Accretions - works on board
Coyotes are a generalist species. The ability to adapt to and expand into environments modified by humans including urban areas are what I found fascinating about the coyote.The symbolic and representational images of different species depict features of the coyotes diet taken from data gathered both in urban areas as well as rural spaces to show the diversity of food sources. I collaborated with Joel Ruprecht who is studying coyotes in north eastern Oregon in the Starkey Experimental Forest collecting scat samples and using GPS collar data. Looking at Joel’s data as well as studies done in urban areas I found a lot of the same items on both lists. Small mammals like voles, mice and rabbits being a large part of diets in both studies and elk and other ungulates showing up as a large part of the diet in only the rural studies. Multiple studies show data that disproves the common notion that the urban coyotes diet consists mainly of trash, pet food and domestic pets. I feel that the variety of species depicted in this piece ranging from the mammals mentioned above to birds, insects and plants/grass are what make the coyote such a successful urban dweller and able to adapt to the continuous human encroachment on wild spaces.