Coyote’s Cold Stare Freezes Photographer

On a foggy morning looking for raptors, I caught a brief glimpse of fur barely eclipsing the tall grasses on the hill above me. The figure continued moving silently downhill toward me before disappearing into the grass until reappearing nearly even with my position. Lying on my stomach and looking through the blades of spring grasses, I could see a coyote fixated on sniffing the ground.

Once the animal passed a clump of tough grass, it turned its head to look directly at me.

I’ve experienced close encounters with coyotes before, but this was different. Coyotes generally run away from people and, in fact, a young coyote I had run into only 30 minutes earlier had done just that upon sensing my presence. However, this individual, grown and inflated in size because of its winter coat, sized me up through a lingering stare and then ignored me.

The canine sniffed the air and then lowered its head to the ground, following a scent trail that seemed to meander toward me. I assumed this coyote was following a potential prey item, but the scent led to a wildflower, 15 feet in front of me, which the coyote sniffed intensely.

As I tried to slither backwards to give the animal space, the coyote pushed through the high grass, weaving its way closer to me and occasionally checking on my now frozen position. The intense sniffing continued, and within seconds, the canine was too close for my camera to focus.

Unsure of what to do, I remained still. While I had ceased breathing, I could hear a muted exhalation from the coyote, which demanded my attention. There was no snarl, no bearing of teeth, nor any vocalizations. Just a brief piercing stare that seemed to say, “nobody moves, nobody gets hurt”. The canine, satisfied with my compliance, continued sniffing and turned to go around me before recapturing the scent it was after before we met.

Shortly after passing me, the coyote, now further down the hill, sat upright and peered at the ravine below. After one last glance at me, the coyote hopped to its feet and ran down the hill. It was then that I realized that this animal was neither hunting nor tracking an intruder, but was looking for another pack member that was at the base of the hill. 

I’m not sure why the coyote didn’t vocalize to the other pack member. My assumption is that this individual didn’t want to alert me to the other coyote and opted to track its location through scent. Whatever the reason, it was a thrilling experience and a reminder of the strength of a coyote’s sense of smell…and its ability to communicate through an icy stare. 😊