Coyote | Size, Habitat, Howling, & Facts (2024)

mammal

verifiedCite

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

Select Citation Style

Feedback

Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

  • coyote - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
  • coyote - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Print

verifiedCite

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

Select Citation Style

Feedback

Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Also known as: Canis latrans, brush wolf, little wolf, prairie wolf

Written by

Serge Lariviere Director General, Cree Hunters and Trappers Income Security Board, Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada.

Serge Lariviere

Fact-checked by

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Article History

coyote

See all media

Also called:
prairie wolf or brush wolf
Related Topics:
mesopredator release
coydog
red wolf
eastern wolf

See all related content →

coyote, (Canis latrans), New World member of the dog family (Canidae) that is smaller and more lightly built than the wolf (Canis lupus). The coyote, whose name is derived from the Aztec coyotl, is found from Alaska southward into Central America but especially on the Great Plains. Historically, the eastern border of its range was the Appalachians, but the coyote has expanded its range and now can be found throughout the United States and Canada.

The coyote stands about 60 cm (24 inches) at the shoulder, weighs about 9–23 kg (20–50 pounds), and is about 1–1.3 metres (3.3–4.3 feet) long, including its 30–40-cm tail. The fur is long and coarse and is generally grizzled buff above and whitish below, reddish on the legs, and bushy on the black-tipped tail. There is, however, considerable local variation in size and colour; the largest coyotes live in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada.

Britannica QuizAnimal Group Names

Noted for its nightly serenades of yaps and howls, the coyote is primarily nocturnal, running with tail pointed downward and sometimes attaining a speed of 64 km (40 miles) per hour. Coyotes are extremely efficient hunters, and their senses are keen. They are visual predators in open areas, but they mostly use smell and hearing to locate prey in thick vegetation or forest. In the northern parts of its range, the coyote relies primarily on the snowshoe hare and white-tailed deer as prey. A single coyote is able to capture an adult deer, especially in deep snow. Coyotes take down deer by repeatedly biting at the back legs and hindquarters, the kill finally being made with a choking bite to the throat. In fall and early winter, coyotes often hunt in pairs or packs, and the success of a pack increases with its size. Larger packs typically hunt larger animals, although they will capture and eat whatever prey they encounter. The coyote also consumes carrion. Wherever or whenever prey is unavailable or hard to obtain, coyotes eat large quantities of wild berries and fruits. In doing so, they may become much leaner. In the northeast, coyotes are fatter during winter, when deer are easier to capture, than in late summer.

The coyote competes with several other carnivores, especially in the northeast, where coyotes were previously absent. Lynx and bobcats compete for the same foods (hares and rabbits), and the success of each of these predators depends on the setting. Lynx are better at catching hares in powdery snow, whereas coyotes hunt in areas with less snow accumulation where travel is easier. The coyote also competes with the red fox, which it will kill upon encountering. For this reason, areas with high coyote densities often harbour few red foxes. Occasionally, larger animals such as wolves or cougars (pumas) prey on coyotes.

Coyotes mate between January and March, and females usually bear four to seven pups after a gestation of 58–65 days. Births occur in an underground burrow, usually a hole dug by badgers or by the parent coyotes. Most dens are on hillsides with good drainage (to avoid flooding during rainstorms) and where visibility allows parents to watch the surroundings for danger. Young are born blind and helpless, but, after two to three weeks, pups start emerging from the den to play. Weaning occurs at five to seven weeks, and both parents feed and care for the pups until they are fully grown and independent, usually at six to nine months of age. Young typically disperse in the fall, but some older siblings will help raise younger offspring, and family groups may remain together and form packs during winter.

Coyotes are territorial, and both members of a breeding pair defend the territory against other coyotes. Territories are marked with urine and feces, and it is believed that howling may serve to indicate occupancy of a territory. The size of coyote territories varies among habitats and also depends on its abundance of prey. Most territories, however, range from 10 to 40 square km (4 to 15 square miles).

Are you a student? Get a special academic rate on Britannica Premium.

Learn More

Coyotes may live up to 21 years or more in captivity, but in the wild few animals live more than 6 to 8 years. Most deaths are now caused by humans, whether for the animals’ fur, for management of domestic or game animals, or because of collisions with vehicles. In the wild, infectious diseases such as mange, canine distemper, and rabies probably are the most common causes of death. Mange is easily detected, as infected coyotes begin to lose fur on parts of their bodies, usually starting at the tail and flanks. Eventually they may die of exposure when the weather turns cold.

An intelligent animal with a reputation for cunning and swiftness, the coyote has long been persecuted because of its predation on domestic or game animals. Until the middle of the 20th century, many states paid bounties for coyotes. Near farms, coyotes commonly take livestock, especially sheep. They also can cause damage to fields of ripe watermelons, honeydew melons, and other market fruits. Near cities, coyotes have been known to kill and eat pets left outside overnight. There are several reported cases of attacks on humans, including at least one fatality. However, such events are extremely rare and typically occur where coyotes have lost their fear of humans, such as near suburban areas. Coyotes generally fear and avoid humans, but they habituate well to human presence in parks and cities and are found with regularity in urban settings such as Chicago and Los Angeles.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has classified the coyote as a species of least concern since 1996. Coyote populations at the start of the 21st century were greater than ever before in North America, a strong testament to this canine’s ability to adapt and thrive in human-modified landscapes. Despite constant hunting, poisoning, and other means of control in some localities, the coyote persists, and its future seems secure. Indeed, management of coyotes by biologists is concerned more with their overabundance than their rarity. The coyote hybridizes readily with the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris); the offspring are called coydogs. Genetic evidence suggests that coyotes in eastern North America have interbred with both dogs and wolves to produce populations of hybrid animals that are roughly 4.5 kg (10 pounds) heavier than average coyotes; these hybrid forms are known colloquially as eastern coyotes or coywolves.

Serge Lariviere The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Coyote | Size, Habitat, Howling, & Facts (2024)

FAQs

Coyote | Size, Habitat, Howling, & Facts? ›

They use howling

howling
Howls are lengthy sustained sounds, loud and audible over long distances, often with some variation in pitch over the length of the sound. Howling is generally used by animals that engage in this behavior to signal their positions to one another, to call the pack to assemble, or to note their territory.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Howling
, as well as scent marking, to identify their territory. Territory size and range can vary depending on the type of habitat, conditions, and availability of prey, but territories are frequently 10 to 20 square kilometers (6.21 to 12.42 square miles). The coyote follows a monogamous mating system.

What is an interesting fact about the coyotes habitat? ›

Coyotes once lived only in prairies and deserts of the western United States and in Mexico. Today they thrive almost anywhere in North America. Adaptability—that's the main reason for the success of the coyote. A coyote is naturally adaptable because it eats such a wide range of food.

What time of day do coyotes howl? ›

It's an attention-grabbing sound, and an eerie one: coyotes howling, usually in the evening or at night, a chorus that is being heard with increasing frequency throughout the Northeast—and not just in remote wilderness areas, but in towns, suburbs, and city fringes.

How far does a coyote howl travel? ›

Howling sounds can travel around 1,000 yards and can be used by coyotes to identify who's calling, their gender and perhaps their mood. Transient coyotes don't usually vocalize as much as resident animals in order to avoid interactions.

What makes coyotes howl at night? ›

Interestingly, research suggests that groups of coyotes howl more on evenings with less moonlight, again to defend their territory or to communicate with other family members. Simply hearing or seeing a coyote in your neighborhood is not a cause for concern.

Where do coyotes sleep during the day? ›

Pup season is the only time coyotes will voluntarily use a den; otherwise, coyotes usually sleep above ground in the open or in cover. Dens may consist of a hollowed-out tree stump, rock outcrop, or existing burrow made by raccoons, skunks or other medium-sized carnivores.

Do coyotes run in packs at night? ›

Coyotes are very social animals, they do not form packs but rather live in family groups. They will usually travel and hunt alone but sometimes join in loose pairs to take down prey.

Should I be concerned if I hear coyotes howling? ›

But there's no need for alarm if you hear or see a coyote. Understanding the howls of the "song dogs" and the animal's natural cycle, as well as knowing how to prevent conflict, will help you better appreciate the wildlife all around us.

What does it mean when you hear coyotes yipping? ›

Coyotes are also territorial. The pair howls and yips to let other coyotes know that they have an established territory and not to intrude.

What is the difference between a wolf howl and a coyote howl? ›

Coyotes howl for many of the same reasons, except their howls are much higher pitched, shorter in duration, and include more sharp yipping. These higher pitched sounds only travel about a third as far as a wolf howl, which corresponds to the coyote's significantly smaller territory.

What makes a pack of coyotes howl? ›

Coyotes howl and yip primarily to communicate with each other and establish territory. They may bark when they are defending a den or a kill.

Do coyotes howl after killing prey? ›

No. Coyotes howl for a variety of different reasons but it would be silly more often than not for a coyote to howl over a kill. Why would they want to attract attention to their food catch?

What does it mean when a coyote barks? ›

The bark is a long-distance threat or alert of low to medium intensity. 5. Bark-howl. This is when the coyote gets serious about a threat. The bark-howl is used as a long-distance high-intensity threat or alarm.

What to do if you hear a coyote? ›

Generally, there is nothing to be concerned about when you hear coyotes calling. If the animals are not showing any aggressive behavior toward humans or pets, just listen and enjoy the wild canine song.

How do you call a coyote? ›

A few faint whimpers or squeaks at close range are likely to bring your visitor the rest of the way. Some hunters make a “kissing” sound by sucking on the back of their hand. This sound will often cause a coyote to move in closer.

Do coyotes mate for life? ›

Coyotes are monogamous and will mate for life. A study conducted by a team from Ohio State University(Opens in a new window) and focused on a clan of 236 coyotes in the Chicago area found that coyotes are extremely loyal, only finding a new mate when their previous one died.

What type of habitat do coyotes prefer? ›

They prefer deserts, grasslands, and forests, but are incredibly adaptable to most habitats. For this reason, they often thrive in urban areas. Coyotes are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and animals.

What are the facts about coyote fur? ›

The fur is long and coarse and is generally grizzled buff above and whitish below, reddish on the legs, and bushy on the black-tipped tail. There is, however, considerable local variation in size and colour; the largest coyotes live in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada.

How do coyotes adapt to their habitat? ›

They are not picky eaters and can live in virtually any type of weather. They have a great sense of smell and great vision, sharp claws and teeth for catching and eating prey, and their natural camouflage helps them blend in with their environment.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Velia Krajcik

Last Updated:

Views: 5587

Rating: 4.3 / 5 (54 voted)

Reviews: 85% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Velia Krajcik

Birthday: 1996-07-27

Address: 520 Balistreri Mount, South Armand, OR 60528

Phone: +466880739437

Job: Future Retail Associate

Hobby: Polo, Scouting, Worldbuilding, Cosplaying, Photography, Rowing, Nordic skating

Introduction: My name is Velia Krajcik, I am a handsome, clean, lucky, gleaming, magnificent, proud, glorious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.