jessies_mom
Posted : 10/16/2006 6:12:08 PM
The discovery that scat from coyotes in central NY contained nothing but corn and apples during the winter shows how adaptable they can be to survive. I've seen coyote scat in which bones and claws are wrapped in rabbit hide at a nearby state park, which is mostly prairie, several times; it does look like a twig, or a hairy stick. I think it's possible that the "adaptation" that wolves and coyotes have to wrap bones in hide so the intestines are protected from perforations may also occur if dogs were fed the entire prey, such as a rabbit. It seems that the bones and hide would be the last thing to pass through the digestive tract since they're harder to digest than meat and organs, and as they pass through the churning and contractions of the intestinal wall could squeeze the hide around the bone. I have never read exactly how wildlife researchers think it happens.