Coyote (Canis latrans)

Coyotes are the most abundant predator at Jewel Cave National Monument. They can be heard howling and yipping in the morning and evening.

NPS/ Jim Peaco

 

Coyotes are often seen alone, although they will also spend time in family groups. Lone coyotes are sometimes seen along the Canyons Trail loop.

NPS/ Neal Herbert

Coyote
Canis Latrans

• Coyotes are unique in that they thrive in packs or as solitary animals.
• Genus name "Canis" is Latin for dog and represents all dogs, wolves, and coyotes.
• Known by other names such as prairie wolf, brush wolf, american jackal, and in many western states they are referred to simply as dogs.
• Historically only ranging from the Mississippi river west to the pacific ocean and from central Canada to central America, from the year 1900 to today coyotes have expanded their range and colonized new regions and now exist in every state in the united states except Hawaii and are found as far north as the arctic.
• These very versatile medium carnivores have adapted to live in every ecosystem present on the continent in just the past 120 years, and thus their diet is extremely varied.

 

In the springtime and into the summer, coyote pups are being raised around the black hills and around Jewel Cave National Monument.

NPS/ J. Good

Size and description

• Coyotes now fit into every ecosystem present in North America, and so have quite dramatic variations in their size. A coyote in Canada’s Yukon may be the size of a German dhepherd while a coyote on the Florida peninsula or in southern Mexico may be much smaller.
• Height at the shoulder on average ranges from 18-23 inches and from nose to tip of tail they may be 4 feet or more.
• Weight averages from around 20-35 lbs. but that figure is extremely variable to climate. Again, a Yukon coyote in the winter will be dramatically heavier than a south Florida coyote in the winter.
• With pointed ears, a narrow muzzle, a big bushy tail with a black tip that is held low between the legs of the animal, coyotes look very much like small wolves which is where their historic name “prairie wolf”, given to them by Lewis and Clark, was derived.
• Fur color varied with season and geographic location, however generally coyotes can be identified by their grey-brown coat with black tipped hair on their backs, the underside and throat of the animal are usually the same color just paler.

Behavior

• Coyotes are known for being opportunistic. They fit prairieland, brushy scrub country, badlands, woodlands, and mountainous areas. in all these regions’ coyotes maintain the same diverse social structure.
• In the best of times, coyotes will prefer to be pack animals running in groups of 5-6 adults but packs up 10+ animals have been noted. Its likely these larger packs consisted of adults and subadults before their dispersal.
• Under persecution, most notably if by humans, coyotes will disperse from their pack and go out as individuals or as twos to colonize new areas. This is the key factor in why coyotes have been successful in growing their population in a time when most other wild animals in North America were on a steep decline.

 

Coyotes are great hunters in snow. They can hear rodents moving under the snow and pounce headfirst to catch it before it escapes.

NPS/ Elaine Leslie

Diet

• Coyotes are excellent at filling their bellies. They will eat a wide variety of small animals and will even go after animals as big as the calves of bison and cattle.
• Cottontail rabbits, jackrabbits, rodents, birds, eggs, insects, fruit, deer/elk, and domestic livestock make up a coyote’s diet. Variations occur in regions where some of the listed species may not be found. For example, in the southern US, coyotes may eat more frogs; in the Yukon, coyotes may eat more berries.

Interactions with other animals

• The coyote is an animal with a very poor reputation among humans. Seen as a predator to livestock, the main threat to coyotes over the past 150+ years has been humans.
• Coyotes don’t worry about predation very much in most of their range including the Black hills, coyotes historically would be killed by wolves, grizzly bears, wolverines, and golden eagles in the area but most of its predators are no longer presenting the area.
• They also may be killed in defense by a large mammal it gets too close to such as a bison or a bull elk.
• Trapping for their pelt has been and continues to be one of the greatest causes of coyote mortality across their range.