Coyote – A Champion of Change
By Gail Cochrane
Liberty Wildlife Volunteer
In this time of upheaval, with climate related disasters cropping up daily, and a woefully divided society, we might consider the case of the coyote. Here is a familiar, everyday critter that has persevered. Coyote has persisted and even thrived, as the reach of humanity has grown to affect life for every species on the planet.
Coyote has overcome unprecedented persecution, and actually expanded her range. This figure has been cast as a villain 
since the misty times of folklore. Now coyote trots nonchalantly through suburbs and cities. The steady expansion into new environs continues for the canny beast, even as humans put bounties on coyote heads and hold contests to see who can kill the most in a given span of time.
What has allowed this wily creature to thrive when so many other species, indeed our entire natural world, is frayed and imperiled? It seems the coyote has a tremendous ability to adapt, to be resilient in the face of attacks on its species, and refreshingly, has refused to be picky about things.
Every change that humans make to the environment seems to have a silver lining for coyote. Westward bound settlers wiping out the wolf population? Mama Coyote says thank you very much and moves her dens into that ecological niche. More humans? More easy pickings on trash pick-up day. Sprawling suburban subdivisions with back yards holding inviting bowls of pet food, and even small pets? Yum. More roads and more traffic add up to more roadkill.
Two hundred years ago the coyote’s range was centered around the Great Plains where the smallish canine hunted rabbits, mice and insects. They weighed around 25 pounds. Now coyotes live all across North America, into Mexico and southern Canada. In some areas, coyotes have gotten bigger, up to 35 pounds, and work in packs to bring down deer.
What qualities have brought success to the coyote, even in the face of a rapidly changing world and outright eradication efforts? Intelligence, adaptability and a sophisticated social system create resourceful societies of coyotes that learn from each other. Coyotes have acute hearing, razor sharp eyesight and a super sensitive sense of smell. They are curious and playful.
They are fast enough to chase down rabbits, keen enough to hear rodents moving in underground burrows, and willing to do the work to dig them out. Coyotes are not above pouncing on grasshoppers, or eating dead animals. They gladly eat seeds, grasses, cacti fruits, garbage, and unattended small pets.
Coyotes are individuals and some follow a solitary lifestyle, while others appreciate the social joys of family life. Both male and female are involved in raising young, and the pups from one litter often stay on to help hunt for the next passel of pups.
Comparing the coyote creed to how we humans behave, it appears that our reluctance to change hampers our resilience in a rapidly evolving world. Adherence to individual aspirations blinds us to the essential need to contribute to the larger community. And, perhaps we have come to take our very survival for granted, something coyote is too smart to ever do.
Kid Stuff
Nurturing Nature
By: Carol Suits
Liberty Wildlife Volunteer
Meet the desert tortoise
An animal’s habitat is the home it lives in. Like you, it is the place that gives it shelter, food, space, and a safe place for tortoise babies.
This desert tortoise is digging a burrow Can you tell what a desert tortoise likes to eat?
Check out the tortoises at Liberty Wildlife to see what they are given to eat.
This video is about Arizona desert tortoises from the Arizona Game & Fish Department: Click here to view the video!
Join Liberty Wildlife’s Superhero Club
Explore nature’s wonders through meaningful and fun activities!
A program for early elementary grade kids
Be a Superhero!
New club meetings starting in October!
Superheroes in action!
Visit with our animal Ambassadors!
Explore, and learn about nature!
Do hands-on activities to help nature!
For more information and to apply contact
Carol Suits
Bragging Rights!
By Claudia Kirscher
Liberty Wildlife Contributor
Arizona is an amazing state for birdwatching with 569 species of birds. Many birders have “target birds” to add to their life lists. A 5-falcon day is not easy and is considered to be one of the goals of a day of birdwatching, hence “bragging rights.”
This can happen more often during the winter season in our state because of the influx of overwintering migrant raptors plus our year-around species. The 5 Falcons are: American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Prairie Falcon, Merlin, and Northern Crested Caracara.
The Kestrel is a small falcon, about the size of a mourning dove. It is the most-common falcon in North America and lives year around in Arizona with numbers increasing in the winter. They are omnivorous, hunting insects, birds, rodents and reptiles. They prefer open fields.
Fast-flying Peregrine Falcons are probably the most well known falcons, occurring not only in the countryside but in urban settings. They hunt primarily birds.
The Prairie Falcon is slightly smaller than the Peregrine, closer to crow size. They hunt small mammals and birds. They are found in western North America, favoring open arid country.
The less-common, not often seen Merlin is slightly larger than the Kestrel. They occur in northern and western North America, often overwintering in Arizona. They prefer open country and edges of woodlands where they hunt primarily birds but will take large insects, bats, and reptiles.
The Northern Crested Caracara is also considered part of the falcon family even though its behaviors and foraging styles 
are so different from the other 4 Falcons. They occur in the southern US, Mexico, as well as Central and South America. In Arizona they are not often seen and only found in our south-central regions and rarely further north than Casa Grande. They are considered an opportunistic raptor, walking around, hunting and foraging on the ground for carrion. They are totally omnivorous.
Time to dust off those binoculars and head out for a bragging rights day!