Creature Feature: Coyote Not Ugly
Just to set the record straight Wile E. Coyote would have been able to catch the Road Runner in a foot race. The top speed of a coyote is around 40 miles per hour, while it’s only 20 for the roadrunner. Now yes the roadrunner can fly, but coyotes are prodigious predators. This animal is one of the most adaptive and fascinating creatures around. Let’s learn more cool things about them.
Coyotes are members of the Canidae, or wild canid, family. The average coyote stands about 2 feet tall and 3 feet long. Their fur is gray, tan, reddish-brown, black, and white, with a lighter color on their throat, belly, chest, and above their lips. Ears, cheeks, forelegs, and paws are reddish-brown. Coyotes have a double coat with long, black, or gray guard hairs. Their tails are very bushy. Their feet look small for their body, and they have slender, long legs, which carry a slim frame. Those legs allow a coyote to leap 6 feet to catch prey or make a quick getaway. Coyotes have a narrow snout and small nose pad, with large ears relative to their head size.
One of the first accounts of coyotes for European settlers was by naturalist Thomas Say, who traveled with the Lewis and Clark expedition in the early 1800s. It was Say who gave the coyote its scientific name, Canis latrans, which means “barking dog.” When North America was being settled, coyotes were mainly plains animals in southwestern Canada, the central United States, and northern Mexico. Coyotes can now be found in 49 of the 50 states in the US, as they have not yet found a way to reach Hawaii. However, they have successfully swum to islands such as Newfoundland and Elizabeth Island in Massachusetts. The wolves and cougars that prey on coyotes were pushed out of many territories by settlers, which allowed coyotes to expand their range and become the top predator in many areas. The conversion of forests to farmland has benefited coyotes, as they are considered an edge species and prefer the treeline on the edge of fields or farms.
As coyotes moved east, a new sub-species appeared. Eastern coyotes, Canis latrans var. (what we have here), evolved from the hybridization of western coyotes with eastern wolves, Canis lycaon, after settlers expedited the wolves’ removal from the great lakes region. With fewer wolves, the remaining population was forced to mate with coyotes. Would we have this subspecies if it wasn’t for humans? Due to hybridization, eastern coyotes differ in appearance and behavior from their western counterparts. Eastern coyotes tend to be larger, with male individuals weighing 30-40 pounds and having an average length of 3-4 feet, standing about 2 feet tall. Females are slightly smaller in all aspects. The western coyote is 18-30 pounds, 2 ½-4 feet long, and 1 ½-2 feet tall. Eastern coyotes have non-sweating feet, a trait inherited from their wolf genes. Eastern coyote pups are more playful and less aggressive, similar to wolf pups. There are approximately 19 subspecies of coyotes that roam North and Central America.
Coyote senses are phenomenal. They have a nose that is 10 times greater than our own. Coyotes are formidable predators with large, keen ears that can detect higher frequencies than dogs and forward-facing eyes. Coyotes are opportunistic omnivores, with the majority of their diet consisting of rodents (40%), small animals like rabbits (15%), fawns (20%), and native fruits (20%). They will also consume garbage and, rarely, pets, which make up the rest of their diet. An easy meal of carrion or road kill is also an important part of their diet. These percentages hold true whether the coyotes live in an urban or rural area. When looking at a coyote's diet you can see some interesting trends. Coyotes preying on fawns help keep the vehicle vs. deer percentage down in an area. They also keep the Canada geese population in check. In urban areas, they will hunt feral cats, and this actually helps the songbird numbers increase in those areas.
Coyotes do not hunt in packs! They hunt their prey alone or in small family units while teaching pups to hunt. They stalk their prey, using all their senses to locate and capture a meal. They are not bloodthirsty beasts; they don’t kill an animal just to kill it. They eat what they kill. In nature, there are always exceptions to the rules. In extremely harsh times they will form a temporary pack to take down a full-grown deer. They have been observed teaming up with other animals to catch prey. One researcher saw a badger and a coyote team up to hunt a woodchuck. The coyote would wait by the back exit of a burrow while the badger chased the woodchuck down the main entrance. If the woodchuck came out the back door the coyote got the meal, however, if he stayed underground the badger got dinner.
Coyotes hunting strategies change depending on the season and location. In this area, because of our seasonal changes, coyotes scavenge more in the winter rather than actively hunt. In the spring they’ll hunt mostly rodents. In the summer they feast on a large number of insects. Autumn is the time they eat more of their fruits and veggies. In milder climates, there is less of a change in coyote feeding habits.
All this prey is found within a well-defined territory, which is fiercely defended. The size of these territories depends on the amount of food. In rural areas, they keep larger ranges, anywhere from 8 to 40 square miles. In urban areas, their territories are considerably smaller, usually 1 to 10 square miles. The city coyotes do not need larger areas because there are plenty of rodents in a more concentrated area. In urban and city settings the coyotes’ home range consists of parks, cemeteries, golf courses, and really, any green space. Scent marking and vocalization are useful tactics for coyotes to mark their territory.
The number of urban coyotes is on the rise. In cities, people tend to fear coyotes. They fear for the safety of their children and pets. Although coyotes typically avoid humans, they prefer to come out at night and stay in green spaces. The reason behind the increase in these city slickers is the lack of free territory in rural areas and the ever-growing human population. When offspring leave their parents they have to find their own territory, with some traveling over 100 miles to find a vacancy. This is one of the reasons for the great migration of coyotes and their urbanization. And this is also the reason we’ll never get rid of them, not that we should anyways. Some urban and suburban areas have tried to control the coyote population by lethal means with very little success. When you remove some of the population you will either get more individuals moving in, or the remaining population will have more offspring.
Coyote reproduction is interesting, with a built-in mechanism to prevent overpopulation. Defined territories help control the population, and the size of the litter varies based on food availability and hunting pressure. During periods of food scarcity, litters tend to be small. In an area with a lot of hunting pressure, coyotes might have a larger litter. Howling activity has been shown to affect litter size. Additionally, 70% of coyote pups do not survive to adulthood.
Female coyotes reach sexual maturity at ten months old but don’t usually breed until their second year. They only go into heat once a year, in January or February. The males only produce sperm for about the first third of the year. This will help them not waste energy trying to mate with a non-receptive female. When the female is in heat she’ll attract several males, who will all be vying for her attention. She’ll then pick her mate by playful gestures, like licking his chin and nudging his chest. They will remain monogamous for at least that breeding season, but usually just for a few seasons. Some pairs are known to have been together for ten years.
The pups arrive in late March or into April. A litter averages about four to six. They are born in a den that was prepared before their birth. Coyotes actually arrange a few dens ahead of time. This way if there is any evidence of human activity or predators they will move the pups to one of the alternatives. Dens are oriented to maximize solar exposure. The pups are fully weaned by 7 weeks and they are full size by 9 months. By fall the pups are six to nine months old and ready to leave home. Some will stay behind to help their parents raise next year’s litter.
Survival for coyotes in the wild is difficult but they have learned how to adapt. Early settler accounts say that coyotes were much more social, assembling in large groups on the plains. As humans moved in, coyotes became less social, making them less noticeable. Coyotes thrive due to their opportunistic eating habits. Another way they have adapted to survive is by moving into cities, where there is a higher concentration of food, including more garbage and mice/rats as a result of human presence. They have learned to live in a human world by becoming more nocturnal to avoid us. They have learned traffic patterns, and it’s been observed that they’ll look only one way down a one-way street, or regularly cross eight-lane highways. Using the noise of a moving train to sneak up on prey is another way they’ve taken advantage of city life.
People may worry about coyotes due to concerns for their children or pets. However, coyote attacks on humans are very rare and occur less frequently than deaths caused by errant golf balls or flying champagne corks. If a coyote does not run away when encountering humans, it likely means that the animal has become habituated to people, likely due to being fed by humans through handouts, unsecured garbage, or pet food left outside. When coyotes become habituated, they may approach humans looking for food and exhibit what is perceived as "too tame" or aggressive behavior. Hazing techniques, such as using scare tactics, can help re-establish the natural fear of humans in these animals. To keep small children and pets safe, it's important to supervise them when outside, and keep pets on a 6-foot or shorter leash when off your property.
Understanding and educating ourselves about coyotes is crucial for better interaction with these fascinating creatures. This article aimed to provide insights into the coyotes and increase appreciation for them. By being informed, we can ensure safe and harmonious coexistence with coyotes in our communities.
Journal Prompt for the Month of February
Notice, Wonder, Remind
Notice: Focus on a drawing or writing about what you can observe with your senses.
Wonder: As you write or draw, note questions you have about what you are observing.
It Reminds Me Of: Does what you are observing remind you of something else you have observed? Does it remind you of an event in your life when you observed something similar or felt the same way?
As always with nature journaling, starting your journal entry with the date, time, location, and weather conditions is good practice.
Submitted by: Cathay Wesley, naturalist, January 2023