When I walk in the early morning I often see deer and rabbits, and occasionally a fox, but it’s only late at night when I was driving up a back road near the golf courses that I have seen a coyote. It was standing in the middle of the road and stared at me as I slowed down and came to a stop. At first it didn’t move, but then it took off.
Seeing an animal like that in my urban environment was startling. Knowing that their hunting grounds cover a wide area, the first thing I did after I arrived home was to pull in my cat. As we take more of their wooded habitat, they are coming down onto our streets. And like the falcon at the top of the Elizabeth court tower, they have adapted quite well to city life.
Prior to 1900 coyotes were found only on the prairies and southwestern deserts, but they have moved east as people moved west. More than 450 New Jersey towns have had coyote sightings. Elusive, it’s important they keep a healthy fear of people and just as important, we need to make sure there’s enough habitat so they don’t end up eating the cat food like that fat raccoon does every night on my back deck.
Prayer for the Day
The variety of your creation never fails to astound us, O God,
As we see creatures we had formerly associated with the wild;
The calls and noises at night remind us we are not alone,
But that we must learn to share our world with others.
Teach us, O God, how to protect the wild that enters our lives,
As we think we live only in the comforts of civilization.
In the name of the One who can show us the way,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Much of human behavior can be explained by watching the wild beasts around us. They are constantly teaching us things about ourselves and the way of the universe, but most people are too blind to watch and listen.
- Suzy Kassem, American writer and poet
Of all the special things we do for our planet, let one of them to be of service to animals.
- Paul Oxton, wildlife photographer, South Africa
You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.
You make darkness and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come out.
The young lions roar for their prey, seeking food from God.
When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens.
Psalm 104: 19-22