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Coyote trickster11/24/2023 In urban areas, coyotes appear to be more nocturnal but can often be seen during daylight hours, especially at dawn and dusk. In rural habitats, coyotes hunt by day and night. Yet such traits have allowed coyote populations to not only survive, but thrive and expand despite consistent past attempts at extermination and current ongoing persecution. Coyotes’ adaptability allows them to interact in a variety of ways and contexts with humans, sometimes in ways that evoke human concern and lethal retaliation (Alexander & Draper, 2019). Their intelligence and sociability are integral to their wellbeing and adaptability, and through those physiological traits, to their ecology and evolution. The graphic below produced by the Humane Society of the United States illustrates how predator management programs focused on killing coyotes disrupt the pack structure.Ĭoyotes are highly intelligent and social animals they learn quickly and are devoted parents. Some juveniles disperse in late fall to seek new territory, and some individuals remain with their parents/family group. Pup mortality is high, with an average of 50-70% dying within their first year. Breeding season peaks in mid February, followed by three to seven (3-7) pups born in a den from March to May (Carlson & Gese 2008). Reproduction is once per year and typically limited to the family’s parents. Both male and female coyotes actively maintain territories that may vary in size from two to 30 square miles. Urban coyotes are especially known for high rates of monogamy, showing 100% dedication to their mates in some areas (Hennessy et al. Coyotes are generally monogamous, with pair bonds frequently lasting many years, and some for life. Instead, they evolved to be the highly adaptable species they are today, hunting mostly rabbits and rodents but able to hunt larger prey when available.Ĭoyotes may live as solitary individuals, in pairs, or in small family groups, both in rural and urban areas. Furthermore, Pleistocene coyotes were unable to exploit the big game hunting niche left vacant after the extinction of the dire wolf, as it was rapidly filled by gray wolves, which likely actively killed off the large coyotes (Meachen et al, 2014). Their reduction in size occurred after an extinction event, when their larger prey died (Meachen and Samuels, 2012). They were larger and more robust, likely in response to larger competitors and prey (Meachen and Samuels, 2012). Modern coyotes arose during the Middle Pleistocene, and showed much more variation than they do today (Nowak, 1978). The evolution of coyotes can be traced back to an extinct type of small omnivorous fox-like canid endemic to North America 10.3-3.6 million years ago (Kurten, 1980). In these respects, the coyote resembles the fox-like progenitors of the genus more so than the wolf (Nowak, 1978). They are not as specialized a carnivore as the wolf is, as shown by the larger chewing surfaces on the molars, reflecting the species’ relative dependence on vegetable matter. By helping to shift attitudes toward coyotes and other native carnivores, we replace fear and ignorance with understanding and appreciation.Īs the only organization whose mission is to foster coexistence between people and carnivores and compassionate conservation through education, science and advocacy, Project Coyote builds a critical bridge between wildlife conservation and animal wellbeing, bringing the best science and ethics to our advocacy on behalf of coyotes and other native carnivores.Ĭoyotes come from an older lineage of Canis than the gray wolf, as shown by their relatively small size and their comparatively narrow skull and jaws, which lack the grasping power necessary to hold the large prey wolves specialize in. In their intelligence and adaptability, coyotes teach us about our own capacity to evolve and coexist in the face of rapid ecological and social change. Their survival is attributed to their intelligence, adaptability, and resilience, traits many Native Americans revered in the coyote as the trickster.Ī vital part of both our rural and urban landscapes, coyotes’ ability to adjust to changing conditions and diverse environments sets them apart and makes them difficult to pigeonhole, perhaps further contributing to people’s fear and misunderstanding. Unlike many predators who face extinction, coyotes continue to survive and thrive in the face of persecution. Maligning stereotypes and fallacies follow coyotes wherever they go.
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