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Is this friends with a ? Video shows the two traveling together By USA Today, adapted by Newsela staff on 02.13.20 Word Count 544 Level 820L

Image 1. An unlikely friendship between a coyote (left) and a badger (right) was captured in a wildlife video as they traveled together around the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Scientists have found both benefit by hunting together. Image: Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST)/Pathways for Wildlife

An unexpected pairing was spotted traveling together in California's Bay Area. Experts say they may have been hunting together.

The duo was captured on video moving through a culvert under a highway. A culvert is a drainage tunnel. The video was taken by the Peninsula Open Space Trust. The group is called POST for short. It works to protect land in Northern California for wildlife.

In the footage, the coyote runs ahead. Then it looks behind it. It gives a play bow. A play bow is when a or coyote stretches its front legs out and leans on its elbows. often do this when they play.

Coyote Waits For Its Companion

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. After bowing, the coyote in the video hops around. It is waiting for its companion to follow. The badger trails not far behind. When it catches up, they walk into the tunnel together.

According to POST, and make a great team. They each have special skills that work well together to make it easier for both to hunt prey. Ground squirrels and prairie dogs are some of the they hunt.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has previously seen examples of such pairings. However, POST noted that this is the first time the animals have been seen traveling together through a human- made tunnel.

Not Often Caught On Camera

POST also said badgers are not often caught on camera. The animals are hard to spot because they spend so much of their time underground.

The new video is adorable. It also provides important clues on how best to protect wildlife. The cameras that recorded this footage help conservationists identify "areas of safe passage" in city areas filled with roads and highways.

Wild animals travel and move around to hunt or migrate. As humans live and build on more and more land, there is less area for wildlife to live. This is called habitat loss. Habitat loss threatens the survival of lots of wild animals.

"Areas Of Safe Passage"

Cities and human structures like roads also make it harder for animals to move between areas safely. They are often hit by cars. That is why scientists want to identify "areas of safe passage" for wildlife.

Kitty Block is the president of the Humane Society of the United States, which focuses on protecting animals. After hunting and trapping, habitat loss and roads are the biggest danger for coyotes, Block says.

The government estimates that around a million animals are killed by cars and trucks in America every day.

Coyotes are often hunted and killed because people think they attack humans. Block said that coyotes are actually afraid of people and hunting them is unfair. The Humane Society says coyotes approach humans only when they have been fed by a human.

"Anyone who lives with a dog recognizes that play bow," Block said. She hopes people can relate coyotes to their close cousins, dogs.

"We hope this video will inspire people to treat coyotes with compassion instead of cruelty," Block said.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Quiz

1 Read the section "Not Often Caught On Camera."

Which selection from the section supports the conclusion that humans push many animals out of their homes?

(A) The animals are hard to spot because they spend so much of their time underground.

(B) It also provides important clues on how best to protect wildlife.

(C) Wild animals travel and move around to hunt or migrate.

(D) As humans live and build on more and more land, there is less area for wildlife to live.

2 Read the section "Areas Of Safe Passage."

Which selection from the section shows the greatest threats to coyotes?

(A) Cities and human structures like roads also make it harder for animals to move between areas safely.

(B) After hunting and trapping, habitat loss and roads are the biggest danger for coyotes, Block says.

(C) The government estimates that around a million animals are killed by cars and trucks in America every day.

(D) She hopes people can relate coyotes to their close cousins, dogs.

3 Which sentence from the article supports the main idea of the article?

(A) The video was taken by the Peninsula Open Space Trust.

(B) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has previously seen examples of such pairings.

(C) Habitat loss threatens the survival of lots of wild animals.

(D) "Anyone who lives with a dog recognizes that play bow," Block said.

4 Select the answer that BEST summarizes the article.

(A) In addition to being cute, a recent video of a coyote and badger working together can provide data about how humans impact their environments and aid efforts to protect animals and their habitats.

(B) A recent video from the Bay Area in California shows a coyote and a badger possibly working together to hunt, which is rare to capture on film and supports some scientists' belief that these animals are a good team.

(C) Human development of roads and cities is one of the main threats to the habitat of animals such as coyotes and badgers, which must find alternate or dangerous paths to get to the places they want to go.

(D) Although many people are afraid of coyotes because they believe they are aggressive, this wild cousin of man's best friend will probably not approach humans unless the humans first offer them food.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.