[JAN2023] When I unloaded the TrailCam memory card this week, I found 3 awesome photos of a coyote in all its winter bushy beauty, which I have uploaded to the TrailCam Gallery.

Guests sometimes ask if they should be concerned about any of the wildlife here. My response is that any wild animal encounter should be treated with respect, and always given space so they do not feel threatened. BUT that, in over a decade living here, I have never directly observed a live coyote… though I am quite certain many have seen me and silently trotted off in the other direction.

Unlike urban coyotes which have become habituated to humans–a dangerous dynamic–I think the ones out here in the country don’t know what to make of us ungainly, awkward and noisy two-legged creatures and seem to want nothing to do with humans.

At night here, especially in the hours soon after dusk, you may be treated to a chorus of coyote howls, yips and barks. It brings a eerie and sublime wilderness feel to the forest and is especially stunning when there are several groups of them in different places communicating back and forth. I was interested to know what the different sounds mean and found a great guide to coyote voicings here.

Oh, and guests sometimes ask if there are bears. I like to tell the story of one I once saw right beside the sauna (see Bear With Me blog post). But he was just passing through and extraordinarily beyond his normal range which is up on the Bruce Peninsula.