Coyote: Stunning, Mythical Spirit

Coyote was there; at the beginning of it all. According to a Miwok tribe tale, Coyote and Silver Fox made the earth by singing and dancing. I can’t envision a better way for our planet to have come into existence. According to a Navajo legend, he created death at inception because he was already worried about overpopulation. He was also the one who scattered the stars in infinite randomness because as wise as he is, he is also very impatient. He showed Grandfather Man how men and women should look like by transmogrification. According to a Nez Perce legend; Coyote made people of different shades because he undercooked the white ones and overcooked the black ones, but the Native Americans were just the perfect color. In many myths he creates women because however men came into existence, either by his hand or another, he feels like something is missing, and he is evermore happy with the result. In myths, Coyote is depicted as powerful, wise, proud, whimsical, mischievous and even naive in all his magnificence.

Coyotes came into existence in North America over 2 million years ago, as did all the dog family. Its scientific name is Canis Latrans, meaning “barking dog”. In 1915, the US Federal government tried to commit coyote genocide because they found them to be a nuisance. Never mind that coyotes prefer an effortless meal. They are omnivorous and only eat small, sick, old animals or carrion and fruits. The US government spends more on bringing about their destruction than what coyotes actually destroy. Eating rodents seems like a great way to help farmers keep pests at bay. I also cannot help but feel like coyotes belong right where they are. As we push animals to the brink of extinction; it feels so good to know that such a stunning, mythical spirit might survive our anthropogenic ways. By 2010 they managed to conquer the entire North American continent, there isn’t a single place coyotes haven't claimed as home. They reign supreme over all other species thanks to their adaptability, flexibility, and resourcefulness. They can live almost anywhere, eat almost anything, change their breeding habits and social norms to fit the most difficult of situations.

Coyotes are bound to the night, not for preference but because they feel safer under the shadows. They make their dens 3-6 feet underground with various escape routes, and are very hard to find since they are great at concealing them. Coyote pups are taught to be cautious of humans. They use blending (a light camouflage) to their greatest advantage. These are the reasons they have been so skillful at surviving us, and thriving. They veil themselves out of our everyday existence. They are all around us in their specter form. As we move about, they tiptoe behind us titillating their own world with our faux pas. They shroud their lives to my begrudging being; at not being able to share in their wild cosmos. They fail to show in front of my deficient sight. Lots of animals do this. The hippopodius is invisible, cicadas hide years underground, squids do breathtaking color changes, and arctic foxes change color with the seasons. We do it too, humans. Some of us would rather do anything than be spotted by others, so we hide. An almost somatic pain arises when being surrounded by people we are expected to make small talk with. We are expected to react to inconsequential matters in amazement, to abandon our tumultuous inner dialogues in order to fulfill our trivial social obligations. We feel abandoned in a sea of people and completely at ease when hiding in our sanctums. We are way too passionate of anything that makes us happy and howl about it whenever we feel safe, otherwise we keep it to ourselves. We are always aware of spaces and position ourselves near routes of escape. We asphyxiate every day, yet every day we wake up astounded by the wonders of this world!


Sources:
CITY SLICKERS: How to Be a Good Neighbor, Doug Stewart, National Wildlife (World Edition), (2006). 44(6), 31-35

Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, Edited by Marc Bekoff, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut/London, 2004 Animals Myth and Lore: Animals of Native American Lore

Blood of the Monster: The Nez Perce Coyote Cycle, Deward E. Walker Jr., High Plains Publishing Company

Diné Bahane': The Navajo Creation Story, Paul G. Zolbrod, Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1984
Myths and Truths about Coyotes: What You Need to Know about America's Most Misunderstood Predator, Carol Cartaino, Menasha Ridge Press, 2010