Today, we visited the two trail cameras that I have at the base of Goats Peak near the highway. One was monitoring a coyote scent post and the other a hole under the deer fence that is frequently used by coyotes to gain access to the highway. All too often, in spite of the deer fence, deer gain access to the highway and there, they may be killed by collision with motor vehicles. Coyotes find it a fruitful area to hunt the deer, or in which to scavenge for carcasses. On our last visit to the cameras, I sprinkled some commercial scent, the kind used as attractants by hunters and trappers, on a handful of moss--which I then placed on the ground in the area that had been scratched by coyotes in depositing their scent messages.

Today we found that the memory card in that camera had stored several pictures taken during a visit to the site by a pair of coyotes, male and female. The male was first to approach the spot where I had tossed the scent-saturated clump of moss. He was obviously quite cautious and suspicious of the strange odours but then he rubbed both of his shoulders on the moss. (See video)

After this he sniffed at the mixture of scents, then turned and urinated on or near the spot. During all of this, the eyes of his mate are seen shining and moving in the dark background (See video).

The female then approached, oh so cautiously, then left to follow her mate.