For example, a coyote skull rarely exceeds 7. Coyotes' fur may be gray, white, tan or brown, depending on where they live. Related: How coyotes dwindled to their modern size. The species was originally only found in the prairies and deserts of central and western North America. Humans helped facilitate their expansion in the s both by creating more open habitats through logging and agricultural development, and also hunting out wolves and cougars , which are natural coyote competitors, Live Science previously reported.
As humans took over more and more countryside, coyotes adapted to live in cities. Today, coyote populations are thriving in big cities from Los Angeles to New York. Coyotes are not picky eaters. They hunt and eat small prey, such as rodents, rabbits and squirrels, as well as insects and fruit, depending on what is available to them.
Coyotes can also work together to kill deer, according to the Atlanta Coyote Project. Opportunistic coyotes will take advantage of pet food, garbage and other food left out by humans, especially in urban environments.
They have also been known to hunt livestock and human pets, such as dogs and cats. Related: Urban coyotes could set the stage for larger predators in cities. Predatory coyotes can still become prey themselves. Cougars, wolves, grizzly bears and black bears are known to kill coyotes, according to the U. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Golden eagles have been known to swoop down and take young coyotes. Humans kill coyotes too, for their fur and in attempts to control their populations.
Coyotes generally avoid people, but occasionally they will attack. To coyotes, our livestock and even pet dogs look more like a free meal, and easy prey compared to what they get out in the wild. Coyotes in the wilderness have been observed to eat just about anything they can catch.
They will hunt large mammals such as white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, elk, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, and even a dead bison if they can find one. They will also stalk rabbits, hares, rodents, waterbirds, pigeons, doves, amphibians, lizards, snakes, turtles and tortoises, fish, crustaceans, and insects.
Just about the only animal they will not eat are toads. Even with this huge menu, coyotes do still show some preferences. For example, coyotes do not eat as many shrews, moles, and brown rats, and other burrowing rodents as compared to other prey items. Some of the more unusual animals they hunt include fishers, black bear cubs, harp seals, and rattlesnakes.
Coyotes will even cannibalize if they need to, but this generally means they eat the carcasses of other coyotes. In the wintertime, coyotes generally scavenge more but will eat just about any carcass they can find. Coyotes are intelligent predators.
They know that humans often provide an easy meal, whether that means stealing a livestock animal or cleaning up messes we leave behind. But coyotes show the same behavior when bumping up near humans. Coyotes have been known to eat roadkill fairly frequently. The majority of adult deer they feed on are carcasses, especially those left behind after being hit. Coyotes sometimes hunt in packs, and when they do, they will go after much larger prey than they normally would.
In these cases, they can take down elk, deer, pronghorns, and big horned sheep. When bumped up against human populations, coyote packs have taken down domestic sheep and cattle. However, they still prefer to take smaller calves and fawns, even when hunting in packs. Coyotes, whether hunting in packs or alone, will generally target vulnerable animals such as pregnant animals, sick animals, or those stuck in snow or ice. They will also stalk backyard chickens, turkey farms, and any other domestic birds they can grab.
Encroaching human populations have impacted most wildlife, and coyotes of course are no exception. Coyotes studied in coastal California have been observed to eat more marine animals such as shellfish, fish, and seals. Researchers generally believe this is because grizzly bears have pretty much moved out of the region due to loss of habitat.
But that does not faze the wily coyote. Coyotes do not have a natural preference for feeding on livestock. It is actually only the older adult animals who do this. While the traditional reaction to seeing coyotes near livestock is to remove them from the area, research is now showing that when there are fewer predators in the area, there is actually an increase in livestock deaths due to predation.
Coyotes, while they hunt in packs occasionally, are actually fairly solitary and very territorial. And healthy coyotes prefer to take down smaller prey such as rodents that are living on their territory.
When a healthy coyote is removed from the area, it opens up that territory to older, bolder coyotes that need to take down easy prey: sheep.
So keep young, healthy coyotes in their territory, especially if it overlaps with farmland and ranching acreage. You might actually be protecting their livestock from desperate, older coyotes. Coyotes have been known to go after any food source, no matter how small. Instead, they prefer mice and voles, squirrels, grasshoppers, rattlesnakes, and other common barnyard problematic critters. They also love to catch burrowing mammals such as ground squirrels, marmots, prairie dogs, and moles.
They are great for keeping a garden clear of these little animals. They generally only hunt alone or in pairs, and rarely form packs to take down larger game. That being said, coyotes do prefer small game. Geese can also be a challenge to manage in urban areas. A study of geese in the Chicago area found that the population was actually growing much less rapidly than predicted, and that population growth was limited by nest predation.
By placing modified video cameras at the nests, this project was able to identify coyotes as the major predator on the nests. Thus, coyotes are serving as a biocontrol for urban geese. Because egg contents are not detected in coyote scat, the extent of coyote predation on goose nests could only be determined by placing cameras at nests. As with deer, coyotes do not take enough adult geese to reduce the population, but they can slow the population increase through egg predation.
Master's Thesis by Alison Willingham Brown. Interference Competition Between Coyotes and Raccoons. A Test of the Mesopredator Release Hypothesis. Coyote Relationships with Other Animal Species. Mesocarnivores Most of the information the public receives about urban coyotes unfortunately comes from newspapers or other media that usually focus on conflicts, such as pet attacks.
Fox sightings are increasingly rare. These adaptable animals will eat almost anything. They hunt rabbits, rodents, fish, frogs, and even deer. They also happily dine on insects, snakes, fruit, grass, and carrion. Because they sometimes kill lambs, calves, or other livestock, as well as pets, many ranchers and farmers regard them as destructive pests.
Coyotes are formidable in the field where they enjoy keen vision and a strong sense of smell. They can run up to 40 miles an hour. In the fall and winter, they form packs for more effective hunting.
Coyotes form strong family groups. In spring, females den and give birth to litters of three to twelve pups. Both parents feed and protect their young and their territory. The pups are able to hunt on their own by the following fall. Coyotes are smaller than wolves and are sometimes called prairie wolves or brush wolves.
They communicate with a distinctive call, which at night often develops into a raucous canine chorus. All rights reserved. Coyote puppies photographed at Nebraska Wildlife Rehab in Louisville.
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