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Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Scavenging

Sometimes you hear about mammalian scavengers feeding on marine mammal carcasses washed ashore, but I hadn't seen it myself until this past weekend.  

Joe stopped by to mention that he had just seen a coyote feeding on a seal.  Luckily, I had my large zoom lens on my camera at the time.  

I managed a few distant photographs, so here's one for the record:


Coyote (Canis latrans) feeding on a Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) carcass, 15 July 2018

P.S.  Many thanks to Joe for the wildlife alert! 

ADDENDUM (18 July 2018): KB asked if the coyote was hit by any waves.  Since you asked, the answer is:

Yes!


Although the coyote didn't seem to mind slightly wet feet:


4 comments:

Mama Loves the Beach! said...

Incredible capture!!
I've seen bobcat and coyote footprints circling a seal carcass but have never witnessed anything other than turkey vultures and ravens actually feeding on one. So glad you caught this image and thanks to Joe for the alert!

Alice Chan said...

I'm always so happy to see evidence that we still have a coyote population. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

This photo is awesome! The foreleg sloping with the shoreline, the feet buried in the sand. Did coyote get hit by any waves?
KB

Jackie Sones said...

Hi! Re: whether the coyote was hit by any waves -- see additional photos added on 18 July!

:) J.