A close look at the coyote
On my recent photo tour to Yellowstone National Park, we had a hard time finding any wolves. The Gray Wolf is always our main species that we want to find and capture images but on this year’s trip, it just wasn’t happening. One day, while searching for the wolves, I found some fresh wolf tracks in the snow. I was able to track the wolves for about five miles before they turned off and headed up a partially frozen river, which was too dangerous for us to follow due to the thin ice. It was such a disappointment.
While pursuing the wolves, we managed to find the next best thing, Coyotes (Canis latrans). So, let’s take a look at one of the coolest critters that often gets overlooked. Saying that the Coyote is a unique critter would be an understatement. There is only one species of Coyote. Unlike foxes, which have around 12 different species such as the Gray Fox, Red Fox, Swift Fox, and Kit Fox, there is only one species of Coyote. The Coyote is native to North America and nowhere else. It is truly an American animal. Around the country, it is called or referred to by different names such as Prairie Wolf or Brush Wolf. Of course, it is not a type of wolf.
The Coyote was first scientifically described by naturalist Thomas Say in 1819. Mr. Say had a copy of the Lewis and Clark Expedition journal in his hand, which first described the Coyote in 1805. Say was the one to distinguish between the Gray Wolf and the Coyote. The name Coyote comes from the Nahuati (Aztec) word which translates to “barking dog.” The name and spelling was officially adopted and became the standard name in the 1880’s.
The Coyote’s closest relative is the Gray Wolf (Canus lupus). Recent studies show that they share 98.6 percent of their genetics, which means they can easily interbreed and produce viable offspring. There is a lot of talk, usually amongst hunters, of a coyote and wolf hybrid type of animal running around killing indiscriminately. Studies show that the coyotes in the western half of the country show no interbreeding between coyotes and wolves, and the coyotes in the eastern half of the country show very little interbreeding and restricted to a small region just east of the Great Lakes. So perhaps, they saw Bigfoot’s pet dog!
The average male coyote, which tend to be larger than females, is between 20-40 lbs., and the average female is between 15-40 lbs. This makes them just under half of the size of the average Gray Wolf. Unlike wolves, most Coyote look very similar. They are overall gray and tan in color with tints of rusty red, especially behind their ears. They have a long-pointed snout and tall pointed ears with no real gap between their ears, unlike wolves, which come in all sorts of colors from black to white and gray and have shorter, less pointed ears and larger gaps between their ears.
Coyote are often seen in small groups in winter, especially during the mating season, which is in February. Pair bonds form in the couple months leading up to the breeding season. Since a Coyote’s main diet is small mammals, such as rabbits, squirrels, mice, and voles, they don’t need to hunt in large packs like the wolves, which hunt prey that is often larger than themselves.
Over a four-week period in Yellowstone this winter, my group found and photographed about 20 different Coyote. Each encounter was special, fun, and exciting. While they are definitely not a wolf, they are truly wolf-like and always made for wonderful images of this unique American animal. Until next time…
Stan Tekiela is an author/naturalist and wildlife photographer. He can be followed at www.instagram.com and www.facebook.com. He can be contacted via his website at www.naturesmart.com.
