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Native Californian, biologist, wildlife conservation consultant, retired Smithsonian scientist, father of two daughters, grandfather of four. INTJ. Believes nature is infinitely more interesting than shopping malls. Born 100 years too late.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Free coyote lure

Fred makes a donation
Coyotes are attracted to dog scent and vice versa.

If you want to spice up your local coyote latrine for camera trapping a little anal scent from the pooch works nicely as a lure.   
Your vet will evacuate your dog's glands using a paper towel, or you can just ask him to save a few samples for you from his patients. 

Dog anal scent is a complex mixture of compounds of differing volatility, so don't leave the paper towel on the workbench or under the car seat. 

Better to store it in a way that preserves the compounds. 

Discard the unstained portion of the towel and save the smudged portion in ethyl alcohol. 

You may also freeze it out of doors, for example in a zip lock bag in  the garden shed.    

For the sake of marital harmony I do not recommend storing it in the freezer. 

Your wife will find it no matter how well you hide it, and even after you recover you may never be fit for camera trapping again.

3 comments:

biobabbler said...

=) I bought my 1st car from a carnivore researcher, and he'd used it as his field vehicle. For ever after when I'd see him (once a year or less?) he'd wrinkle his brow, look concerned, and ask: "Does it still smell okay?" =) YES. But it had carried all kinds of carnivore lures and giant bags of scat so I, of course had to dub it The Scatmobile. =) Poor little ford...

Patricia Lichen said...

Ha! Very funny! (And very nice of your dog to donate toward the cause.)

--Patricia Lichen, www.patriciaklichen.com

Anonymous said...

This post makes me feel confident that I will make a great future wife.