There are many upsides to living out on Tucson’s west side for Patricia Suflita Wilson.
About 10 feet from her home, she set up a wildlife camera to capture videos of the creatures traversing through the nearby desert area. Usually, it's quite a lot.
A dog traveling with a pack of coyotes in Tucson.
"I have javelinas, I have deer, I have bobcats," Wilson said. "My morning activity is to get my coffee and go, 'All right, let's see who visited.'"
But late last month came something she had yet to see: a dog traveling with a pack of coyotes.
And it wasn’t a one-time thing. The dog and the pack have become regular visitors in the two weeks since.
Early morning footage from a wildlife camera taken Oct. 29 captures a dog traveling with a pack of coyotes stopping for a drink of water on Tucson's west side near North Silverbell and West Goret roads.
"Rarely do you see it where a dog is accepted," Wilson said. "Usually, a dog is an adversary with the coyotes or prey. This is really unusual."
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The relationship between canines and their coyote counterparts is quite complicated. Smaller dogs tend to be more vulnerable as prey for coyotes. While it's quite uncommon for a dog to take up with a pack of coyotes, it can sometimes happen, according to the Institute for Environmental Research and Education.
Wilson has been in touch with Pima Animal Care Center and volunteer rescue groups and is hopeful the dog can be safely rescued soon.
A dog traveling with a pack of coyotes in Tucson.
She and some others have speculated that the dog caught on camera is a dog named Raven who ran away from the nearby PACC facility while being brought out to an adopting family, but it hasn't been confirmed.
Contact public safety reporter Griffin Salkowski at GSalkowski@tucson.com.
Griffin Salkowski
Public Safety Reporter
