![]() ![]() ![]() After the European colonization of the Americas, it was seen in Anglo-American culture as a cowardly and untrustworthy animal. The animal was especially respected in Mesoamerican cosmology as a symbol of military might. As with other trickster figures, the coyote uses deception and humor to rebel against social conventions. The coyote is a prominent character in Native American folklore, mainly in Aridoamerica, usually depicted as a trickster that alternately assumes the form of an actual coyote or a man. Genetic studies show that most North American wolves contain some level of coyote DNA. In the northeastern regions of North America, the eastern coyote (a larger subspecies, though still smaller than wolves) is the result of various historical and recent matings with various types of wolves. In spite of this, coyotes sometimes mate with gray, eastern, or red wolves, producing " coywolf" hybrids. Humans are the coyote's greatest threat, followed by cougars and gray wolves. Its characteristic vocalization is a howl made by solitary individuals. Primarily carnivorous, its diet consists mainly of deer, rabbits, hares, rodents, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates, though it may also eat fruits and vegetables on occasion. It is highly flexible in social organization, living either in a family unit or in loosely knit packs of unrelated individuals. Their fur color is predominantly light gray and red or fulvous interspersed with black and white, though it varies somewhat with geography. The average male weighs 8 to 20 kg (18 to 44 lb) and the average female 7 to 18 kg (15 to 40 lb). The coyote was sighted in eastern Panama (across the Panama Canal from their home range) for the first time in 2013. It is enlarging its range by moving into urban areas in the eastern U.S. ![]() The species is versatile, able to adapt to and expand into environments modified by humans. The coyote is listed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, due to its wide distribution and abundance throughout North America. Other historical names for the species include the prairie wolf and the brush wolf. The coyote is larger and more predatory and was once referred to as the American jackal by a behavioral ecologist. It fills much of the same ecological niche as the golden jackal does in Eurasia. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. They communicate with a distinctive call, which at night often develops into a raucous canine chorus.The coyote ( Canis latrans) is a species of canine native to North America. The pups are able to hunt on their own by the following fall.Ĭoyotes are smaller than wolves and are sometimes called prairie wolves or brush wolves. Both parents feed and protect their young and their territory. In spring, females den and give birth to litters of three to twelve pups. In the fall and winter, they form packs for more effective hunting.Ĭoyotes form strong family groups. BehaviorĬoyotes are formidable in the field where they enjoy keen vision and a strong sense of smell. Because they sometimes kill lambs, calves, or other livestock, as well as pets, many ranchers and farmers regard them as destructive pests. They also happily dine on insects, snakes, fruit, grass, and carrion. They hunt rabbits, rodents, fish, frogs, and even deer. These adaptable animals will eat almost anything. ![]() Coyote populations are likely at an all-time high. They have even colonized cities like Los Angeles, and are now found over most of North America. These members of the dog family once lived primarily in open prairies and deserts, but now roam the continent's forests and mountains. Modern coyotes have displayed their cleverness by adapting to the changing American landscape. The coyote appears often in the tales and traditions of Native Americans-usually as a very savvy and clever beast. ![]()
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