“I saw this guy playing on the hill while I was getting ready for work,” Ontario,Canada YouTube user "Evnissyen" wrote"............... “It's pretty rare to see a coyote this close to the house at all, and totally unexpected to see one playing with the neighbour-dog's ball in broad daylight!”..........In 2007, our friend, Massachusetts Eastern Coyote biologist Jon Way published a study on the “social and play behavior” of the Eastern Coyote...........In the urban area where John lives, he saw frequent “chasing, wrestling and self-play” among coyote pups........Pups will regularly play fight with each other, practicing pouncing and stealth techniques that will be put to life providing use over the course of their lifetime....... “Included in play were numerous role reversals where more dominant coyotes allowed lower ranked coyotes to pin them to the ground"........... Although, similar to humans, play usually tapers off as coyotes grow up and are forced to reserve their hunting and fighting skills for “real” situations.................... Please click on the link below to watch a truly fun video!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/coyote-plays-with-ball-video_5695692be4b086bc1cd59183
CLICK ON THIS LINK ABOVE TO WATCH THE COYOTE HAVING FUN

Coyote Finds A Ball, Proves How Lovable Coyotes Really Are

Play like no one is watching.

 01/12/2016 04:28 pm ET

• Hilary HansonNews editor, The Huffington Post
• -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=10&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjF7-KL06jKAhVFLyYKHYCvAx0QFgg-MAk&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.nationalpost.com%2Fnews%2Fcanada%2Fwild-ontario-coyote-caught-on-video-playing-fetch-with-itself-likely-practicing-hunting&usg=AFQjCNERZQQQRu5b-a6WiU_YEcCK0n5GVg

CANADA

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Wild Ontario 

coyote caught 

on video playing

 fetch likely

 ‘practising hunting’

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Tristin Hopper | January 11, 2016 | Last Updated: Jan 12 8:35 AM ET
More from Tristin Hopper | @TristinHopper

YouTubeAn Ontario coyote frolics with a dog ball in this video uploaded to YouTube on January 8.

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While Ontario’s coyotes are usually taking heat
for wiping out moose or snagging housecats, a
recent video of one of the canines playing fetch
with itself has captured the heart of the Internet.

“I saw this guy playing on the hill while I was
 getting ready for work,” wrote Ontario-based
 YouTube user Evnissyen alongside an
 86-second video of a coyote chasing the
“neighbour-dog’s ball.”

Three times, the animal carries the ball to the
 top of a grassy incline and pursues it as it rolls
 downhill. On the third try, the coyote can be
 seen giving the ball a head start by averting
 its gaze for four seconds before giving chase.

The video then ends with the coyote doing a lap
around the incline before sprinting off into the woods.

In the wild, coyote pups will regularly play fight with
each other, practising pouncing and stealth techniques.

In 2007, U.S. researcher Jonathan Way published a
 study on the “social and play behavior” of the
Eastern Coyote, the coyote-wolf hybrid featured
 in the Ontario video.

Over years of observation in a Massachusetts
urban area, Way saw frequent “chasing,
wrestling and self-play” among coyote pups.

“Included in play were numerous role reversals
 where more dominant coyotes allowed lower
ranked coyotes to pin them to the ground,” he wrote.

Although, similar to humans, play usually
tapers off as coyotes grow up and are forced
 to reserve their hunting and fighting skills for
“real” situations, the report noted.

In March, Pamela Karaz, a photographer in
 rural New York, captured photographs of a
 coyote frolicking with a teddy bear it found on
 her acreage.

“(He) picked it up then proceeded to toss it up
in the air and play with it, just like a dog would
 toss a toy around,” Karaz told Mother Nature News.

Coyotes have even been known to playfully wrestle
 with domestic dogs, although this kind of behavior
 can get a coyote killed if it finds itself becoming
overly accustomed to human populations.

‘In our business, we hate to anthropomorphize

animals, but the act of play serves a purpose’

While the Ontario coyote in the video was frolicking
with a nicked dog toy, sources contacted by the
National Post said there was no need to worry that
the behaviour was inherently evident of a coyote that
 was becoming dangerously accustomed to people. 

“Demonstrating playful behavior like this is not an
 indication that the coyote is being acclimatized to
 people,” said Megan Draheim, a former coyote
 researcher now based at Virginia Tech. “Coyotes
 often play whether or not they live around humans.”

The forest, in fact, is overflowing with unseen
 examples of endearing wildlife behavior.

“I’ve watched ravens climb hills and then roll down
 them over and over again … and I’ve seen a grizzly
sliding down a snow patch over and over again,” said
 Ritcey.

But he added that no wildlife professional would ever
 call these play activities “cute,” per se.

“In our business, we hate to anthropomorphize animals,
 but the act of play serves a purpose,” he said.

Although Evnissyen could not be reached by the
National Post, they are an occasional uploader of
 Southern Ontario wildlife encounters including a
 chipmunk stuffing a peanut into its mouth, sun
fish investigating a glass jar and former Barenaked
 Lady Steven Page playing the Jackson Triggs winery.

While these other videos had barely cracked 100 views,
 as of Monday afternoon “Coyote playing with a ball”
has been seen more than 120,000 times.