Walking with the dogs early this morning I spotted a Coyote. At least I think it was a coyote. It could have been a wolf or a wild dog. It was on the hill above me and was at least 500 or so feet away. It gave me a funny feeling. The trail angled toward the spot where he disappeared in to the brush. I got to within a hundred feet of the vanishing point. Then the trail turned south and headed away. I looked over my shoulder every few minutes just in case I turned into the one being stalked. Go figure.

Tonight I googled Coyote+Utah for some more info. Yep, there are lots of coyotes in Utah. I was surprised about some of the other facts. They range in size from 20 to 50 pounds when full grown. Healthy adults have a top speed of about 50 MPH and can jump 8 foot fences without a problem. Also, Coyotes are supposed to be more afraid of me than I am of them. Whew, that makes me feel better.

I also googled Wolf+Utah. That was a less satisfying search. The latest information available were a couple of stories posted in January and February 2004. Most of the articles on major sites were from 2002 and 2003. Without question there are wolves in Utah. How many is anyones guess. And it's pretty clear that I am more afraid of them than they will be/are of me. Wolves are bigger, stronger, faster and more worrisome than coyotes. It's not clear what will happen as wolves become a more established fixture of the Utah wilderness. Authorities want to hear from you if you think you've seen a wolf.

Just for fun I did another search. Even more unsettling than the previous two. The subject was mountain lions+Utah. There are more lions in North America today than when Columbus landed in the new world. At least that's the speculation. I haven't seen a mountain lion in the wild, thankfully.

I found myself wishing that I'd taken my binoculars on my walk. I'm heading up to the same spot early tomorrow. I'll definitely be more prepared. My curiousity is getting to me. I'd love to get a better look at my wild neighbor.

I like my walks. I value my alone time up in the foothills. I have mixed feelings about wild things in the woods. In some ways it's cool. Just as long as I don't become some wild thing's lunch...........
11:06:38 PM    comment []