"One of the most adaptable animals in
the world, the Coyote can change its breeding habits, diet and social
dynamics to survive in a wide variety of habitats.
...it
has adapted readily to the changes caused by human occupation and, in the
past 200 years, has been steadily extending its range."
The
Coyote
(DesertUSA.com)
PORTLAND, OR — Authorities reported on
Wednesday that a wild coyote was chased off the tarmac at Portland
International Airport. The traveling prairie pooch, realizing that
it wasn't welcome to fly the friendly skies, proceeded to the Tri-Met
Airport Terminal Station where it boarded the light-rail train bound for downtown.
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"Are we there yet?"
After being refused airport service, traveling canine "Wiley"
decided to take the Red Line train bound for downtown Portland.
(Photo: Dennis Maxwell / Port of Portland)
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At 11:30am, Port of Portland Airfield Operations and Wildlife staff
were able to peacefully capture the animal and escort it to a more
appropriate habitat.
| Curious Coyote Fact!
A way to distinguish between coyotes and dogs is by observing the
pattern of their tracks.
A coyote needs to conserve energy
(unlike its well-fed cousin), so it runs directly in-line, placing
the back foot in the print made by the front foot. This
creates a single line of prints which tends to be very straight
across open areas. Dogs typically run with feet side by side,
making two parallel sets of tracks which meander in any direction.
Scoop Senior Editor "Wags"
typically leaves tracks that meander all over the sofa (I think we
can safely rule out Wags being part-coyote).
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Port of Portland spokesperson Elisa Dozono said that the little coyote
(nicknamed "Wiley") had been
seen darting under several trains before jumping onto the MAX Red Line
transit where it rather calmly took a window seat. A wildlife
official was able to quickly lasso the animal.
"He was really sweet,'' Ms. Dozono said. "He didn't
growl or anything."
She told reporters that the coyote was released far away on port
property where it "ran away and bounded after some field mice."
Port officials say that many coyotes live
close to the airport where they occasionally cause a commotion.
Closely related to the domestic pooch (Canis
familiaris), the coyote (Canis latrans) shares many of a dog's
behavioral traits, such as a
remarkable intelligence and capacity to learn. However, coyotes
generally fear people and will avoid human contact. The
"Commuter Coyote" described in this article (Canis latransit)
is currently being researched by Scoop biologists. Stay tuned
for further scientific developments.
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