OUTSIDE: The Coyote Chorus | Opinion

The dynamics of animal sounds are all the more fascinating as we learn more about them. For example, scientists recently learned that some animals we thought were quiet, like turtles and fish, communicate with their own unique sounds. Even the well-studied sounds of birds and coyotes have many secrets to reveal and mysteries to solve.

For example, how can two or three coyotes howling at night sound like a dozen or more?

This phenomenon of one animal sounding like many is called the Beau Jeste effect. In the novel of the same name, Perceval author Christopher Wren describes how an army of French legionnaires decided to support their fallen comrades to trick the enemy into thinking their army was bigger than it was. The term was first applied to male birds that sing several different songs at different locations. Supposedly, this gives the impression that the place is occupied by many individuals, thus keeping competitors away.

Here’s how coyotes use the Beau Jeste effect. Mated pairs tend to stay with their young from the previous year. A coyote, usually the male, gives an opening howl, followed by his mate, then his young chime. Each individual varies the pitch and intensity of its cries.

Sound waves of varying pitches and frequencies bounce off rocks and trees and even nearby buildings, then echo through hollows and valleys. Such reverberations of the howls of very few animals may lead many to say that the country is “overrun” with them.

Over the past 20 years, coyotes have practically invaded the eastern half of the United States. Their numbers seem to be increasing not only in forested and agricultural areas, but also in cities and suburbs. The coyote’s howl, once iconic of the Wild West, is now heard in New York, Washington, DC and Atlanta. Their adaptability to a variety of habitats and their tolerance of humans have made coyotes subject to obsolete methods such as bounty hunting and poisoning campaigns.

Coyotes will likely always be controversial. Many people hate them for attacking pets and livestock. Coyotes are very flexible in their diet and even melon and other fruit crops are subject to their depredations. And while many stories of their depredations are exaggerated, coyotes do real damage to livestock, especially sheep during lambing season.

Combined with their ability to live almost anywhere, this puts them in direct competition with us. Many states allow people to hunt coyotes anytime and anywhere, but the coyotes survive.

My wife and I have undoubtedly lost some of our poultry to coyotes, and we have seen an adult coyote hunt a fawn, stalk wild turkeys, and kill a groundhog in the hay meadow behind our house. The coyotes have learned to tolerate our presence and to go about their business in the open, in sight of us. I admire them for their success in bringing a touch of nature back into our lives.

Doug Pifer, a local conservationist and illustrator, writes from his home in Shepherdstown.