Coyotes
Arctic Fox Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species: Latrans
Scientific Name
Canis latrans
Conservation status
Least Concern
LIFE SPAN
3 years in the wild
13-15 years in captivity
Body size
18-44 lbs
about two feet at the shoulder
Native habitat
Historically, coyotes tended to live in wolf-free areas where prey animals were numerous. These locations included grasslands and deserts across the United States and Canada. After the wolf was hunted to near extinction, the coyote no longer had any competition and thus expanded its range further across North America and extended into Central America.
Diet
Coyotes are primarily carnivores animals whose diet will depend on the prey animals available in a given location. For example, a coyote here in Tennessee might feed mainly on white-tailed deer, groundhogs, and turkeys. A coyote in Wyoming, however, would have a diet including animals like pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs, and even rattlesnakes!
Cool Coyote Facts
The coyote is a significant figure in Native American folklore, and is often depicted as a trickster.
The word “Coyote” comes from the Nahuatl word “coyōtl”
Coyotes are more closely related to the red wolf than to the grey wolf
Coyotes are able to mate with domestic dogs, and their offspring will be fertile
Coyotes help regulate our ecosystem!
The smaller cousin of the gray and red wolves, the coyote is an important part of the ecosystem across North America. Coyotes are at the top of the food chain, along with animals like wolves, cougars, and bears. While some may see coyotes as pest, coyotes ensure that animals like deer do not become overpopulated.
Coyotes use a variety of vocalizations, body language cues to communicate, as well as sent marking. When living in areas free from humans, coyotes have been found to hunt both during the day and night. When coyotes live within close proximity to humans, however, their hunting tends to be done mostly at night, dawn, and dusk.
A coyote’s appearance will vary depending on where the animal makes its home. There are (at least) 19 subspecies of coyote, each having evolved to blend in with the biome where it lives. Eastern coyotes are generally larger than coyotes found out west, which is theorized to be caused by interbreeding with Grey Wolves.
A photo comparing eastern coyotes with western coyotes from The Withywyndle Nature Blog
Our Coyotes
