Orphaned coyote pup mistaken for dog becomes foster brother of rescued RI pup
A coyote pup rescued in Rhode Island this spring is "getting along swimmingly" with her foster brother, a pup rescued in Massachusetts, a wildlife rehabilitation agency on Cape Cod says.
Wildlife rehabilitators brought the orphaned pups together to help them "maintain their wild instincts," the Cape Wildlife Center said in a Facebook post.
The Massachusetts coyote was mistaken for a lost puppy dog when a Massachusetts family found him "wandering and distressed by the side of a busy road," the Cape Wildlife Center said.
The family took him home before realizing their mistake.
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The Rhode Island coyote pup was found on the side of a busy road in Smithfield in late April and brought to the Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of Rhode Island. At about two weeks old, she was being fed by bottle and her eyes were just starting to open.
"My assumption is something happened with mom and this little girl got dropped," Kristin Fletcher, executive director of the Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of Rhode Island said in April.
Rhode Island rescuers later transferred the pup to the Cape Cod agency in Barnstable, and the pair are being brought together gradually.
"It was a little slow at first, but once they felt each other out they quickly began to bond," Cape Wildlife said in a Facebook post. "Before long they were wrestling and playing with each other, which is crucial to their normal development."
Rescuers took a little extra time to introduce the pair because the female rescued in Rhode Island is about two weeks younger and is smaller than the male.
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"Due to the size discrepancy we are not leaving them together full time yet, but they will spend a couple hours a day together so that they continue to bond," Cape Wildlife said. "Once the female is a little larger, they will move into a larger cage together where we will provide natural climbing items, enrichment activities and regular health checks."
Human contact is limited.
"Our primary goal is to raise the pair as naturally as possible. When it comes time for release it is critical that they have the skills they need to survive and have a healthy fear of humans," Cape Wildlife said. "Having a sibling to model behavior from goes a long way towards maintaining their wild instincts, and we are so grateful that these two bonded so quickly."
Fletcher said previously that the coyotes would be released together when the time comes.
As rescuers prepare the pups for life in the wild, each will need about 300 pounds of "specialty food," along with regular veterinary checks and preventive medications and vaccines, Cape Wildlife said.
jperry@providencejournal.com
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On Twitter: @jgregoryperry
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rescued RI coyote pup bonding with foster brother on Cape Cod
