Fauna Series No. 4

Fauna of the National Parks — No. 4 Ecology of the Coyote in the Yellowstone

CHAPTER IV:
FOOD

ITEMS IN THE COYOTE DIET

DURING the course of the study 5,086 coyote droppings, containing 8,969 food items, were collected. With the exception of less than 200 of them, containing 185 items, all droppings were gathered from the first of April to about the middle of November. Of the 185 items present in those collected in winter, 119 were deer and elk remains and more than 50 of the remainder were in droppings which had undoubtedly been deposited in the summer and fall. The following table, therefore, except for about 119 items of deer and elk, pictures the food habits during the April-November period.

In addition to the foregoing, more than 200 winter droppings not included in the table on page 43, were examined in the northern part of the park. These contained deer and elk remains. In this area where deer and elk winter, these animals, mainly as carrion, make up practically the entire food supply. In the interior of the park snowshoe hares and mice enter more extensively into the winter diet.

About 3,500 droppings were obtained during 1937, a few in 1936, and the remainder in 1938. The material was not tabulated separately for each year since there was no significant difference in the incidence of the items.

Below are listed the number of individuals of each item found in the droppings. Except in the case of the field mouse and pocket gopher, and in a few instances the ground squirrel and deer mouse, the number of individuals present coincides with the number of droppings in which they occurred. Such items as insects, vegetation, and carrion were arbitrarily listed as number of times occurring, rather than number of individuals, since such material is not otherwise readily comparable with the other food items. For instance, the number of individual grasshoppers, crickets, june beetles, snails, pine nuts, rose seeds, mushrooms, blueberries, and Oregon grape is not given. However, in the discussion of each item the quantity present is usually indicated. The percentages given in the table are based on number of individuals, treating times of occurrence of these few items as individuals. The seats are not always accurately dated. Some collected in spring especially along streams, may be winter droppings. However, the dates of most of them are sufficiently accurate to furnish a picture of coyote diet on a seasonal basis.

Classification of 8,969 individual food items found in 5,086 coyote droppings gathered in Yellowstone National Park

Last Modified: Thurs, Dec 20 2001 10:00:00 pm PDT
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