Abandoned coyote pups

On Tuesday, we were referred a call about a litter of coyote pups discovered by workers at a home, bordering the Pasatiempo Golf Course, in Santa Cruz. The pups were found cuddled in a pile to keep warm. They were discovered after workers thinned back vegetation around their den, a culvert. 

We usually ask reporting parties to send us a picture or video so we can, both, identify the species and assess an animal's condition. The owner of the property promptly sent us a picture. 

Without being there, of course, we're limited in our ability to judge their condition. We consulted with Native Animal Rescue's Monique, who would be the one to receive them if they need rescuing, and we both agreed, we don't want to 'over rescue' - we wanted to give the mother a chance to move the pups to a safer place. 

We left instructions with the homeowner to check early in the morning. If they were still there, we'd respond immediately.

Sadly, they were still there, and what's worse, they were in really bad shape. We should have sent a volunteer the day before to have a closer look at them...

The pups were gathered up quickly. Two looked like they might make it, two were deceased, the other two were pretty bad off.

They were placed on heat immediately, and delivered to Native Animal Rescue where they would be stabilized before being transferred to Monique. We shipped the two carcasses to the Wildlife Investigations Lab for testing, just in case.

Here's the short rescue video:

It was touch and go for the two survivors of the litter, but today we received word from Monique that they are doing much better, eating on their own and gaining strength.

Interestingly, Monique received an injured pup from that general area last week - a sibling, most likely. All three of the pups are together, now. 

A huge THANK YOU! to Native Animal Rescue and Monique for their excellent care of these little ones.

If you'd like to volunteer for NAR, click HERE, or for WES, click HERE.