Picking up an older coyote is always a highlight in my book.

A few in that elite group take the term "Old Timer" to another level.






When you pull up to a coyote in this age class you know they have something that sets them apart.

There is no doubt he was a big coyote in his day.

In his prime I'd guess he would have been one of the very few to hit the forty pound mark.





There are a host of reasons why this coyote saw as many birthdays as he did.

If luck happened to come his way you can bet it’s because he made it.

How old would you guess that one to be?

Ethan, I would bet that male is easily on the back side of ten years old.

Wow, to hit 10+ years is incredible.

Here is what's left of his choppers.

I bet more than a few fawns fell victim to this old warhorse.




His incisors are long gone.

The previous double allowed me to show an interesting difference I see between young coyotes and the old timers.

The ears are something I see a lot of change in when it comes to Wile E.

In a few cases the ears seem to get much larger overall in the later years.

I call them Yoda ears because of the appearance it gives the coyote.

This old fella from earlier in the season is a good example of that.

He had approximately the same k-9 wear and missing incisors as the old male above.







Here we have the trait I see most often where the ear appears to be much thicker as if the cartilage becomes denser as the years roll by.


For comparison we have a younger coyote with ears that look sharp and defined with a thin edge.





The old man’s radar gear looks quite a bit different than the young gun.






You might check to see if you notice a difference next time you’re giving a few coyotes a free ride out of town.

This has been a fascinating thread to follow along with. Very informative, especially regarding the no-backing flat sets.

Agreed, I check it for updates almost daily.