Orphaned Coyote Puppies
By mid-afternoon two more pups had been found, one alive and one dead. The fourth pup had eluded them, and as evening drew near, the group gathered in a field atop the mountain to conclude the search. Everyone present agreed that what happened next was a miracle. A Red Tailed Hawk swooped down across the field and picked up the fourth unfound puppy, carried it high into the air–and dropped it! Rushing to the spot where the puppy landed, the group retrieved the last puppy–a female–now injured from the talons and the fall but still alive.
The litter of now three Eastern Coyote pups (one male, two female) were in my care that same evening.
The pups grew rapidly and the third little girl, smaller than the other two, healed quickly. They were bottle-fed until shortly after their eyes opened and were easily taught to eat from a dish. At three months old they were moved outdoors and we were planning the details of their rehabilitation: housing, hunting skill development and release details. The pups were weaned on mice and quickly advanced to rats, road-killed rabbits and deer.
Wanting to give the pups the best chance of survival, we decided that a spring release would be best when the pups were nearing one year old. Our WCO gave us permission to house the coyotes longer than the six months allowed but was skeptical of our ability to contain the coyotes once grown. We had called several other RVS certified rehabilitators to see if any could accommodate three coyotes over the winter, but none had anything larger than we could provide.
One of our dozen or so flight enclosures is an ugly, behemoth structure built by an Eagle Scout. It is a double-room enclosure, completely underwired, with a vestibule. The non-wood areas were double-screened with chain link attached to the outside. Twenty feet high, half the roof was covered and half was chain link, allowing for shelter as well as rain and sunlight. It also had the advantage of being buried in our pine forest, secluding it from people as well as hiding its unattractive facade. The two rooms totaled over 2000 square feet. Although the enclosure met RVS standards, as I looked over the structure I still had my doubts on its ability to contain the pups.
We fortified the walls by attaching steel chain link-type panels inside, using the steel gates inside the doors. This created a triple door system where each room had two doors in addition to the vestibule door which opened to the wooded area. A sliding panel “doggie door” was constructed between the two rooms with the pull cable leading into the vestibule, enabling us to close the pups off in one room while we cleaned and fed in the other side. Our WCO was impressed and the pups were moved to their new enclosure.
Everything went smoothly and their progress was a rehabilitator’s dream until the pups acquired mange at four months old. Treating with Ivermectin gave temporary relief, but the mange kept returning.
March 18th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
What a great story. Although you had a tough decision to make, you can tell it was the right one. The surviving pups are beautiful. I especially enjoyed the video. You were right. Their agility is amazing. Thanks for what you do.
June 3rd, 2007 at 10:37 am
This is beautiful story and even though it had a sad ending for the little girl, nature took care of the two other ones. Your persistence and love is truly admired. The pictures are beautiful and May Mother Nature bless you…
October 4th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I think it’s great that you guys help so many animals in need. I really appreciate it and alot of other people do to.
February 19th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
I came across your article and site by chance, and found it very interesting. I am doing some coyote research for a piece of fiction and have a question you might be able to answer: If orphaned pups were brought to an adult female, say one in a rehab/research center, would the female be able/interested in “mothering” them, and could she physically be induced to nurse the young?
May 13th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
In reply to Darcy Maloney:
You couldn’t do that unless the mother was lactating which is only after it has had its own babies feeding from it or she has been milked within 72 hours, and she would have a more likely chance of accepting the new babies if she had none of her own due to a miscarriage or some other fatal accident to her own pups. Sometimes a female’s body can be tricked into thinking it’s pregnant to the point where its lactating, and never seing its own pups it almost always accepts its new adopted young.
January 27th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
I really am happy that you are helping the animals. I would love to help them but it is so sad. I am an aimal lover.
April 25th, 2009 at 7:16 am
Those puppies are cute! I love how you help the animals. Ummm. Peggy did you have to put jamaca to sleep, also can you keep the bald eagle?
April 25th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Akira,
We’re not sure about the eagle yet. Jamaica is beginning to do much better and I think she’ll make a great education bird.
Peggy
July 12th, 2009 at 5:26 am
I don’t usually comment on blog posts… but this was a good post.. keep up the good work
October 16th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
This story was so very touching. You are heros to those coyotes. Every animal serves a purpose and though the story brough a few tears, the ending was happy. You are wonderful people to help innocent abandoned animals. God bless.