Friday, January 16, 2015

Uber-Urban Coyotes Raise Litter at Secret Concrete Den in Soldier Field Parking Lot

Screenshot of Coyote Crittercam from National Geographic (click her for the video)
Urban coyotes are a relatively new phenomenon, but to us a fascinating one.  With that said, we recently read an interesting article in National Geographic about this and lo and behold a Sloop reference.  All we're going to say is watch your dogs when you walk around Soldier Field:
One GPS-collared coyote named 748 and his mate even raised a litter of five healthy pups inside a secret concrete den in the parking lot of Soldier Field Stadium, home of the Chicago Bears.
The article also provide an overview about the difference between wild coyotes and uber-urban coyotes:
The animals have altered their natural behavior to accommodate living in close quarters with people. Unlike wild coyotes, for example, Chicago's uber-urban coyotes are nocturnal, coming out when most people have gone home; have learned to travel and cross busy roads regularly; and maintain huge yet fragmented territories, according to new data from coyotes outfitted with a GPS collar or a Crittercam, a National Geographic camera that attaches harmlessly to animals.
The article also has some fun videos from the crittercam which we suggest a clicking through to watch (if you like that type of thing).

If we will recall we've posted about coyotes in the neighborhood before.  The Chicago Journal (remember that local publication?!?!?) had a story about them and specifically hunting for them at the gigantic Rezko lot south of Roosevelt between the river and Clark.

Or maybe that other time when WGN had a video of a coyote running down State street in the Sloop.

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