Coyote
(Canis Latrans: ‘Barking Dog’)

Coyotes are canines - part of the dog family along with wolves and foxes, and are slightly smaller than a collie. Its nose is more pointed than domestic dogs, and its tail is bushier. Unlike most canines, the tail is held down between the hind legs when running.

Coyotes are intelligent animals, able to adapt their behavior and diet to most situations. They are found in nearly every habitat in North America - and deserts are no exception. Once common only in the West’s open spaces, these pale-colored wild dogs began spreading across the country after wolves were nearly exterminated in the late 1800’s.

A true scavenger, the coyote will eat almost anything animal or vegetable. Although its diet consists predominantly of small rodents and rabbits, a ‘typical’ diet may contain up to 40% plant material.

Coyotes have adapted physiologically to survive in the Southwest’s deserts. Desert coyotes weigh about half as much (20 pounds versus 40 to 45) as other coyotes, with shorter, thinner fur. They are therefore able to dissipate excess heat more easily. Also, they are paler-colored, and so absorb less heat, and are able to blend more easily into light-colored desert landscapes.

Speedsters of the desert, coyotes lope as fast as 25 to 30 miles an hour, and can sprint up to 40 miles an hour. Chiefly nocturnal, they may travel several hundred miles in a night.

Social animals, coyotes mate for life and maintain family territories. Pups are born in April or May, with 4 to 7 young comprising the average litter. Both parents are active in rearing the young. Coyotes will typically occupy a den in the ground, but may use other shelter.

Called ‘Song Dog’ in some Native American languages, the coyote’s sophisticated vocabulary involves a wide variety of growls, whines, yips, barks, and howls. The most distinctive of coyotes’ songs is a series of barks and yelps followed by a drawn-out howl and ending with short, sharp yaps. This broadcasts the locations of group members and reunites the band before or after hunting.

Many visitors to the desert feel that the night is not complete unless they have heard the coyotes mournful song.