We are not the only creatures who show compassion and concern for family members..........Based on the problem, we often take direct action to help our loved one work things out..........The COYOTE YIPPS blogsite shows some great pics of a coyote mated pair communicating, showing affection with the male helping his mate to overcome some type backside irritant.........Like us, sentient and thinking creatures, Coyotes are!

Asking For  Help And Receiving  Some

#1 there is a discomfort

#2 requesting help

#3 he helps her

#4 he helps her

#5 he helps her

#6 he helps her

#7 he licks her affectionately

#8 she attempts getting his attention again

#9 she tries to get at the discomfort herself alone

#10 she again puts her paw up for help

#11 she rolls in front of him with rear up

#12 she rolls in front of him with rear up

#13 she rolls in front of him

#14 he walks on but she submissively asks for help

#15 she walks in front of him

#17 she's still soliciting his aid

#18

#19 she reaches for him with her mouth

#20 she again is in front of him with rear end up

I was able to get these shots between wafts of fog
that kept coming in and leaving. What is going on
here is that one coyote is bothered by something
on her tail area. Whatever it was, she wanted it off
-- possibly it was causing discomfort -- maybe it
was a burr or something like that which was
pinching or had become embedded in her skin.
What is of interest is that this coyote was able to
communicate her need to the other, and the other
tried his best to help. However, the problem was
not solved by his attempts to help, as can be seen
by the coyote with the problem trying again to
remove the source of discomfort on her own in
slide #9. It appears that she was unable to do this.
Slide #10 shows that she then continued soliciting
his help: walking or rolling in front of him and
thrusting that sore spot in front of him. Maybe
he knew his help would be futile, or maybe he
got tired of helping, or maybe the message was
not so clear this time, but his interest shifted to
leading them both into the woods and out of my
view. I'm hoping that maybe he helped her some
more once they were under cover.