As mentioned previously, when I brought the pups to my house on April 12, 2002 I was very nervous about them not socializing or bonding to me because (based on body size and tooth development) they were 3 1/2 weeks old. However, by that first night the biggest coyote (named Lupe) and the smallest coyote (Late) were already approaching me. Lupe seemed to be approaching us out of curiousity; Late was literally sucking anything she could (e.g., our fingers) in order to attempt to get milk in her weakened state. It took 2 1/2 stressful days to get the middle 3 pups (Cane, Caon, and Trans) to start to eat. They had lost weight up to that point and I was getting nervous that they wouldn't eat (we offered them Esbilac, which is puppy milk, and puppy weaning formula). By the end of the third day, I gave them a package of raw chicken. It was like a light switched on in them because after that they were all completely bonded to me. They all (even Cane who was initially the most shy) devoured the chicken and thereafter has approached me during all subsequent feedings. They mostly liked to eat meat (we gave them partially cooked meat scraps that I got from a butcher) but did eat dog food and Esbilac milk.

So, without further adieu, here is a description of the 5 pups:

Lupe (male) - Named after the wolf, Canis lupus. The biggest of the 5 pups, he was 3 lb 3 oz when captured (approximately the same size as the other male pup that we left under the shed). He has always been very bold and readily approaches strangers wherever he has been (see the additional links), including at my house. I believe that he is what caused the others to socialize to me. As of July 2, he was a hefty 20.7 pounds - about as big as a coyote pup could be at that time of year! He has always been the most dominant and heaviest pup of the five. In addition to his bold behavior, he is very tall and lanky (despite his weight) and is very gray in color - like a wolf!

Cane (female) - Named after Canis latrans (the coyote's scientific name), was 2 lb 15 oz when originally taken from the wild. She was the last pup to socialize to me but now is probably the closest of all pups to me. Despite already being 19.7 pounds (the biggest female) she commonly comes over and sits on my lap for attention. She looks very much like a coyote, tawny with black grizzled tipped fur. She has always been the most dominant female and is second to Lupe in size and dominance.

Caon (female) - Named after the eastern race of the wolf, Canis lupus lycaon. She was 2 lb 10 oz when taken from their shed den and has always been number 3 in dominance and weight. She is currently (7/2/02) 16 pounds and along with Late has the most body fat of any pup. She allows me to pet her at her own will and is the only one out of the 5 (at 3 1/2 months of age) that occasionally doesn't let me approach her. She commonly outters a low cougar-like growl (kind of paradoxical because there are two cougars next to their exhibit) when she doesn't want to be handled. She is very stocky in appearance

Trans (male) - Named after Canis latrans, was barely 2 lb when originally captured. He has always been very dark in color (not quite black but many black tipped hairs with a brownish head and lower body). He seems to instigate the most play and loves to run around. He is still pretty small for a male (14 pounds - 7/2/02) and is not a good feeder. I commonly have to separate him before the others get to feed in order to make sure he gets enough to eat. Trans is also very close to me and commonly sits in my lap when not interacting with other pups. However, he is very shy and does not readily approach other people (mainly the zoo keepers) when they enter the enclosure. He has always been #4 in terms of size and hierarchy.

Late (female) - Named after Canis latrans and was late in developing. She was 1 lb 1 oz when captured and appeared very close to death. She has made up for that in a big way and now is one of the best feeders of the five; even though she only weighs 13 pounds (7/2/02) she can eat as much as Lupe in one sitting. She has a red fox-like white-tipped tail and a chihuahua-like face. She has always been the omega and, in my opinion, is lucky the others don't pick on her more often. They seem to only pick on her (i.e., pin her to the ground) during group play behaviors. I am wondering if her delayed development affects her final body size and appearance.

I must stress that when I refer to hierarchy, that is a very human contrived term. It isn't like they regularly establish dominance with each other. In fact, the opposite is the rule whereby I usually only see agonistic behaviors amongst closely ranked individuals (e.g., Late and Trans or Cane and Lupe or Cane and Caon). I rarely see Caon and Trans interact and when Lupe and Late interact, it is obvious that Lupe takes it easy on her and commonly lets Late pin him during play bouts.

Please click here to see the pups when they were at my house.

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