Coyote
The coyote, canis latrans, is a remarkable animal belonging to the canine family, canidea. The word "coyote" means "barking dog", and the animal's night-time howling in open areas is distinct and common. Adult coyotes weigh an average of 20 to 35 pounds, with males being some 4 pounds heavier than females. Their pelt has great color variation, from nearly pure gray to rufous. Coyote hair is banded, is very attractive and is often used as an insulation trim for overcoats and jackets. As much as 90 percent of adult females and 70 percent of yearling females produce litters, with an average of six pups.
With its habit of dining on domestic livestock and getting into other mischief, the coyote has been one of the most persecuted of all predatory species. But more than a century of trapping, hunting and poisoning this wily creature appears to have served only to make it smarter and more adaptable.
While initially found only in the western part of this country, coyotes have recently started to expand their territory eastward and now occur throughout the entire U.S. and Mexico and most of Canada. They are even beginning to be found in respectable numbers within urban and suburban areas, with recent sightings in such unlikely places as the Bronx of New York City.
Coyotes feed primarily on small rodents, rabbits, birds, lizards and snakes, but they regularly take deer and antelope fawns and have recently caused severe decreases in antelope fawn survival rates here in northern Arizona. While the overall impact of coyote populations on deer and antelope fawn survival rates remains unknown, researchers have found a significant increase in antelope and deer populations when coyote control programs are implemented. During the summer here in the arid desert areas, coyotes become almost exclusively vegetarian, dining mainly on the berries and fruits of the indigenous plants and cactus. Despite the real and imagined problems they cause some ranchers, farmers and others, coyotes remain an important and respected part of America's natural make-up.
Coyotes will breed with domestic dogs, with the coyote's traits almost always dominant in the offspring, known as a "coydog". This in-breeding is what is suspected as being one of the reasons for the larger size of northern and eastern coyotes. Mating season begins in January, coyotes den up between February and June to raise their young. The coyote is one of the most intelligent and adaptable animals on earth and as a result he is known as a cunning trickster. The American Indians here in the southwest have a great deal of respect and admiration for the coyote and he appears in many of their stories and songs.
Although coyotes rarely attack humans, there are beginning to be more and more reported incidences in areas where man has steadily encroached into the coyotes territory. Several occurrences happen each year in the Los Angeles area, and we recently had such an occurrence here in the greater Phoenix area.
