There are many animals in Petroglyph National Monument, not all of which are carved in the rocks
Coyotes are adaptable creatures — tolerating a varied diet of both plant and animal life, living in climates hot and cold and wet and dry, and even living in close quarters with humans. My wife and I came across this coyote a few years ago while hiking in Rinconada Canyon in New Mexico’s Petroglpyh National Monument. It was one of a pair that were working their way up the canyon.
We hiked the Rinconada Canyon Trail at Petroglyph National Monument amidst the many petroglyphs new and old, many depicting the animals of the canyon, such as this petroglyph of a bird (a roadrunner perhaps?).
I spotted another bird in the jumbled rocks, this one very much alive, a mourning dove sitting on a thin nest of grasses. We hiked during the evening hours and heard doves calling from all around the park, bringing back fond memories of growing up back east where the coo-coo-cooing of doves serenaded us on many a night.
Sometimes I think I take just a few too many pictures of my cats, but this glyph in the Rinconada Canyon at Petroglyph National Monument makes me think a kindred spirit once roamed these hills. Templeton thought it might be an image made of him, but I thought no since he was far too young. He said in human years yes but in cat years no. I don’t think that’s how it works, but on the other hand …