Friday 9 February 2024

Friday Face OFF -- Coyote

For this week's Friday Face OFF link party
of art featuring faces, hosted by Nicole of

Here's a coyote which I did
in coloured pencils on black paper.


I may have overdone the reddish hue
in some of its fur, which makes
one think more of a fox perhaps.

But I basically like how my coyote turned out,
although they are terrible urban scourges
in our city (as in many others),
attacking pet cats, small dogs and
wild rabbits for food. Larger coyotes
can even pose a danger to toddlers.

Are coyotes an issue where you live?

[Art & photo of art © Debra She Who Seeks, 2023]

52 comments:

Moving with Mitchell said...

First: Your drawing is a stunner!
No coyotes here in Spain. We had to watch out for them coming up from the canyons of San Diego, which wound in and out of our neighborhood.

Joyce said...

The coyotes are a problem here. I no longer let the chickens out to scratch. What is very unpleasant is doing some weeding or generaly tidying, then loking up and seeing a coyote is watching you. When they realize they have been seen they just fade into the background. Joyce

Pixie said...

That's a lovely drawing. I have great sympathy for coyotes as we take over their habitats. In Sherwood Park, they regularly wander through our neighborhood at night.

Old Lurker said...

Apparently coyotes and foxes cannot interbreed because they have different numbers of chromosomes?

Like so many other pests, I feel we hate coyotes because they are like people. But I have never had a small child eaten by one. (I like magpies too.)

mxtodis123 said...

That's gorgeous. You have so much talent. I love it.

Kathy G said...

Lovely drawing!

I'm sure there are coyotes in the exurbs of my area. If they're any closer than that I haven't heard.

Tom said...

...I like how it looks, but in real life I'd like to see it from a distance!

Ellen D. said...

We have seen coyotes from time to time running through the backyards here. We are a very suburban neighborhood so we don't go near them.

Travel said...

Great drawing. Not an issue here, we do have fox in the neighborhood.

The Blog Fodder said...

A wonderful sketch. You have so much talent.
Coyotes are extremely smart and extremely adapable and have earned our respect. I read there are something like 10,000 coyotes in LA. A good coyote pelt used to be worth something, not sure now. Some rural areas where they are hell on cats, small dogs, and chickens, hire professional hunters with dogs to thin the numbers and protect sheep and calves. We have lots of rabbits in Regina so I would not be surprised if we have coyotes though I have not heard. Coyote dog crosses are dangerous as they have no fear of humans.

Sixpence Notthewiser said...

Love the drawing!
And I don't think it's too reddish.

I have not seen coyotes around here, but I have seen a fox or two. We live in an area that's close to several forest preserves, so we get some of those...

XOXO

Lady M said...

A Coyote gotta do what a coyotes gotta do. We got all kinds of wildlife so it is live and let live around here.

Valerie-Jael said...

Your drawing is fabulous, Debra. There are no coyotes here in Germany, but we do have quite a lot of foxes and boars around here. Have a great weekend, hugs, Valerie

carol l mckenna said...

Wow ! Awesome sketch of the coyote ~


Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Frank said...

Your coyote is much more handsome than "Wiley"!

Frank said...

Also, the drawing is gorgeous apart from the handsome subject!

Cleora Borealis said...

Great coyote...lookin' damned-near noble! We have them here in El Paso and every so often there are stories of attacks. Mostly these came from the rich folk who could afford to move further up (and scar) the foothills of our beautiful mountains and when the encroached-upon animals pushed back, the encroachers screamed about it! I have no independent information about the truth of these stories, but I consider myself to be Team Coyote!! ✊✊

Parnassus said...

Hello Debra, The perfect place for coyotes is in your drawing. Your coyote has an evil gleam in its eye--it looks ready to take out a few pets and apparently it has no ruth for people, large or small.
.
I have gone on record as not celebrating when a (perhaps cute but) potentially dangerous animal starts inhabiting a city, even if they used to live there. We are not tearing down the buildings and scattering the people, so we don't need the coyotes, deer, skunks, beavers and rattlesnakes back. Seeing them marks an imbalance of nature, anyway, not simply a return to old times. Also, as we know, coyotes howl, and who wants such a nuisance--certainly not the songwriter who wanted to be buried far away from them. --Jim

Marie Smith said...

There are coyotes around one of the trails we follow. Beautiful creatures! You did a great job!

sirkkis said...

Coyotes don't exist in Finland. So I first recorded it as a 🦊. Your painting is amazingly well done 😊👍
Happy weekend ❤️

jaz@octoberfarm said...

we have coyotes here right in the city! one walked by our house a few days ago. that drawing is fabulous.

lissa said...

Your drawing is great. I don't about the reddish hue as I can't tell a fox from a coyote. I like how you did the furs.

Have a lovely day.

Kirk said...

Every so often there's something in the local news about a night vision camera that catches a coyote walking through a yard when everyone's asleep. So far no stories about a cats or small dogs getting eaten.

Christine said...

Outstanding Debra!

Bruce.desertrat said...

Oh yeah, here in Tucson we have resident urban populations; they're regularly seen throughout the city.

We've also had javelina running through our neighborhood in the middle of town and folks in the areas near the foothills regularly see bobcats, and have even spotted mountain lions on occasion, the terrible fires we had in 2018 drove a lot of animals down into the city and outskirts.

The coyotes regularly take cats and small dogs, as well as backyard chickens, but honestly cars kill far more cats...people really shouldn't let their cats roam.

There are rollers you can buy to install on top of your backyard walls (if you have them....they are quite common here in Tucson) that will keep them out.

NanaDiana said...

My gosh! You are REALLY REALLY talented, Debra. You do amazing art work. We don't have any coyotes around here although I do believe they are in the WI North Woods. Have a wonderful weekend. xo Diana

angela said...

I think he looks perfect. We don’t have coyotes in Australia. But we do have foxes
Which for those of us that keep chickens is a big hassle. Horrid things they are

roentare said...

That is a very handsome portrait!

Carola Bartz said...

Your created an amazing drawing. We do have coyotes around here as well as bobcats, foxes and mountain lions. I love that we have so much wildlife here and hope it will stay that way. Coyote is my spirit animal and I'm definitely on Team Coyote.

Tundra Bunny said...

It's a great sketch, though without background scale for reference, it could be a coyote, fox or wolf!

No problems with coyotes where I live as I've only seen them roaming the countryside in late afternoon. You're right about larger coyotes preying on cats, small dogs and even toddlers in urban areas -- it pays to be cautious as coyotes are brazen by personality and opportunistic lone hunters by nature. And they're very susceptible to rabies and mange.

Another emerging phenomenon occurs when there are healthy, viable coyote and wolf populations in the same or neighbouring areas: hybrids known as Coy-wolves can result. Larger than a coyote, but smaller than a wolf, these hybrids have the jaws, musculature and bite power of a wolf and the brazen, no fear-of-humans attitude, which make them dangerous to small prey. Fortunately, such hybrids haven't reached any significant numbers in North America.

Sassybear said...

Nicely done. I don't see any issues with the coloring. Animals range in colors everywhere. I've never seen a coyote that I know of, just foxes. (Both the 4-legged and the 2-legged kind.)

peppylady (Dora) said...

Most people here has issue with coyote. They're pretty addable.

My name is Erika. said...

Wow. Not only is that an amazing face, but you really are a master of colored pencils. I don't have the hang of them, but then I don't use them very often. Have a super weekend Debra. hugs-Erika

Richard said...

The coyotes around here are not habituated yet, not like those city coyotes. This population is timid and fearful. We know they are here, because we hear them singing sometimes. I love that sound. Just a few years ago, we had a little spell when outdoor cats were disappearing and of course coyotes took the blame, but during that time my neighbors security camera caught images of one her barn cats being dragged off by a Bobcat! Yikes!
So thankfully the coyotes are not a problem, tho I imagine they could be.
Fantastic portrait.

Mike said...

@Kathy G - We have lots of coyotes around here. People post pictures on Nextdoor all the time. Some of them are pretty mangy looking.

DVArtist said...

OMGosh..... this is just magnificent. The reddish hue is not overdone at all. I have seen many coyotes with much more red. You are such a talented artist and I thank you for sharing with FFO.

Hena Tayeb said...

Wow.. that is really beautifully done. I haven't seen a coyote in our part of the woods.

https://linsartyblobs.blogspot.com said...

Wonderful drawing. I've never seen a coyote in real life.

Fundy Blue said...

Debra, this is gorgeous, so alive! I can feel its fur and whiskers. You are truly an artist! Yes, coyotes are a problem in our area, as they are in a lot of places. I don't blame them though. They're just animals trying to survive. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Busy Bee Suz said...

My Friend, this is a lovely piece!
We have them where we are, but as long as people keep their pets indoors at night, there shouldn't be an issue.

Janie Junebug said...

That's a great drawing. I'm unaware of coyotes in our area. When we lived in the country in Illinois, we heard them howling every night. Our dogs would sit in our fenced-in backyard and howl with them. One of our dogs would dig under the fence and run off. I've wondered if he sometimes ran with the coyotes. At times, though, we knew he would go next door to listen to the radio with our elderly next door neighbor on his back porch.

Love,
Janie

Rommy said...

I haven't seen any coyotes around here, but I adore foxes.

Liz Hinds said...

WE don't have coyotes so my first thought was a fox. we get lots of those! beautiful though.

Ur-spo said...

we have lots of coyotes enough to be always on the look out for them when out on a walk.

Alison said...

Wow! That's a beautiful drawing! As someone else said, at first glance I thought it could be a fox too.

e said...

Another exceptional portrait! You have quite a gift.

We do have coyotes here. In fact, if you google 'coyote trimet portland' you'll see them riding the light rail. I'm not kidding!

An interesting fact about coyotes is that under the most intense elimination pressure (actual government agencies dedicated to their eradication and open season on hunting) coyotes have expanded their territories in the US - and probably Canada. We have taken a stable population and managed to make it balloon in numbers over a huge range of habitats. Sorry, ranchers, but you created the problem by trying to eliminate it.

This N That said...

Your Coyote is fantastic...amazing..You are so talented..

Guillaume said...

Cool, I like coyotes.

Richard said...

Uncle, why is your nose so long? If I was a gopher, this would be my worst nightmare.

The Blog Fodder said...

We do have coyites in Regina. A friend of mine from the dog park was walking his two little white dogs along the creek way west of where we live and there were two coyotes that followed him for a ways. Those little white dogs were lunch if they had the chance.

baili said...

i fall in love with your creatures instantly and i can stare and stare at them as magnificent piece of art that conveys power and beauty of nature's creation so powerfully wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you have definitely GIFT my dear Debra hats off to you !

Adam said...

Probably but I have never seen one with my own eyes