Ellen Tasovac, age 9, of Frankfort, N.Y
Why does a coyote howl?
Dogs bark and cats meow, The lion roars and the little mouse squeaks. Birds sing songs and Jumbo toots a trumpeting gong with his trunk, Dolphins are said to giggle, and a troupe of monkeys is full of chattering gossip. The animal world is full of conversation and it would be wonderful if we knew what all of them had to say. We can guess the meaning of some of these animal words though, sad to say, we never can be sure that we are smart enough to understand what the creatures are trying to say. A parrot, of course, uses human words, though he does not understand their meaning as we do.
Recently, many of Andy’s readers were treated to a coyote TV show. The star of the show was a charmer named Chico and his life was explained by the beloved teller of nature stories, Walt Disney. Later, Andy learned that the show was filmed among the hills behind Santa Barbara where Chico lives. On the night of the show, the TV sets were naturally turned on in nearby ranches, And, just as naturally, Chico the movie actor, was out under the starry sky.
What is more amazing, but still quite natural, is that Chico’s sharp ears picked up the sound of the program. He had nothing to say until the scene in which he was shown with three of his friends, howling a midnight song together. Then Chico lifted his furry head and joined the chorus, and his added harmony was heard far and wide among the hills,
A coyote, it seems, loves to join his friends in a sort of barber shop quartet. In fact, when he hears his friends singing, he cannot resist the temptation to join them, even when the sound gives away his hiding place and leads to danger. Maybe he is howling just for joy, or maybe he is flinging a challenge to the desert, telling other animals to beware, for the coyote and his gang of pals are out hunting.
It took many months to film Chico’s story and during this time the movie people learned a great deal about the smart little desert dog. They seemed to think that Chico and his pals sing just for joy and their howling is a sort of glee club. The coyote, however, has another song. Some of the best yodelling is done for his lady love. She too is a singer and the two of them often blend their voices in a whole‑hearted duet which is, of course, a love song.
The howl of a coyote may seem horrible to human ears. A lonely desert traveler may be scared half out of his wits by the spooky sound. We are not sure why the cute little fellow is overcome with this desire to howl at the desert night or what he means by his weird yodeling. But we do know one thing for certain. The coyote himself is quite sure that he sings the most beautiful music in the world, No other creature can top it, except perhaps another coyote .. and even this is improved when our little friend joins in the chorus.