Coyote: God's Dog

Coyotes are social, intelligent, and cunning animals. Coyotes are so smart, that Native Americans considered them an important part of their cosmology. Tribes of the southwest refer to them as God’s dogs.

They are about the size of a small dog and average about 30 pounds. Coyotes share their looks and tracks with wolves in physical appearance, but they are a bit smaller in size.

Coyotes are members of the Canidae family which also includes wolves, dogs, and foxes.

Coyotes Adapt

Despite their smaller size, they are very resourceful and successful in their adaptation to living in diverse habitats. They have moved from the wide-open plains to the forests, deserts, and even cities like Los Angeles.

Modern coyotes have shown their smartness by living in a changing American landscape. There is a good chance of spotting a coyote all over North America. Most likely, there are more coyotes now than ever before.

Grace, an Eastern Coyote, rehabilitated and released by Fox run EEC. Photo by Ame Vanorio - taken with telephoto lens

Species Variation

Coyotes have pointed ears, narrow muzzles, and a long bushy tail. Their eyes are yellow. Dogs have brown eyes.

There are 19 subspecies of coyotes in the USA. Many of them overlap in population distribution.

The coyote’s fur color tends to vary depending on where they live. In the southwest, they are lighter colored with tawny or whitish-grey fur.

Northern coyotes have thicker denser fur as expected that is darker grey with brown and black markings.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) lists them as a species of least concern and states they are even expanding their range. They have kept moving south and are now close to the border between Central and South America in eastern Panama.

Coyote Hybrids

Coyotes sometimes breed with dogs and/or wolves. Both coydog and coywolf hybrids exist however, they are not common.

Coyotes and dogs are unlikely to mate in part because they are antagonistic towards each other. In addition, their mating season occurs at different times of the year.

Pups from wild coyotes and dog mating are less likely to survive due to the parents being unwilling to work together.

The Eastern coyote subspecies are thought to stem from pairings between the gray wolf and the western coyote as they expanded their territory. This was in part due to the human destruction of the wolf. Wolves had fewer of their own species to mate with.

Through dentition studies, scientists are able to decide if the animal is a subspecies or hybrid.

A coywolf hybrid conceived in captivity between a male gray wolf and a female coyote.

What Do Coyotes Eat?

Coyotes are carnivores and prey on small mammals. Rabbits, squirrels, and rodents are common food sources. They will also eat turtles, fish and frogs. Coyotes will work together to bring down larger prey such as white-tailed deer.

They adjust their techniques depending on available prey and change their feeding behaviors according to the situation.

They can jump over or dig under fences, and they are smart enough to take their food to safe places to eat and leave almost no sign of what they ate. In the suburbs, people might think they are dogs.

In rural areas, coyotes are active during the day and night. In urban areas, these shy animals exhibit more nocturnal traits in order to avoid humans.

Coyotes are also prey for larger carnivores such as wolves, bears, and cougars.

Benefits To The Environment

• Rodent control which helps to control parasites and disease

• Limit mesocarnivore populations such as raccoons and skunks by competing for food sources so there is more balance.

• Cleans up carrion (dead stuff)

Where Do Coyotes Live?

The natural native living habitat of coyotes is open grassland where they can find small mammals to prey upon. However, they have expanded their range to include a wide variety of ecosystems.

Areas having a lot of food and not many people are their favorite occupied territories. They often live in woodlands along creeks and rivers.

In cities, green spaces are where you're most likely to see coyotes. This includes parks, preserves, walking/biking trails, golf courses, and neighborhoods with more landscaping or other natural features.

If you spot a coyote, give it a lot of space. Since they are wild animals, they demand to be treated with respect.

Range

Some studies show that a coyote's home range is up to 10 or 12 square miles in the desert, valleys, and low foothills. In more urban areas the coyotes may be limited to a two-mile or less square radius.

In mountainous areas, they have a summer range and a winter range because heavy snow forces them to the lower grounds.

Reproduction

The males and females are generally monogamous and stay together sometimes for their lifetime. They are social animals that often live in small family groups.

The female is only fertile a few days a year, so they only have a short time to mate usually from January to March. After carrying her pups for about two months, the female will give birth to about six pups inside the den.

The most a litter can have is 19 puppies, which is a lot. Because the babies are small, blind, and almost completely helpless when they are born, both parents help feed and care for them, but the mother does most of the work.

Around six to nine months old, the young coyotes will be able to live on their own without their parents. Males often leave the pack to find their own luck, but females stick around for much longer and sometimes help raise and feed the next litter.

Their normal living span is 10 years in the wild and 18 or 20 years in captivity. Coyotes often die from being shot, getting sick, or getting hit by cars.

Singing Dogs

Like the other canids, coyotes are very vocal. In fact, their scientific name Canis latrans means barking dog. They have approximately twelve different sounds they make including yipping and howling.

Listen to the coyotes howling at Yellowstone National Park below.

Coyote pup in rehabilitation. Photo by Ame Vanorio

Rescue and Rehabilitation

I (Ame) once had a juvenile coyote brought to me that had been hit on a highway in northern Kentucky. Her hip had been broken and she was in obvious pain.

I attempted to keep her quiet so she would heal but she was quite anxious. Getting her to eat and take meds was difficult.

Well, I thought I had her secured in a large dog cage which was inside a room in the barn. However, she escaped, jumped out the window, and was gone. I was quite worried about what would become of her and looked and looked for her.

Well, she obviously made it down to the creek and the woods where a wild pack of coyotes lived. I know this because in winter after the leaves had fallen I could see down to the creek from my back porch.

I was thrilled to see “my” coyote pack with a new addition. A smaller coyote was limping but totally a part of the group. She had made it!

Diseases/Zoonoses

Coyotes are a rabies vector species. Typically coyotes are not a common rabies vector species - raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes are the most common.

However, like any mammal coyotes can get rabies. During the summer of 2022, a coyote in Virginia bit three people before being killed. That animal tested positive for rabies which also explains the aggressive behavior.

Read our article Why We Vaccinate Wildlife

Coyotes are a host along with other wild canids and domestic dogs of the zoonotic parasite “fox-tapeworm” (Echinococcus multilocularis). Voles are the intermediate host.

Humans can get these tapeworms if they unintentionally eat the eggs. Eggs may be present on the fur of the animals.

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Hunting and Trapping

Sadly most states have open hunting seasons on coyotes with no limits on the number harvested. Coyotes are often ruthlessly persecuted by humans.

An estimated 500,000 and 800,000 coyotes are killed each year as part of “predator control”. Many of these deaths happen when people try to get back at coyotes after they attack their sheep or cattle.

People also often hunt these animals for fun in hunting contests. Hunting contests are allowed on public lands. Project Coyote raises awareness to ban wildlife killing contests.

Threats to livestock, Pets, and humans

The most common kind of conflict between people and coyotes is when livestock, especially young animals like calves, kids, or lambs are preyed upon.

Protect Your Livestock By:

• Using electric fencing.

• Having guard animals such as large dogs, donkeys, or llamas.

• Have a barn where young or small animals can be secured at night.

• Motion censored lights are somewhat effective.

• Mow around animal areas to eliminate hiding places.

• Dispose of dead animals quickly.

Human conflicts

Coyotes rarely attack people. Only a few incidents have been reported across the country, and most of them involve coyotes that are habituated to humans or have rabies.

Dr. Stan Gehrt leads the Urban Coyote Project which seeks to study how coyotes and humans coexist in large urban areas such as Chicago.

Do Coyotes Eat Pets?

Pet predation causes the biggest human/coyote conflict. Cats do fall prey to coyotes and occasionally small dogs. However, these numbers are smaller than many pet websites lead us to believe.

Gehrt has studied coyotes in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas and finds that they eat similar foods food to rural coyotes. Coyotes in the study at primarily rodents and lagomorphs (rabbits) in addition to fruits.

Gehrts and fellow researcher Paul Morey noted it was interesting that the coyotes did not become habituated to eating trash which is a problem with bear populations. They did find that 1% of the scat examined in the Chicago study out of a total of 1429 samples contained domestic cat remains.

A study done in Los Angeles, California showed a higher proportion of cats killed. The National Park Service compared suburban coyotes to urban coyotes.

Their study found that the remains of domestic cats were found in 20 percent of urban coyote scat as compared to 4 percent of suburban coyote scat. They also found that city coyotes ate more garbage as well as fruits.

How To Avoid Coyote and Human Conflict

• Never feed coyotes. Secure trash cans from wildlife.

• Don’t leave pet food outside.

• Keep cats indoors. This also protects songbirds.

• If you feed feral cats, put them on a schedule, feed once per day, and then remove the dishes. Feed in an open area with an escape route.

• Monitor small dogs when they are outside and walk on a leash. Better yet go to a dog park.

• Clean up birdseed around feeders

• Don’t leave orchard fruits on the ground

• Clean grills and outdoor ovens after cooking outside

• Close off spaces under decks and outdoor sheds

• Fence your yard with a secure 6 feet tall fence. Ideally made of brick, wood or diamond mesh wire. Make sure it is secured at the bottom to prevent digging.

• Compost in containers

• If you encounter a coyote, raise your arms in the air or wave something in your hands to make yourself look bigger. Make noise and or shine lights at them to scare them away.

Coyote in woods. Photo by Ame Vanorio. With telephoto lens!

Improve habitat for species

As with all wildlife conservation efforts are crucial. Support green spaces in your community and parks with native habitats.

Coyotes need adequate prey and other food sources such as wild brambles and crab apples. Both coyotes and their prey need areas for hiding and denning. Depending on the ecosystem this may mean bushes, tall grasses, or rock outcrops.

Literature/Folklore

Coyotes feature prominently in many Native American cultures. Tribes of the southwest had many stories featuring coyotes and thought of them in a positive albeit humorous light.

Coyote is seen as a God, a trickster, and often occurs in origin myths. For example, the Maidu, a tribe in California, Coyote signs with Earth Maker to create the planet.

Coyote is key in the Navaho religion where he has both “good” and “bad” traits.

As a spirit animal, the coyote is a balance of wisdom and folly.

 Co-Authors:

Guest Author, Barkat Ullah Khan is a Wildlife Ecologist and Researcher at the Ministry of Climate Change. You can learn more about him on LinkedIn. Barkat has worked with tracking and monitoring several species including snow leopards, wolves, and the endangered Indian pangolin. Read his work on Research Gate.

Ame Vanorio is the founder of Fox Run EEC and has 25+ years of working in wildlife conservation and rehabilitation as a licensed rehabilitator, environmental educator, and instructor with the National Wildlife Federation.