September 19, 2007 – Bones
37°16’34.55″N 122° 9’7.03″W
I came across this coyote carcass on my mountain bike ride this morning, once again in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The spine was right on the property line of the Jikoji Zen Temple and Retreat Center. Despite their peaceful name, I’m not messing with those guys.
I didn’t know what kind of animal it was when I was up there, but the spine was almost 3 feet long from the hipbone (left) to where the skull would attach (right), so clearly a large animal. The thin ribcage and tall dorsal bones made it easy to identify online.