Tag: predator

Coyote

Coyote, Point Reyes National Seashore

This is a photo of a coyote in the ranching area of Point Reyes National Seashore.

Coyote in the Ranching Area of Point Reyes National Seashore.

This coyote is standing in a ranch pasture at Point Reyes National Seashore.  Between now and July 14, the Park Service is going to decide which of six alternatives to adopt for management of 28,000 acres of land owned by the Park Service/United States at Point Reyes National Seashore and the adjacent Golden Gate NRA and dedicated for decades to private ranching.  The preferred alternative is to expand the ranching, especially for 18 of the 24 ranching families who live on park land with their families and employees – at subsidized rents no less.  Life is going to get a lot more complicated then for the coyotes, bobcats, and the other mammalian and avian predators that live there.

The preferred alternative will provide, among other things, that each of the 18 occupied cattle ranches can also have up to 50 sheep with their lambs or 70 goats with their kids, plus 500 free-roaming chickens which will be in the pastures during the day and in mobile coops at night.  Now, the ranchers can only have beef and dairy cows, which are way too big for any Point Reyes predator to bother.  These small domestic animals will be protected by livestock guardian dogs which are capable of killing coyotes and the other predators.

The leases will provide that ranchers can’t kill or harm predators.  However, the leases also provide that where predation occurs, the rancher can report it to the Park Service and the Park Service will decide what action to take.  If NPS says “no” to killing, what’s a rancher to do?  Well, there’s the old “3S’s” maxim – shoot, shovel and shut up.

And you thought national park units were established for the protection and preservation of nature, including wildlife.   Guess again.  What predominates in the National Park Service thinking is maximizing tourism (especially for concessioners) and emphasizing viewsheds for those tourists.   What is living in those viewsheds has never been on the Park Service’s radar.  Most former Park Service employees will tell you this or, if you don’t know one, read this book by a retired NPS employee, “Preserving Nature in the National Parks” by Richard Sellars.

Hawk

Cooper’s Hawk; Petaluma, California

A Cooper's hawk stands by its kill.
Avian Predator

I looked out our dining room window the other morning and saw this cooper’s hawk eating a mourning dove.  I grabbed my big lens and tripod and stationed myself about 10 feet back from a sliding door.  The hawk was about 30 feet from the door on a fence.  First, I shot a few images through the side of the door that has no screen.  Once I had a few of those shots, I kept my body hidden as I made my way to the sliding door and, exposing my arm only, I slowly slid open the glass door and then the screen door.  It was dark and raining on and off.  The light was very poor.  I started shooting at 1/200 second at ISO 10,000.  By the time I took this shot the light was good enough to get the ISO down to 1,000.

It’s hard to tell a cooper’s hawk from a sharp-shinned hawk because their markings are basically identical.  They both prey mainly on smaller birds.  They often occur in residential areas and have the same habit of keeping an eye on bird feeders.  We don’t have feeders, but some of our neighbors may.  In any event, we have birds in our yard regularly.

How have I concluded it’s a cooper’s hawk and not a sharp-shin?  I’m not a bird ID expert.  According to my Sibley bird guide, the cooper is 16.5 inches in length and the sharpie is 11 inches in length.  A mourning dove is also 11 inches in length.  This bird was much longer and larger than a mourning dove so I concluded it was a cooper’s hawk.

Some crows found the cooper and started pestering it, hoping to steal a meal.  The cooper finally tired of the harassment and took off with its meal.  Fortunately, it spent an hour on our fence before the crows drove it off.

Pronghorn

Cause of Pronghorn’s Wound; Yellowstone National Park

Photo of pronghorn doe that seems to have suffered some serious injury to her neck.
What happened to this pronghorn?

Only one person took a guess on what had happened to this pronghorn.  She guessed a bear.  A good guess.   I thought I’d get a few more people to venture a guess.  Maybe some were afraid to guess wrong.  That presumes I would be providing the answer to what happened though.  The fact of the matter is that I don’t know for sure what happened to her.  I do have my own guess though.  I think a golden eagle attacked this pronghorn.  Why?

First of all, golden eagles have been observed by credible sources (published reports by biologists) attacking and killing pronghorn adults and fawns.   The attach begins by the eagle chasing one or more pronghorns and landing on the back of one and riding it while digging its talons into the pronghorn’s back.  Most of the damage is caused by the talons, although their beaks can also inflict injury.  If you’d like to read some of these reports you can click here, here and here.

Second, someone took several photos of a golden eagle eating an adult pronghorn while riding on its back.  Based on the photos, I assume (and hope) it died shortly thereafter.  The pictures have appeared in various places on the internet.  One place to see the photos is here.  I should warn you that the photos are somewhat gruesome.  I was hesitant to link to the photos, but decided on balance to do so with the warning.  The wound to the pronghorn in the photos is in the same place as in my photo and that’s why I guess the wound is from a golden eagle.  Anything is possible though.  It could be from another animal or a vehicle or a barbed wire fence (or whatever).

She was feeding when I saw her so the attack was over by then.  I hope she survived.