Lone Coyotes
A naturally diurnal species (awake during the day), coyotes that come into populated areas turn nocturnal as a strategy to avoid contact with humans. It’s a dramatic adaptation, but one that so many people make as well, to work any number of positions necessary to keep society functioning. Security guards, truckers, taxi drivers, people who clean and restock, and so many others defy their circadian rhythms to take work at night. Although there are surely some that prefer it, for many it’s as born of necessity as it is for the coyotes. But like how our nighttime workers are needed and perhaps under-appreciated, so too are the coyotes, who balance urban ecosystems by acting as necessary apex predators in areas where wolves and bears can no longer operate.