Good Morning, God!
I’m up at dawn, again. Taking photos and sipping coffee. I have turned over to Sandy all of the responsibilities for the boys leaving for school. I am relaxed and happy. I was considering going jogging earlier than usual. But, that was before I saw three coyotes lopping down Sandy’s street. I am not eager to run with coyotes — especially three of them.
Coyotes are resourceful creatures. I dare say they are far more interested in the local rabbits than they are in me. Still, I shall wait another hour or so before I take to the road.
No one is worried about coyotes becoming extinct, God! They seem very adaptable. They have even shifted from diurnal to nocturnal in urban areas. They learn quickly and work together in packs. I’m full of coyote factoids after reading the wikipedia article. It seems they might have originated in the Americas.
But, what really interests me is our human reaction to coyotes as opposed to wolves. If I had seen three wolves lopping along Sandy’s street — would I be outside AT ALL? Fear of wolves seems far more powerful than of coyotes or even of the cougars who inhabit Sabino Canyon. Not, God, that I am jogging in Sabino Canyon.
I’ve read Farley Mowat’s book about wolves. And I dare say he has it right when he says: “We have doomed the wolf not for what it is, but for what we deliberately and mistakenly perceive it to be –the mythologized epitome of a savage ruthless killer – which is, in reality, no more than a reflected image of ourself.”
Sigh, we are predators. And, I suspect, God, that is HOW predators behave — eliminating other competing predators. Wolves when reintroduced into Yellowstone set about killing coyotes. We don’t like competition. It seems we dislike most in others, our very own qualities.
Aah, but, the sun is fully up now, God. And I shall be setting out on a jog.
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