Physical Description:
Coloration varies from grayish brown to a yellowish gray. The throat and
belly are whitish and the tail is half the body length of the coyote.
The tail is bottled shaped with a black tip. Coyotes are smaller than
gray wolves but larger than foxes.
Social Organization:
Coyotes are not as likely to form packs like wolves. However, hunting
can be done alone, in pairs, or as a family, depending on the prey. An
interesting fact is that the coyote will sometimes form a partnership
with the badger. The coyote will use its sense of smell to find a burrowed
rodent, and then the badger uses its claws to dig it up. Both the coyote
and the badger will share the victim.
Special Adaptations:
The coyote is continuously trying to be killed by humans through either
hunting or poison but the coyote rarely takes the poison bait because
it usually prefers to catch and kill its own prey. Humans are also having
a hard time hunting it because it likes to stay around large herds of
deer or antelope, which are only easily located in national parks.
Reproductive Behavior:
Courtship lasts usually for about 2 to 3 months. Once a female has chosen
her partner, they may remain together for several years but not usually
for a lifetime. The gestation period is from 60 to 63 days. The usual
litter size is 6, but can range from 1 to 19. Coyotes give live birth,
but when the coyote pups are born, they are born blind. The pups are fed
by regurgitation of food by both parents. Male pups usually leave the
den between 6 and 9 months, while the females usually remain with the
parents. The pups reach the average adult size by 12 months. Coyotes mate
with domestic dogs and sometimes with the gray wolf.
Coyotes at the Fort Worth
Zoo:
There were two coyotes at the zoo, a tan female and a black male. The animal above is a younger pup.
Page Author:
Brad Polenz Polex18@attbi.com
Sources and Links:
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu Erik Tokar, May 2000.
Johnson, George and Raven Peter. Biology Sixth Edition. McGraw-Hill
Publishing 2002: 642.
Editors Cornish, Charles; Selous, F.C.; and Ingersoll, Ernest. The
Standard Library of Natural History. “Vols. I-III Living Animals of
the World.” The University Society, Inc 1908: 88-89.
Hall, Raymond. Mammals of North America. Vol. II. Wiley-Interscience
Publishing 1981: 923-924.
http://www.triggfoxhound.com/coypic/coypic.htm Steve
Peck, 2002.
