crossing your path as a bad sign that meant sudden death.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 2 (1903), vol. 2, p. 605. View the page
Navajo
The Navajo said that when the white of daylight met the yellow of sunset in the middle of the sky, they embraced, and the white gave birth to the coyote.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 2 (1903), vol. 2, p. 569. View the page
To reflect on
Where would a clear, kind no protect a relationship better than an easy yes?