Death in the Outdoors

The seemingly endless cycle of life goes on mostly unnoticed by today's modern humans.  We are so insulated from reality by our society and technology that most Americans no longer have any connection to the source of their food.  While backyard gardens are making a resurgence, the rearing and home butchering of meat animals is practiced by a comparative few.  I dare speculate that few people who sat down yesterday for a Thanksgiving dinner gave a second thought to the fact that a real live turkey with thoughts and feelings was killed to make their feast possible. 

 

However in the outdoors the animals must deal with the cycle of life on a first-hand individual basis as shown in the following photographs.   

 

While driving a back country road Thursday morning I first noticed a raven feeding on something in the fresh fallen snow.  As I began approaching, the story of the nights event was spelled out in tracks and blood stains.

 

A fawn, one which was either sickly or born late judging from its small size, had been pulled down by coyotes.  The snow told the story of where it was first pulled down, regained its feet and moved a few yards before being taken down the second and final time.  The remainder of the blood stains were where it was dragged as the coyotes fed on its small body.

I have heard a lot of people complain about coyotes killing deer and some will view the photos shown here and condemn the coyotes.  While coyotes do kill some deer I have rarely had the opportunity to view their kill sites.  Unlike human hunters which harvest the biggest and the best, coyotes kill the frail, the weak, the ill, and the very young.  I cannot help but think that the selection practiced by the coyotes and other predators is beneficial to the deer herd as a whole, unlike the selection practiced by humans.    

Velvet & Fur: SNP Morning

With previous plans to visit Shenandoah National Park stymied by my illness Willard and I were finally able to hit the road during this mornings.  Arriving at Big Meadows a few minutes before photographic light we began searching the meadows with binos hoping to locate a bachelor group of bucks.  Unsuccessful at out first stop we moved to the south end of the meadow were we located two nice bucks feeding along the ridge.  Soon more bucks began appearing from the woods and in short order we were in photographic heaven; surrounded by seven adult bucks of varying sizes in great morning light.

I will be posting more of these bucks in coming posts but for today's post I chose a shot of the buck carrying the most unusual antlers.

As the sun warmed the landscape the bucks headed for cover.  Retuning towards the car I was looking at where I was placing my feet when Willard hissed "look there!"  Setting the camera down using the tripod as a monopod I snapped my first ever photograph of a coyote.

Getting a shot at a coyote was certainly an adrenalin rush but the background left a lot to be desired.  We watched as the coyote trotted up the asphalt road out of sight, never giving a worthwhile photo. 

Driving in the direction the coyote had gone we soon relocated it far out into the meadow where it was being worked by three photographers.  Not wanting to be left out we grabbed out equipment and casually approached in a manner so as not the alarm the animal.

The coyote had found food to its liking and was busy feeding; totally unconcerned by the now group of five photographers photographing its every move.  It soon became apparent that all of the photographers present knew how to work acclimated wildlife properly as no one made any quick furtive moves, no one pressed the animal, or made a direct approach as they moved to close the distance or get a better lighting angle.

Coyote sniffing the wind

What was the coyote feeding on?  Blueberries!  Although the whitetails feeding in the meadow were alarmed by its presence the coyote exhibited absolutely no interest in them.  Instead it spent over one half an hour feeding on blueberries and only occasionally pausing to lift its head momentarily checking its surroundings.  It was during these head lifts that shutters all around me could be heard burst firing at a frantic pace as all of the photographers tried to capture that one special moment when the beautiful wild animal would look its absolute best.

I will be sharing more of this amazingly productive morning in upcoming post.