Please don’t expect great photography with this post. My purpose here is simply to document an interesting behavior.
I’ve spent a lot of time over the years observing coyotes and I’ve seen them eat a variety of rodents (especially voles), birds and carrion but yesterday on Antelope Island I observed something new – grazing coyotes! I found a group of four of them on a steep hillside next to the road and they were very definitely eating grass.
I’ll simply let these images speak for themselves.
This was the only half-way decent image I was able to get with my 500mm that included all four coyotes.
I guess the thought of coyotes eating grass is just something I’d never considered before but I shouldn’t have been surprised. Most domestic dog owners are well aware that their pets occasionally eat grass. Studies have shown that grass appears in 14 – 43% of all wolf scat in North America and grass in coyote and fox scat is so common as to be unremarkable.
I watched as three of these four coyotes consumed grass and I suspect the fourth one was doing the same but it was mostly hidden behind sagebrush so I couldn’t be sure. There is just something so very incongruous about a group of canine carnivores slowly moving across a hillside while grazing on grass, like a herd of bison or elk.
I thought it was an interesting behavioral display.
Ron
Very interesting, and I am glad you documented this. My dogs usually do this when they have an upset stomach. Perhaps they all ate something rather icky such as rancid carrion or discarded mcnuggets.
Ah! The Vegan Coyotes have finally made it to Utah!
Ron: I don’t have much experience with Coyotes. I see one about once a year at the state park at Ft. Morgan (AL). Elephant’s Child’s guess seems like a good one to me.
Dave
Dave, I’ve done some research on why many “carnivores” eat grass and other vegetation. There are several theories, ranging from “dietary supplement” to “just because it tastes good”.
I like the little tuft of striped fur on the back of the neck (or at the back near the head). Nice to see all four. Are they juveniles with parents?
Nicole, I suspect that all four were born this spring and probably had the same parents – average litter size is six. There were no parents with them which isn’t unusual. By this time of year the young seem be be independent.
Our dogs and cats have always eaten grass. I think, but it is a guess only, that they are addressing a perceived dietary inadequacy. You are right though – a herd of grazing coyotes is not a thought that springs readily to mind.
Yes, Elephant’s Child – seeing them, as a group and grazing as they moved across the hill, played some games with my mind.