It is not unusual to hear them howling on a dark winter evening, as they make their rounds. The den is under an old barn that collapsed, about a mile south of our place. I have visited a number of times in the winter and the tracks make it plain that the den is under the main floor of the barn. Because the walls have given way, the floor of the loft now lies on top of the main floor. Most of the roof is still intact but it is dangerous to enter.
The pups are born in the den and then when they are old enough, they spend their time playing in the loft area. They are protected from the weather and prying eyes. As they get older they venture out of the barn and onto the snow drifts that surround the barn. The tracks in the snow show where they play.
When they are old enough to hunt with the parents, they travel further and further from the safety of the old barn. This particular den has produced coyotes for more than twenty years.
We have always had two to three Elkhounds at our place and as many as five at one time. Our dogs are vocal and howl back and forth with the Coyotes so that they are well aware of each other, and keep to their own territory. Howling establishes territorial boundaries.
On the nightly hunts the Coyotes bypass our property by sneaking by to the East or to the West. On the West they have a well traveled trail on the West side of our woods. To the East they move on the frozen creek ice that is sheltered by trees on each side. It is an unwritten rule that each other’s territory is off limits. For years I have seen the tracks that established their den and trails.
On a few occasions the coyotes have bent the rules, but only after the Elkhounds have carried off deer remains that the coyotes considered theirs. The details of one of those occasion follows
During the winter the snow lies deeper in the woods where the wind cannot move it about too much. In the open areas the wind has a tendency to strip the snow away and pile it up in hard drifts along the edge of woods. The woods trail also give protection from the cold winds that will soon arrive.
As the winter progresses and the new snow fall gets packed down, it can get firm enough to walk on without the snow shoes. Once the trail is firm the dog loves to race down it as a free spirit. Occasionally she will forget and leave the trail when she catches sight of a bush rabbit. In the first leap she plunges into the snow and ends up almost immobile. As the rabbit dashes off over the surface, the dog bounds forward in great leaps and quickly tires in the chest deep snow.
She stands and watches the rabbit disappear, then plows her way back to the trail looking rather dejected.
Before the winter is half over she understands that it is a waste of time and energy to leave the trail.
Another snowstorm is on the way later in the afternoon so we plan to hit the trail shortly and pack the snow down a little more. Each outing we extend the trail further into the woods and by spring we will have multiple trails in different directions.
On the last trip we saw deer, rabbit, ruff grouse and squirrel tracks. The packed snow and grouse droppings on top of a big log indicates he uses it to drum from. He has used the location for years and has been spotted doing so on numerous occasions.
I see fresh snowflakes in the air so it is time to hit the trail.
