Coyote (Canis latrans) Overview
The coyote, one of eight species within the genus Canis, is a resilient and adaptable member of the dog family (Canidae). Known for their iconic vocalizations and remarkable adaptability, coyotes are found throughout North America, from the vast wilderness of Alaska to the dense urban areas of major cities. Their intelligence and opportunistic nature have allowed them to thrive in diverse habitats, ranging from open plains and grasslands to mountainous regions and deserts. Coyotes play a crucial role in the ecosystem as both predators and scavengers, maintaining the balance of various animal populations. Despite their often elusive nature, coyotes are an integral part of the natural landscape and have a fascinating array of behaviors and characteristics that make them one of the most intriguing members of the Canidae family.
Class: Mammalia;
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae Genus:
Canis Species: latrans
The scientific name for coyotes, Canis latrans, translates to “barking dog.”
Physical Characteristics of Coyotes: Size, Fur, and Appearance
Coyotes are medium-sized members of the dog family (Canidae) and have a striking resemblance to a small German Shepherd or a large fox. They typically weigh between 20 to 50 pounds, with males generally being larger than females. Coyotes have a slender, athletic build with long, thin legs, and a bushy tail that is often held low. Their fur varies in color from grayish-brown to yellowish-gray, with a lighter underbelly and often a black-tipped tail. In mountainous regions, their fur tends to be thicker and darker, while desert coyotes have shorter, tan, or light grey coats. Their pointed ears, which are highly mobile and sensitive, allow them to detect the faintest sounds, crucial for hunting and avoiding danger. Coyotes’ feet have five digits on the forefeet, including a vestigial dewclaw, and four digits on the hind feet. They are digitigrade, meaning they walk on their toes, which enhances their ability to run swiftly and silently. These physical adaptations, combined with their sharp, intelligent eyes, make coyotes well-suited to their adaptable and opportunistic lifestyle.
Black Coyotes: Rare Color Morph and Physical Characteristics
Black coyotes are a rare color morph of the typical coyote (Canis latrans). While most coyotes have a grayish-brown to yellowish-gray coat, black coyotes have predominantly dark fur, sometimes mixed with lighter patches. This coloration is due to a genetic mutation and is more commonly found in regions where coyotes interbreed with domestic dogs, leading to a wider variety of coat colors.
Despite their unique appearance, black coyotes share the same physical characteristics and adaptations as their more commonly colored counterparts. They typically weigh between 20 to 50 pounds and have the same slender, athletic build with long, thin legs and a bushy tail. Their pointed ears are highly mobile and sensitive, allowing them to detect faint sounds, crucial for hunting and avoiding danger. Their feet, equipped with five digits on the forefeet (including a vestigial dewclaw) and four digits on the hind feet, enhance their ability to run swiftly and silently, a key trait for these digitigrade animals.
Black coyotes, like other coyotes, are highly adaptable and can thrive in various environments, from open grasslands to urban areas. This rare color variation adds to the fascinating diversity within the coyote population.
Geographic Range and Habitat of Coyotes
The ubiquitous coyote is found throughout North America from eastern Alaska to New England and south through Mexico to Panama. It originally ranged primarily in the northwest corner of the US, but it has adapted readily to the changes caused by human occupation and, in the past 200 years, has been steadily extending its range. Sightings now commonly occur in Florida, New England, and Canada.
Coyotes inhabit all life zones of the desert southwest, from low valley floors to the highest mountain crests, but they are particularly common in open plains, grasslands, and high mesas. While their natural habitat is open grassland, coyotes will move to wherever food is available. Studies indicate that in deserts, valleys, and low foothills, coyotes typically occupy a range of no more than 10 to 12 square miles. In mountainous areas, they likely have separate summer and winter ranges, as heavy snows drive them to lower elevations during the colder months.
Coyote Adaptations and Urban Survival
One of the most adaptable animals in the world, the coyote can change its breeding habits, diet, and social dynamics to survive in a wide variety of habitats. Coyotes have made their way into almost every major city, thriving in both rural and urban environments. As opportunistic animals, they will eat almost anything, which makes their adaptation to different environments easier. Their intelligence contributes to their reputation as tricksters in folklore.
Coyotes are known for their remarkable agility, capable of jumping fences or digging under them to access food sources. They are smart enough to exploit unsecured human properties, scavenging from trash cans, and pet food dishes, and even preying on small pets left alone in yards. Coyotes typically take their prey to safe locations to consume it, leaving almost no trace of their meals, which helps them remain undetected.
Their ability to blend into suburban neighborhoods often leads to them being mistaken for domestic dogs. Despite this, coyotes maintain a high level of wariness around humans, which aids in their survival. Their adaptability extends to their social structures, as they can live alone, in pairs, or packs, adjusting their behavior based on the availability of resources and environmental conditions. This incredible flexibility has allowed coyotes to flourish in diverse settings, from the open plains to bustling urban centers.
Coyote Diet: Food and Hunting Strategies
Coyotes are highly adaptable and opportunistic predators, capable of hunting both day and night. They travel extensively within their range, running swiftly to catch prey with ease. Their diet is incredibly varied, allowing them to thrive on whatever food sources are available in their environment. Coyotes consume meat and fish, whether fresh or spoiled and at times they eat fruits and vegetables, even raiding melon patches.
Although coyotes have been observed killing sheep, poultry, and other livestock, they do not primarily subsist on domestic animals. Studies of their food habits reveal that their principal diet consists of mice, rabbits, ground squirrels, other small rodents, insects, reptiles, and the fruits and berries of wild plants.
As opportunistic predators, coyotes employ various hunting techniques to catch small mammals like rabbits and squirrels, which make up the bulk of their diet. While they often hunt alone for smaller prey, they may join others to hunt larger mammals such as young deer, goats, or ponies. Coyotes use their excellent sense of smell to track prey, then stalk it for 20-30 minutes before pouncing. They may also rely on their stamina to chase prey over long distances, striking when the quarry is exhausted.
During dry seasons, coyotes may dig for water or find cattle tanks to quench their thirst. They also derive moisture from their diet, consuming foods that contain water, including coyote melons found in the desert. While these melons taste terrible to humans, they provide essential moisture for coyotes and javelinas.
Urban coyotes take advantage of human-provided water sources such as swimming pools, dog water dishes, ponds, and water hazards at golf courses. Despite their adaptability to urban environments, the majority of coyotes remain elusive and rarely encounter people.
Understanding Coyote Behavior
Coyote Sounds: How and Why They Communicate
Coyotes are known for their iconic vocalizations, which include howls, yelps, barks, and huffing. These sounds are used for communication, territory marking, and social bonding. The coyote is one of the few wild animals whose vocalizations are commonly heard. At night coyotes both howl (a high quavering cry) and emit a series of short, high-pitched yips. Howls are used to keep in touch with other coyotes in the area. Sometimes, when it is first heard, the listener may experience a tingling fear of primitive danger, but to the seasoned outdoorsman, the howl of the coyote is truly a song of the West.
Examples of Coyote Sounds:
- Howling: Used to keep in touch with other coyotes and announce territory.
- Yelping: Indicates playfulness or criticism within a group.
- Barking: The scientific name for coyotes means “Barking dog,” Canis latrans. The bark is a threat display, particularly near dens or kills.
- Huffing: Used to call pups without making too much noise.
Coyote Social Behavior and Survival Strategies
Coyotes are highly territorial animals, maintaining their domains alone, in pairs, or packs. They mark their territories using urine, a behavior known as scent marking, which communicates boundaries to other coyotes. Vocalizations, such as howls, barks, and yelps, are also used to defend territories, strengthen social bonds, and facilitate general communication among pack members.
Coyotes possess highly developed senses of smell, vision, and hearing, which, combined with their natural evasiveness, allow them to thrive in both wild and suburban areas. Their acute hearing helps them detect prey and avoid danger, while their keen sense of smell is essential for locating food and marking territory. Their sharp vision is well-suited for both daytime and nighttime activities.
Coyotes are remarkably agile and can leap over eight-foot fences or walls with ease. They have even been observed climbing 14-foot cyclone fences, showcasing their impressive physical capabilities and adaptability in both natural and urban environments. Additionally, coyotes are known for their speed, capable of running up to 40 mph, which aids them in hunting and evading predators.
Coyote Reproduction: Breeding and Raising Pups
At the onset of the mating season in January, lone male coyotes gather around a receptive female to court her. Despite the attention from multiple suitors, the female will form a monogamous bond with only one male. The chosen pair may travel together before mating, which typically occurs in January or February.
The female coyote gives birth to one litter per year, consisting of three to nine pups, usually born in April or May when food is plentiful. The gestation period lasts approximately 63 to 65 days.
Born blind and helpless in a natal den, the pups’ eyes open after about 14 days. A few days later, they begin to explore their surroundings. Initially dependent on their mother’s milk, the pups suckle for five to seven weeks. They start eating semi-solid food regurgitated by both parents after about three weeks. Although the male supports the family by providing food, the mother typically does not allow him to enter the den fully.
The pups live and play in the den until they are six to ten weeks old, at which point the mother begins taking them out to hunt as a group. As the summer progresses, the family unit gradually disbands. By fall, the young coyotes usually start hunting independently. Within a year, they leave to establish their territories, which they mark with the scent of their urine to signal ownership and ward off potential intruders.
Coyote Conservation: Balancing Control and Preservation
Coyotes have long been one of the most controversial non-game animals in North America. Agricultural interests have advocated for their control by any means necessary to prevent actual and potential livestock losses. Since 1891, when the first coyote control programs were initiated in California, nearly 500,000 coyotes have been reported destroyed, costing taxpayers an estimated $30 million.
Environmentalists, however, firmly believe that coyotes are essential for preserving the balance of nature. Some sportsmen argue that coyotes contribute to the decline in game species, but biologists generally agree that while individual animals preying on livestock and poultry should be managed, the species as a whole is not inherently harmful. Much of a coyote’s diet consists of destructive rodents, and their populations have no lasting negative effects on other wildlife populations.
The controversy over coyote management continues, with various stakeholders holding differing views on the best approach. In California, coyotes have recently been classified as non-game animals and may be taken year-round with a hunting license. Despite the ongoing hunting and intensive efforts to reduce their numbers, coyotes remain resilient. On a quiet night, the haunting song of the “Little Wolf” can still be heard echoing throughout the desert southwest, a testament to their enduring presence and adaptability.
Coyote vs. Wolf: How to Tell the Difference
Coyotes and wolves, though both members of the Canidae family, have distinct differences that can help you tell them apart. Coyotes are generally smaller, weighing between 20 to 50 pounds, while wolves are larger, typically weighing between 70 to 120 pounds. Coyotes have a slender, more agile build with long, thin legs and a narrow snout, whereas wolves have a bulkier, more robust frame with a broader snout and larger head. The fur of a coyote tends to be tan or light gray with a black-tipped tail, while wolves often have thicker, darker coats that vary in color from gray to black or even white. Coyotes are known for their iconic vocalizations, including high-pitched yips and howls, whereas wolf howls are deeper and more resonant. Additionally, coyote tracks are smaller and more oval-shaped compared to the larger, rounder tracks left by wolves. By noting these physical characteristics and behaviors, you can more easily distinguish between these two fascinating species.
Fox vs. Coyote: How to Tell the Difference
Foxes and coyotes, both members of the Canidae family, have several key differences that make them distinguishable. Foxes are generally much smaller than coyotes, with foxes weighing between 8 to 15 pounds and coyotes weighing between 20 to 50 pounds. Foxes have a more delicate build, with a slender body, pointed face, and bushy tail that often has a white tip. In contrast, coyotes have a more robust and muscular build, a broader face, and a bushy tail with a black tip. The fur of a fox can vary widely in color, including red, gray, and even silver, while coyotes typically have tan or light gray fur. Foxes are known for their high-pitched, yipping calls, which differ from the coyote’s iconic howls and yelps. Additionally, foxes tend to be more solitary and elusive, while coyotes can be seen alone, in pairs, or packs. By observing these physical traits and behaviors, you can more easily tell a fox from a coyote. Learn more about the Fennec Fox, Gray Fox, and the Kit Fox.
