Coyote

For other uses, see Coyote (disambiguation).

Coyote
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Canidae
Genus:	Canis
Species:	C. latrans
Binomial name
Canis latrans Say, 1823
Coyote range

The coyote (Canis latrans, meaning "barking dog") also prairie wolf [2]) is a member of the Canidae (dog) family and a close relative of the Gray Wolf. There are 19 recognized subspecies of coyotes (Voigt and Berg, 1999). Coyotes are native to North America and are found from Alaska to Panama. European explorers first encountered these canines during their travels in the American Southwest. They may occasionally assemble in small packs, but generally hunt alone. Coyotes live an average of 6 to 10 years. The word "coyote" was borrowed from Mexican Spanish, which itself borrowed the term from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word coyōtl (IPA [ˈkojoːtɬ]).

The coyote looks very similar to the endangered red wolf in profile. They have similar size, color and head shape.

Despite being extensively hunted, the coyote is one of the few medium-to-large-sized animals that has enlarged its range since human encroachment began (another is the raccoon). It originally ranged primarily in the western half of North America, but it has adapted readily to the changes caused by human occupation and, since the early 19th century, has been steadily extending its range. Sightings now commonly occur in California, New England, and eastern Canada. Coyotes have moved into most of the areas of North America formerly occupied by wolves, and are often observed foraging in suburban trashcans.

Anatomy

Coyote profile

A closeup of a Coyote

The coyote stands less than 0.6 meters (2 ft) tall and varies in color from white-gray to tan with sometimes a reddish tint to its coat. A coyote's ears and nose appear long and pointed, especially in relation to the size of its head. It weighs between 9 and 22 kilograms (20–50 lb), averaging 14 kilograms (31 lb). The coyote can be identified by its thick, bushy tail, which it often holds low to the ground. It can be distinguished from its much larger relative, the Gray Wolf, by its overall slight appearance compared to the massive size and stockiness of the bigger canid, which typically weighs 34 to 57 kilograms (74 to 125 lb). The coyote is an extremely lean animal and may appear underfed even if healthy.

The northeast coyote and the Cape Cod coyote are thought to be a hybrid with the Red Wolf (Parker 1995). Coyotes can also hybridize and produce fertile offspring with Gray Wolves and domestic dogs. However, practical constraints such as the timing of estrus cycles and the need for both parents to care for the pups limit such crosses in the wild. Hybrids between coyotes and domestic dogs are known as "coydogs".

Behavior

A coyote in the forest

Coyotes were once essentially diurnal, but they've adapted to more nocturnal behavior with pressure from humans (McClennen et al, 2001).

They are highly adaptable and live in a variety of different niches. Their behavior can vary widely depending on where they live, but in general they live in packs yet hunt singly in search of small mammals including rabbits, mice, shrews, voles, squirrels, grouse, carrion, insects and sometimes sheep, and fish. In areas where coyotes and deer co-exist, an adult coyote will typically prey on one fawn per year (Voigt and Berg, 1999). The majority of deer found in coyote scats comes from carrion, such as road-killed and hunter-killed deer or victims of starvation or disease (Morey 2004). The coyote is an omnivore and adapts its diet to the available food sources including fruits, grasses, and vegetables along with small mammals and even trash. In Yellowstone National Park, before the reintroduction of the wolf, coyotes began to fill the wolf's ecological niche, and hunted in packs to bring down large prey. Wolves have since much reduced the coyote population, through both competition and predation. Though wolf/coyote confrontations are usually dominated by the former, coyotes have been known to attack wolves if they outnumber them.Coyote are preyed upon by wolves, bear, and cougar. Coyotes, in turn, compete with smaller canids, such as foxes and sometimes domestic dogs, and will attack these when they encounter them.

Coyotes breed in late January or early February, depending on altitude. Gestation lasts on average 63 days, and litters of four to six pups (average 5.5 pups; Moehlman 1997) are born in late April or early May. Both parents (and often undispersed young from the previous year) help to feed the pups. At three weeks old the pups leave the den under close watch of their parents. Once the pups are eight to twelve weeks old they are taught to hunt. Families stay together through the summer but the young disperse to find their own territories by fall. They usually relocate within ten miles. The young are sexually mature at 1 year of age, although few breed this young (Bekoff 1977).

Hearing a coyote is much more common than seeing one. The calls a coyote makes are high-pitched and variously described as howls, yips, yelps and barks. These calls may be a long rising and falling note (a howl) or a series of short notes (yips). These calls are most often heard at dusk or night, less often during the day. Although these calls are made throughout the year, they are most common during the spring mating season and in the fall when the pups leave their families to establish new territories.

In rural areas, coyotes will respond to human calls. This is most often after the coyotes have started a howling session. They will also respond to recorded howls. In some of these areas, the coyotes will stop and wait for the humans to stop before resuming their howling session, once they've figured out that it isn't another coyote that has been calling to them. In areas where the coyotes have grown accustomed to humans calling back to them, they tend to continue with simpler calls back to the humans and return to more complex calls when the humans get tired of calling to them. Playing a recorded wolf howl will make them stop for up to an hour before they start in again, probably because wolves prey upon coyotes.

Coyotes also thrive in suburban settings and even some urban ones. A study by wildlife ecologists at Ohio State University yielded some surprising findings in this regard. Researchers studied coyote populations in Chicago over a six-year period (2000–2006), proposing that coyotes have adapted well to living in densely populated urban environments while avoiding contact with humans. They found, among other things, that urban coyotes tend to live longer than their rural counterparts, kill rodents and small pets, and live anywhere from parks to industrial areas. The researchers estimate that there are up to 2,000 coyotes living in Chicagoland and that this circumstance may well apply to many other urban landscapes in North America. In Washington DC's Rock Creek Park, coyotes den and raise their young, and scavenge roadkill and rodents. "I don't see it as a bad thing for a park," the assigned National Park Service biologist told a reporter for Smithsonian Magazine (March 2006). "I see it as good for keeping animal populations in control, like the squirrels and the mice." As a testament to the coyote's habitat adaptability, a coyote (known as "Hal") was even captured in Manhattan's Central Park in March 2006 after being chased by city wildlife officials for two days.

On April 3, 2007, a coyote in Chicago caused something of a stir when it walked in to a sandwich shop in the Loop (the downtown business district). The coyote wandered through the propped-open door of a Quiznos submarine sandwich shop in downtown Chicago. Animal control officers removed the coyote about an hour after it first entered the shop.

Relationship with humans

A coyote in the Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona.

Coyote predation on pets (especially cats and small dogs) in suburban areas has become common in recent decades and attacks on children and adults, once rare, appear to be on the increase. Timm et al. (2004) analyzed 89 verified coyote attacks on humans (55% on adults, 45% on children) in California from 1978-2003. One or more people were injured in 56 of these attacks. They found a clear pattern of behavioral changes in coyotes in the lead-up to attacks, including increased sightings around homes (an indication that the coyote has lost its fear of people) and predatory interactions (e.g. attacks on pets during daylight, chasing of joggers and bicyclists, and stalking of children's play areas - these behaviours have often been associated to people feeding them). The most serious attacks in the Timm et al. study (and other studies that they review) were on small children: when coyotes become habituated to people, they view children as potential prey and a running child is likely to elicit orientation and attack behaviors.

Coyotes are generally wary of humans and are easily frightened by loud noises.

Human feeding of coyotes, known as "subsidizing," can lead to habituation, in which a group of animals becomes comfortable in the presence of humans. Human feeding of wildlife other than birds is almost always discouraged by scientists and wildlife mangement personnel, because the changes in animal behavior can lead to a range of problems, including a weakening of natural hunting and foraging ability, diseases related to poor and unnatural diet, and, most significantly in the case of predatory carnivores, boldness around and intimidation of humans.

In 1981 in Glendale, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, a 3 year old girl was killed by a coyote. This remains the only known fatality of a human as a result of a coyote attack. This attack was the direct result of organized feeding of coyotes during neighborhood social events, a prevalent precursor to almost all known attacks. City officials in Glendale, led by Police Capt. Mike Post, established the effective coyote management program noted in the Timm et al. study. The primary goals of that program were to prevent attacks through public education with coyote trapping considered only when obvious habituation to human food sources had occurred or to remove an injured or otherwise unhealthy coyote.

Despite this, coyotes still pose very little threat to an adult human and, at an average of just 35 lbs in weight, are less intimidating than some domestic dogs. Coyotes were interbred with several hound breeds to produce the Blue Lacy, the state dog of Texas.

There once was a high demand for coyote pelts in North America, especially in Canada. In the 1970s the price of a good coyote pelt was up to $180.00. As of 2007, the average pelt in Saskatchewan is only worth $60.00. This is partly because more people find it inhumane to hunt and kill these animals just for their pelts.

Character in mythology

Main article: Coyote (mythology)

A coyote in the grass with snow

Many myths from Native American peoples include a character whose name is translated into English as "Coyote". He can play the role of trickster or culture hero (or both), and also often appears in creation myths and just-so stories.

Specifically, to the Navajo people the coyote is known as God's dog.

Contemporary cultural references

Main article: Coyotes in popular culture

The Coyote is a popular figure in folklore and popular culture. Reference may invoke either the animal or the mythological figure. Traits commonly described in pop culture appearances include inventiveness, mischievousness, and evasiveness. These traits may be exaggerated in American cinema.

Subspecies

• Canis latrans latrans
• C. latrans cagottis
• C. latrans clepticus
• C. latrans dickeyi
• C. latrans frustor
• C. latrans goldmani
• C. latrans hondurensis
• C. latrans impavidus
• C. latrans incolatus
• C. latrans jamesi
• C. latrans lestes
• C. latrans mearnsi
• C. latrans microdon
• C. latrans ochropus
• C. latrans peninsulae
• C. latrans texensis
• C. latrans thamnos
• C. latrans umpquensis
• C. latrans vigilis

External links

• Information on the Coyote
• Coyotes in the Southern Rockies
• Indiana Coyote Rescue Center
• Coyote Video by Mooncusser Films.
• Coyote Wildlife Information from Desert USA
• Stseptekwle – Stories of the Secwepemc including several coyote legends.
• Eastern Coyote Homepage
• Eastern coyote Q&A with a carnivore ecologist
• Pictures of the Coyote

Gallery

• 
  Ancient drawing
• 
  Fantastic reconstruction

References

• "Canis latrans". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 23 March. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Robert M. Timm, Hopland Research & Extension Center, University of California, Hopland, California ; Rex O. Baker, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona (retired), Corona, California ; Joe R. Bennett, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, Taft, California ; and Craig C. Coolahan, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, Sacramento, California, "Coyote Attacks: An Increasing Suburban Problem" (March 3, 2004). Hopland Research & Extension Center. Paper timm_baker_P047.
• http://repositories.cdlib.org/anrrec/hrec/timm_baker_P047
• Bekoff, Marc. 1977. Canis Latrans, Species Account. American Society of Mammalogists.
• McClennen, N., R. Wigglesworth, and S. H. Anderson. 2001. "The effect of suburban and agricultural development on the activity patterns of coyotes (Canis latrans), American Midland Naturalist, vol. 146: 27-36.
• Moehlman, P., and H. Hofer. 1997. "Cooperative breeding, reproductive suppression, and body mass in canids", chapter in Cooperative Breeding in Canids, ed. N. G. Solomon and J. A. French. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
• Morey, Paul. 2004. "Landscape use and diet of coyotes, Canis latrans, in the Chicago metropolitan area", Masters Thesis, Utah State University.
• Parker, Gerry. 1995. "Eastern Coyote: Story of Its Success", Nimbus Publishing, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
• Voigt, D. R., and W. E. Berg. 1999. "Coyote", chapter 28 in Wild Furbearer Management and Conservation in North America, Section IV: Species Biology, Management, and Conservation. Queen's Printer for Ontario, Ontario, Canada.