A great story. Evolution is truly a perpetual artist. However the author left out that, while no danger to humans directly, Coyotes are skillful at hunting pet cats and dogs and this is why they can be feared by people. A little mention of this would have made the story more complete and informative.

Reminds me of the movie "Collateral", at the end (and the mandatory "Zen" moment in all of Michael Mann's movies) where Jaime Foxx stops the cab and he and Tom Cruise watch two coyotes pass by in total silence.

Kinship with mankind?

Yes.

Rest In Peace good buddy. Hope you're chasing Road Runners in Coyote heaven.

Doesn't Salon have something better to present as a front page story than some piece about the adaptability of coyotes? Immigration is a huge issue right now, Iraq, Iran, and whole lot more. If Salon expects people to pay for reading their content, they should reconsider these fluff pieces.

Coyote migration is a kind of immigration is it not?

Trying to relocate them before they harm people is a war, yes?

but I don't understand why they had to capture the coyote in the first place.

They are very small, pretty unobtrusive animals, they kill mice (a good thing) and like vegetables.

They will take an occasional house cat, if given the opportunity, but they certainly pose no threat to humans.

Also, Hal quit breathing while he was being tagged. That requires sedation or being bound in a restraint, so it's not like he just decided to check out.

I find the story horrifying.

Not to get caught up in a what-goes-into-Salon flamewar, but I found this piece to be interesting, thoughtful, thought-provoking, and well-written. Exactly what I'm looking for when I come to Salon. I don't just come for the politics.

Ha ha. Good one Salon!

A couple of years back, I read this nifty book:

Dogs : A Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior, and Evolution by Raymond Coppinger, Lorna Coppinger (ISBN:0226115631 )

The Coppingers argue that wolves, rather than being directly domesticated by humans, first went through an intermediate stage as commensural animals. A branch of asian wolves evolved to take advantage of a new niche, neolithic villages. These had lots of garbage to eat, and their presence was tolerated by humans because besides cleaning up crap and offal they (the proto-dogs) made a fuss when wild animals intruded. It was these semi-domesticated creatures that humans eventually started culling and breeding.

Getting back to the article: It seems that coyotes are becoming commensural animals. They're still kind of new at it and rough around the edges, but they've evidentally learned how to fit into the city - niche. Over the centuries they might become a new branch of domestic dog.

I'm hoping they leapfrog canis domesticus, actually. It would be fun seeing them run Three Card Monte games, and hanging out in alleys selling Rollexes.

Stefan

I was a little thrown by the abrupt ending of the piece. I suspect that the article was already written when word of Hal's death was reported, and the ending had to be tacked on. Im searching for an indication that it is a dramatic or artistic way to end the article, but I can't quite see it.

"The Coppingers argue that wolves, rather than being directly domesticated by humans, first went through an intermediate stage as commensural animals. A branch of asian wolves evolved to take advantage of a new niche, neolithic villages. These had lots of garbage to eat, and their presence was tolerated by humans because besides cleaning up crap and offal they (the proto-dogs) made a fuss when wild animals intruded. It was these semi-domesticated creatures that humans eventually started culling and breeding."

This is interesting. Years ago, in my college Hindi class, the professor told us that the ancient Sanscrit word for "dog" is "garbage eater."

It makes complete sense that non-dominant wolves would hang around villages eating garbage and eventually become adopted into a completely different pack.

I think there is also considerable archeological evidence of dog domestication and village development being synchronous. Partnership with dogs may have been the crucial advantage that allowed humans to become something more than a food source for hungry tigers.

I'm surprised the article didn't mention coy dogs. These hybrids result from dogs and coyotes breeding in the wild, but they are also intentionally bred by idiot humans. Coy dogs are more fierce and less shy of humans, making them more dangerous than the typical coyote.

Ah yes, it's a charming story. Salon should have had music to it, the theme from "Peanuts," perhaps? Or maybe go for the shmaltzy with "I Will Survive."

Listen, they kill cats and dogs, and in packs can take down a deer, as reported locally here in Michigan. Yes, they're nocturnal and avoid lights, but why would anyone think they won't someday be a threat to small children? They're getting bigger, smarter, and more competitive.

Meanwhile, I'm waiting for a future Salon piece in which the much-profiled Jennifer Anniston takes up Coyote Rescue.

I welcome the arrival of coyotes into NYC. This could solve our rat and stray cat problem.

PS. I like this story, but what's with all the Salon fluff recently? If they don't get back to news, I'm not renewing.

Should every square inch of North America like exactly like Wal-Mart?

What makes America so different then other countries is our ecology.

And yet people complain about the coyotes.

"We oughta kill'em all! They are a problem!"

I agree. Let's cut down every single tree in America, pave over every single sqaure inch of farmable land -- and exterminate every single bird and mammal in North America.

Just think how much BETTER our country will be when every square inch of this nation is a strip mall from sea to shining sea.

Think how proud we'll be to show our kids the parking lot where once the Redwoods were!

"Look Susie! Those redwoods were not producing any money! So we cut them all down and now we have a nice beautiful parking lot and a Wal-mart!"

We'll be heroes!

"Thanks daddy! I hate fresh air, trees, and wildlife! I'd much rather play in a Wal-mart parking lot then in -- what did they used to call that gree stuff?"

"Grass. We used to call it grass. But now we have this now cement parking lot full of weeds and broken beer bottles. God bless America!"