Howling Mountain Wildlife Rescue

08/30/2026

*WARNING GRAPHIC*

A follower in my previous post asked about “prey drive”. From a very young age, predators have the innate ability to recognize and utilize prey. Other than frozen mice, this road killed groundhog (woodchuck) was the first major prey item they had ever encountered. As you can tell from the video, they naturally and instinctively went to work using their little puppy teeth to pull apart and eat a prey item that in the wild would have been brought back to the den by a parent. The delivery of prey to the pups helps to awaken their senses and gives them the opportunity to navigate techniques for consuming prey. As far as eventually hunting prey, they are born with the innate ability to hunt. I do not have to teach them. They are provided opportunities outside of a cage or enclosure to experiment with those instincts. They start by hunting insects and other invertebrates and move up to rodents and larger prey items as they grow. The puppy play behaviors of stalking and pouncing on each other are all practice for what will later be their gateway to survival, which is the ability to hunt.

P.S. As a wildlife rehabilitator who specializes in predators, I find myself scanning the roadways for freshly deceased road killed animals. I often wonder what people think when they pass by as I’m loading a dead and bloody woodchuck or squirrel into the back of my truck. It’s not fun, but the unfortunate outcome of a vehicular mishap helps to provide natural prey items for the predators I raise and release.

08/30/2026

June was an exciting time for the Coyote pups. They had grown big enough to be released into the backyard space which was much larger than their previous enclosure. This added space allowed for greater areas of exploration and the ability for them to run, wrestle and build muscles and coordination. In the wild the pups would be exploring farther from the den, so this was a natural transition for them during this time. Although the den in their original enclosure was available to use, they chose to use the area under my screen porch for their den as it provided a dry, safe space to sleep or hide from any “threats”.

08/29/2026

Today I spotted the soft released raccoons gorging on acorns in a large oak. They are currently in a state of hyperphagia where the change in seasons and lowering temperature causes them to dramatically increase their caloric intake in preparation for winter. Raccoons make it through winter by going into a metabolic state called torpor where they sleep for long periods and their bodies slow down dramatically to conserve energy. To survive torpor, they need to have fat reserves and acorns are perfect to help pack on the pounds!!

08/23/2026

In late May, the coyote pups were about 5 weeks old and their individual personalities were beginning to emerge. Individual personalities? Coyotes have personalities? The answer is 100 percent YES!! Coyotes have individual personalities just like our domestic dogs do. There were the friendly ones, the cautious pensive ones and of course, the assertive ones who spent much of their time standing on their siblings backs in a show of dominance. Their markings were also changing from the monochrome brown of a spring forest floor, to more distinct patterns and colors.

08/18/2026

A couple of the soft released raccoons popped by for a visit. It’s always reassuring to know that even after almost a month of being on their own, they are healthy and thriving.

08/15/2026

08/15/2026

The Coyote pups were growing fast, and the next stage of their development was to be moved into an enclosure in the backyard. This gave them more space and exposure to the outdoors. The pups were finally weaned from the bottle, eating solids and lapping formula from a dish. From this point forward, I became their sole caregiver. It was important that they only had contact with me, and did not associate all humans as food providers. Coyotes are extremely intelligent. Just like domestic dogs, they have the ability to differentiate between humans and can remember and recognize who is friend and who is a potential foe (all humans except me). Coyotes are born suspicious and flee at the slightest change in their environment. I had no doubt that this pack, like others in the past, would adapt and learn that I was the only human to be trusted.

08/08/2026

As the days got warmer, the coyote puppies were moved onto my screen porch, which is a transitional rehab room from the indoors to the outdoors. This gave them more space to play. The puppies were about four weeks old and were really learning how to assert themselves. They were very vocal and one of their favorite activities was establishing dominance over each other. The stance in this video where one is standing with the paws on the others back was a typical posture during these dominance displays. The interesting thing was that it wasn’t just one or 2 pups who did this, they all took turns being in charge. These early behaviors and show of strength are a key piece of a coyotes development. As sub adults and adults, they will need to establish their place within a pack. Typically a mated pair are at the top of the pack hierarchy and are the only ones to reproduce. These coveted positions within a pack structure are won by a show of force. The pups, at only 4 weeks old, were innately starting the long process of gaining the strength and fighting techniques to win those future battles.

08/06/2026

The month of May was all about transitions for the coyote puppies. They were slowly becoming weaned from the bottle, and were being upgraded to larger spaces. They also had a chance to get outside for the first time since they were rescued. It’s amazing how perfectly camouflaged they were against the back drop of a springtime forest floor.