Abstract
We examined the distribution of aggressive and affiliative interactions between four adult coyotes (two females and two males) and a litter of pups, 1 to 3 months of age. While most interactions were affiliative, encounter types were distributed differently among different adult–pup group pairs, with significant main effects plus two- and three-way statistical interactions involving (i) individual adults, (ii) initiator, and (iii) quality of encounters. From the outset of our study, pups treated adults differently, even though the total number of interactions with different adults was similar. The most marked differences were between the mother and nulliparous female, with the former being highly affiliative and the latter highly aggressive. The males were mostly affiliative. In spite of the aggressive initiations and rebuffs by the nulliparous female, the pups persisted in their affiliative initiations towards her. These data reflect important socialization processes and contextual factors that may contribute to patterns of group organization observed in the field.
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