More Exposed Coyote Tracks

This week I went to take a photo of one of the bronze coyote tracks I installed last fall, as it had recently become fully exposed in the winter traffic. Unfortunately it bordered on a sizeable pothole, and when I walked up to snap a photo I found it had become dislodged and was laying face-down in said pothole. I stuck it in my pocket and took it home to look at closer - I'll probably reinstall it in the spring. I suppose one risk to positioning these in already-distressed areas of the street is that they may be engulfed by the destruction that comes with winter weather's impact on asphalt.

In April, I will be heading out to Columbia College Chicago to work with students alongside educators Fereshteh Toosi and Joan Giroux. We'll be working with these bronze tracks, and doing some research about predator animals habituating to urban settings, particularly the growing instances of coyotes in Chicago. I'm hoping to get the students interested in some sort of online mapping project which could combine recent urban coyote sightings with placement of these bronze chunks, as well as some combination of whatever new ideas these kids will likely bring to the project. I'm excited to see what directions we'll take...