iN PHOTOS: Coyote family grows up near Kamloops neighbourhood

Kamloops wildlife photographer Michael Kennedy observed a family of coyotes throughout the month of June as the pups grew up in a wooded area of his neighbourhood.

One of Kennedy’s photo shoots shows two young pups cuddling with one another before eventually falling asleep while the mother coyote stood nearby.

A few weeks later, the photographer captured five little pups lounging and napping, perfectly blended into their surroundings.

“It was the first time seeing coyote pups so it was a nice surprise,” he said in a message to iNFOnews.ca. “I took a lot of photos of course. The coyote family was around our neighbourhood for a couple of weeks.”

Four coyote pups sleep in a wooded area of Kamloops in June. SUBMITTED/ Michael Kennedy

A member of the dog family, the coyote is a social, intelligent and highly adaptable animal that can be found in a range of habitats across North America including forests, grasslands and deserts, according to International Fund for Animal Welfare.

The dogs mate and have roughly five pups during the spring season in dens dug into the ground. At this time of year, the puppies are almost full grown and in the fall some of the litter will move on while others will stay in the pack.

The coyote follows a monogamous mating system where pairs of coyotes form strong bonds that last throughout the mating season and after as they both care for pups.

An adult coyote sits near a litter of pups in Kamloops. SUBMITTED/ Michael Kennedy

Coyotes cooperate in packs to provide food, raise pups and protect their territories together. They use howling, as well as scent marking, to identify their territory, and spend much of their time hunting small mammals, frogs or fish using their keen senses of sight, smell and hearing along with fast running speeds.

The coyote is smaller than a wolf, and is identified by its coarse, greyish-brown fur, bushy tail, large pointy ears and long snout.

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