Northern Colorado Bird Alliance Presents

Emma Balunek presenting

“You Go Over, I Go Under: A Study of the Coyote and Badger Hunting Relationship.”

Thursday, October 8th, 2026
Social time with Refreshments: 7:00
Announcements 7:20;
Presentation 7:30;
Fort Collins Senior Center, 1200 Raintree Dr.

***This program will also be accessible online using Zoom***

It will also be viewable in-person at the Senior Center.

Enter the following link on your web browser at 7 p.m. and follow the instructions to join the meeting virtually: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85787681410

Across western North America, coyotes and American badgers sometimes work together to hunt prairie dogs and ground squirrels using their complementary hunting skills. Badgers are excellent diggers and usually hunt below ground, digging up burrows searching for small mammals. Coyotes are opportunistic hunters that seek a wide variety of prey from deer to mice and mostly hunt above ground. When coyotes and badgers work together, burrowing mam-mals, such as prairie dogs, are not safe above or below ground. If a coyote chases a prairie dog into its burrow, the badger has an opportunity to capture the animal, and if a prairie dog escapes the badger and comes above ground, the coyote has an opportunity to catch it.

Although this relationship is described by Indigenous people and early European settlers dating back to at least the 19th century, little research has been done to understand how these two carnivore species work together. To expand on the handful of recent studies, Emma Balunek studied the environmental conditions when coyotes and badgers hunt together with conservation storyteller Michael Forsberg and carnivore ecologist John Benson. Through a mix of conservation, storytelling, and scientific research, Emma hopes her work will create fascination and wonder about prairie wildlife species and the unique relationship they form with one another.

Join us on October 8 for this informative program that is free and open to the public.