The female continues digging and cleaning out den holes, sometimes a dozen or more, until the young are born. Then, if one den is disturbed the family moves to another. Sometimes the animals move only a few hundred yards, apparently just to have a cleaner home, leaving many fleas behind. Occasionally a female that has lost her whelps will clean out several holes before becoming reconciled to her loss. Barren females sometimes clean out holes, but they are not found traveling with a mate. Male coyotes also work at many holes in spring but generally to dig out dead rabbits. The tracks of the male will usually be seen at these freshly dug holes, which have a different appearance from those cleaned out for dens, and dried-up rabbit carcasses will generally be found nearby. [Illustration: B34748; B30757 Figure 2.--A, Entrance to a coyote den in a dry creek bank, Morrow County, Oreg.; B, a former Biological Survey predator-control leader at the mouth of the coyote den dug out near Cokeville, Wyo. (Remains of three lambs in foreground, including two skulls out of which the brains had been lapped by coyotes.)] When entering the den, the coyotes almost always go around, not over, the mound, if one is present. Dens may have one or several entrances in use, and several passages may branch from the main one. After the pups are born, small balls of rolled fur and hair from the mother's belly may be found in the dry dirt in the mouth of the den. Parent coyotes have no set time for being at home and may be found near the den at any hour. Although they do most of their killing early in the morning, they sometimes visit the den only at night. They are clean about their dens; so there is little refuse or odor. Methods of Den Hunting The proper time for hunting coyote dens is from April 5 to June 15. If one starts too early, before some of the coyotes have whelped, the territory will have to be covered again. Where signs indicate a late den, however, it should be sought in a follow-up visit. The coyote den is usually made in rougher surroundings than are dens of small burrowing rodents and is normally within reach of water. Contrary to general supposition, however, coyotes do not always have their dens near water. In hilly areas they usually do, but on the large deserts of eastern Oregon the dens are often found as far as 6 miles from water. Coyotes do not go to water regularly unless the weather is warm, and pups do not need water until they are several months old.