I saw a strange/sad/miraculous sight today as I was driving in.
Not very far from my home.
Coming towards me in my lane was a young coyote, maybe a yearish in age.
His (her?) coat was aglow in the morning light matching that of the tall grass next to the road.
A happy thing.
I have missed the coyotes since they have been logging around us. Their songs at night evoke wild and primal emotions...is it fear, or just excitement, as they hunt in the darkness? I like seeing them occasionally, too, a couple of times a month, one of them is not quite quick enough to get into hiding before being seen.
I noticed right away that this one was moving oddly, head and body bobbing upward in jerks with each step. In looking closer, I noticed he was missing the paw of his left fore.
As I approached, he struggled to get up the bank, in doing so, he fell backward a few times, but eventually disappeared into the underbrush. "Oh, honey..." I couldn't help but say aloud.
Made me feel pretty sad at first, and wonder how I could leave some food in the area to help him get through...but then I realized that coyote will probably just keep on keepin' on anyway. He'll just have to be that much more clever to find enough to get by; eating mice, birds, bugs, whatever until that paw fully heals to where it no longer hurts, and his body is stronger to make up for the weakness and missing appendage, ears sharper and eyes more vigilant.
Just like we all do...keep on, keepin' on. Good luck, kiddo.
