View source for Coyote

{{Short description|Species of canine native to North America}}
{{About|the North American canine species}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Coyote
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|0.85|0|[[Middle Pleistocene]] – present (0.74–0.85 [[Megaannum|Ma]])|ref={{sfn|Tedford|Wang|Taylor|2009|p=131}}}}
| image = 2009-Coyote-Yosemite.jpg
| image_caption = Mountain coyote (''C. l. lestes'') at [[Yosemite National Park]], California
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Kays, R. |date=2018 |title=''Canis latrans'' |errata=2020 |article-number=e.T3745A163508579 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T3745A163508579.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
| status2 = G5
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref = <ref name="NatureServe">{{cite web |title=Canis latrans |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102680/Canis_latrans |website=NatureServe Explorer |access-date=17 April 2024}}</ref>
| taxon = Canis latrans
| authority = [[Thomas Say|Say]], 1823<ref name="say1823"/>
| range_map = Coyote expansion from 1900 to 2016.gif
| range_map_caption = Range expansion of ''Canis latrans'' from 1900 to 2016
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|
*''Canis andersoni'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1910
*''Canis caneloensis'' Skinner, 1942
*''Canis clepticus'' Eliot, 1903
*''Canis estor'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1897
*''Canis frustror'' [[Samuel Washington Woodhouse|Woodhouse]], 1851
*''Canis goldmani'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1904
*''Canis hondurensis'' [[Edward Alphonso Goldman|Goldman]], 1936
*''Canis impavidus'' [[Joel Asaph Allen|Allen]], 1903
*''Canis irvingtonensis'' Savage, 1951
*''Canis jamesi'' Townsend, 1912
*''Canis lestes'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1897
*''Canis mearnsi'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1897
*''Canis microdon'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1897
*''Canis nebrascensis'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1898
*''Canis ochropus'' [[Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz|Eschscholtz]], 1829
*''Canis orcutti'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1910
*''Canis pallidus'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1897
*''Canis peninsulae'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1897
*''Canis riviveronis'' [[William Perry Hay|Hay]], 1917
*''Canis vigilis'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1897
*''Lyciscus cagottis'' Hamilton-Smith, 1839
}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=44854|title=''Canis latrans''|publisher=Fossilworks.org|access-date=17 December 2021|archive-date=January 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128224506/http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=44854|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

The '''coyote''' ('''''Canis latrans''''') is a [[species]] of [[Caninae|canine]] also known as the '''American jackal''', '''prairie wolf''', and '''brush wolf'''. It is native to [[North America]], and it is smaller than its close relative, the [[Wolf|gray wolf]], and slightly smaller than the closely related [[eastern wolf]] and [[red wolf]]. It fills much of the same [[ecological niche]] as the [[golden jackal]] does in [[Eurasia]]; however, the coyote is generally larger.

The coyote is listed as [[Least Concern|least concern]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]], due to its wide distribution and abundance throughout North America. The species is versatile, able to adapt to and expand into environments modified by humans; [[urban coyote]]s are common in many cities. The coyote was sighted in eastern [[Panama]] (across the [[Panama Canal]] from their home range) for the first time in 2013.

The coyote has 19 recognized [[subspecies]]. The average male weighs {{convert|8|to|20|kg|lbs|abbr=on}} and the average female {{convert|7|to|18|kg|lbs|abbr=on}}. Their fur color is predominantly light gray and red or [[fulvous]] interspersed with black and white, though it varies somewhat with geography. It is highly flexible in social organization, living either in a family unit or in loosely knit packs of unrelated individuals. Primarily [[carnivorous]], its diet consists mainly of [[deer]], [[rabbit]]s, [[hare]]s, [[rodent]]s, [[bird]]s, [[reptile]]s, [[amphibian]]s, [[fish]], and [[invertebrate]]s, though it may also eat fruits and vegetables on occasion. Its characteristic vocalization is a [[howling|howl]] that changes rapidly in tone and pitch. 

[[Humans]] are the coyote's greatest threat, followed by [[North American cougar|cougar]]s and gray wolves. While coyotes have never been known to mate with gray wolves in the wild, they do interbreed with eastern wolves and red wolves, producing "[[coywolf]]" hybrids. In the northeastern regions of North America, the [[eastern coyote]] (a larger subspecies, though still smaller than wolves) is the result of various historical and recent matings with various types of wolves. Eastern wolves also still mate with gray wolves, providing an avenue for further genetic exchange across canid species. Genetic studies show that most North American wolves contain some level of coyote DNA.

The coyote is a prominent character in [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] folklore, mainly in [[Aridoamerica]], usually depicted as a [[trickster]] that alternately assumes the form of an actual coyote or a man. As with other trickster figures, the coyote uses deception and humor to rebel against social conventions. The animal was especially respected in [[Mesoamerica]]n [[cosmology]] as a symbol of military might. After the [[European colonization of the Americas]], it was seen in [[Anglo-America]]n culture as a cowardly and untrustworthy animal. Unlike wolves, which have seen their public image improve, attitudes towards the coyote remain largely negative.<ref name=conundrum/>

==Description==
[[File:Coyote portrait.jpg|thumb|A closeup of a mountain coyote's (''C.{{nbsp}}l. lestes'') head]]

Coyote males average {{convert|8|to|20|kg|abbr=on}} in weight, while females average {{convert|7|to|18|kg|abbr=on}}, though size varies geographically. Northern subspecies, which average {{convert|18|kg|abbr=on}}, tend to grow larger than the southern subspecies of Mexico, which average {{convert|11.5|kg|abbr=on}}. Total length ranges on average from {{convert|1.0|to|1.35|m|abbr=on}}; comprising a tail length of {{convert|40|cm|abbr=on}}, with females being shorter in both body length and height.<ref name="bekoff1977"/> The largest coyote on record was a male killed near [[Afton, Wyoming]], on November{{nbsp}}19, 1937, which measured {{convert|1.5|m|abbr=on}} from nose to tail, and weighed {{convert|34|kg|abbr=on}}.<ref name="young48">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|p=48}}</ref> Scent glands are located at the upper side of the base of the tail and are a bluish-black color.<ref name="young63"/>

{{Anchor|fur}}The color and texture of the coyote's fur vary somewhat geographically.<ref name="bekoff1977"/> The hair's predominant color is light gray and red or [[fulvous]], interspersed around the body with black and white. Coyotes living at high elevations tend to have more black and gray shades than their [[desert]]-dwelling counterparts, which are more fulvous or whitish-gray.<ref name="young50">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|pp=50–53}}</ref> The coyote's fur consists of short, soft underfur and long, coarse guard hairs. The fur of northern subspecies is longer and denser than in southern forms, with the fur of some Mexican and Central American forms being almost hispid (bristly).<ref name="young247">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|p=247}}</ref> Generally, adult coyotes (including coywolf hybrids) have a sable coat color, dark neonatal coat color, bushy tail with an active [[supracaudal gland]], and a white facial mask.<ref name="fox105"/> [[Albinism]] is extremely rare in coyotes. Out of a total of 750,000 coyotes killed by federal and cooperative hunters between March 1938 and June 1945, only two had traits consistent with albinism.<ref name="young50"/>

The coyote is typically smaller than the gray wolf, but has longer ears and a relatively larger [[Neurocranium|braincase]],<ref name="bekoff1977">{{cite journal|author=Bekoff M. |year=1977|title=''Canis latrans''|journal=Mammalian Species|issue=79|pages=1–9|doi=10.2307/3503817|jstor=3503817|issn=1545-1410|oclc=46381503|doi-access=free}}</ref> as well as a thinner frame, face, and muzzle. The scent glands are smaller than the gray wolf's, but are the same color.<ref name="young63"/> Its fur color variation is much less varied than that of a wolf.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/wildlifehabitat/wolf/documents/sharingtheland.pdf|year=2015|title=Sharing the Land with Wolves|publisher=Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources|access-date=June 29, 2016}}</ref><!--not sure if this cites to Young 50 or not, needs verification--> The coyote also carries its tail downwards when running or walking, rather than horizontally as the wolf does.<ref name="cartaino16">{{Harvnb|Cartaino|2011|p=16}}</ref>

Coyote tracks can be distinguished from those of dogs by their more elongated, less rounded shape.<ref name="young59">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|p=59}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter-url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=3-6WAwAAQBAJ|page=112}}|first=Stephen|last=Vantassel|chapter=Coyotes|year=2012|title=Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook|edition=3rd|publisher=Wildlife Control Consultant|page=112|isbn=978-0-9668582-5-9|oclc=794471798|location=Lincoln, Nebraska}}</ref> Unlike dogs, the upper canines of coyotes extend past the [[mental foramina]].<ref name="bekoff1977"/>

==Taxonomy and evolution==

===History===
[[File:Toltec coyote.jpg|thumb|A [[Toltec]] pictograph of a coyote]]
At the time of the European colonization of the Americas, coyotes were largely confined to open plains and arid regions of the western half of the continent.{{sfn|Nowak|1979|p=14}} In early post-Columbian historical records, determining whether the writer is describing coyotes or wolves is often difficult. One record from 1750 in [[Kaskaskia, Illinois]], written by a local priest, noted that the "wolves" encountered there were smaller and less daring than European wolves. Another account from the early 1800s in [[Edwards County, Illinois]] mentioned wolves howling at night, though these were likely coyotes.<ref name="hoffmeister">{{cite book |last=Hoffmeister |first=Donald F. |year=2002 |title=Mammals of Illinois |publisher=University of Illinois Press |pages=33–34 |isbn=978-0-252-07083-9 |oclc=50649299 |url={{Google book|plainurl=yes|id=IH4iv6MrrW4C|page=33}} }}</ref> This species was encountered several times during the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] (1804–1806), though it was already well known to European traders on the upper [[Missouri River|Missouri]]. [[Meriwether Lewis]], writing on 5&nbsp;May 1805, in northeastern [[Montana]], described the coyote in these terms:
{{Blockquote|<!-- Leave spelling errors as-is; this is a direct quote. -->The small wolf or burrowing dog of the prairies are the inhabitants almost invariably of the open plains; they usually associate in bands of ten or twelve sometimes more and burrow near some pass or place much frequented by game; not being able alone to take [[deer]] or goat they are rarely ever found alone but hunt in bands; they frequently watch and seize their prey near their burrows; in these burrows, they raise their young and to them they also resort when pursued; when a person approaches them they frequently bark, their note being precisely that of the small dog. They are of an intermediate size between that of the [[fox]] and dog, very active fleet and delicately formed; the ears large erect and pointed the head long and pointed more like that of the fox; tale long ... the hair and fur also resembles the fox, tho' is much coarser and inferior. They are of a pale reddish-brown colour. The eye of a deep sea green colour small and piercing. Their [claws] are rather longer than those of the ordinary wolf or that common to the Atlantic states, none of which are to be found in this quarter, nor I believe above the river Plat.<ref name="mussulman2004"/>}}

The coyote was first scientifically described by [[naturalist]] [[Thomas Say]] in September&nbsp;1819, on the site of Lewis and Clark's Council Bluffs, {{convert|15|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} up the Missouri River from the mouth of the Platte during a [[Stephen Harriman Long#1817-23 expeditions up the Missouri and Platte Rivers|government-sponsored expedition]] with Major [[Stephen Harriman Long|Stephen Long]]. He had the first edition of the Lewis and Clark journals in hand, which contained Biddle's edited version of Lewis's observations dated 5&nbsp;May 1805. His account was published in 1823. [[Thomas Say|Say]] was the first person to document the difference between a "''prairie wolf''" (coyote) and on the next page of his journal a wolf which he named ''Canis nubilus'' ([[Great Plains wolf]]).<ref name="say1823">{{cite book |last1=James |first1=Edwin |last2=Long |first2=Stephen H. |last3=Say |first3=Thomas |last4=Adams |first4=John |year=1823 |title=Account of an expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, performed in the years 1819 and '20 |url=https://archive.org/stream/accountofexpedit01jame#page/168/mode/2up/search/canis+latrans |publisher=Longman, Hurst, Pees, Orre, & Brown |location=London |volume=1 |pages=168–174}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=2179 |title=Thomas Say: ''Canis latrans'' |last1=Mussulman |first1=Joseph |date=November 2004 |publisher=Discovering Lewis & Clark |access-date=15 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721214331/http://www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=2179 |archive-date=July 21, 2013 }}</ref> Say described the coyote as:
{{Blockquote|<!-- Leave spelling errors as-is [sic]. This is a direct quote. -->''Canis latrans''. Cinereous or gray, varied with black above, and dull fulvous, or cinnamon; ''hair'' at base dusky plumbeous, in the middle of its length dull cinnamon, and at tip gray or black, longer on the vertebral line; ''ears'' erect, rounded at tip, cinnamon behind, the hair dark plumbeous at base, inside lined with gray hair; ''eyelids'' edged with black, superior eyelashes black beneath, and at tip above; supplemental lid margined with black-brown before, and edged with black brown behind; ''iris'' yellow; ''pupil'' black-blue; spot upon the lachrymal sac black-brown; ''[[Rostrum (anatomy)|rostrum]]'' cinnamon, tinctured with grayish on the nose; ''lips'' white, edged with black, three series of black seta; ''head'' between the ears intermixed with gray, and dull cinnamon, hairs dusky plumbeous at base; ''sides'' paler than the back, obsoletely fasciate with black above the legs; ''legs'' cinnamon on the outer side, more distinct on the posterior hair: a dilated black abbreviated line on the anterior ones near the wrist; ''tail'' bushy, fusiform, straight, varied with gray and cinnamon, a spot near the base above, and tip black; the tip of the trunk of the tail, attains the tip of the [[Calcaneus|os calcis]], when the leg is extended; ''beneath'' white, immaculate, tail cinnamon towards the tip, tip black; posterior feet four toed, anterior five toed.<ref name="say1823"/>}}

===Naming and etymology===
The first published usage of the word "coyote" (which is a Spanish borrowing of its [[Nahuatl]] name ''coyōtl'' {{Pronunciation|Coyotl.ogg}}) comes from the [[historian]] [[Francisco Javier Clavijero]]'s ''Historia de México'' in 1780.<ref name="clavijero1817">{{cite book |last1=Clavijero |first1=Francisco Javier |last2=Cullen |first2=Charles |year=1817 |url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofmexicoc11817clav#page/56/mode/2up |title=The history of Mexico: Collected from Spanish and Mexican historians, from manuscripts and ancient paintings of the Indians : together with the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards: illustrated by engravings with critical dissertations on the land, the animals, and inhabitants of Mexico |volume=1 |publisher=Thomas Dobson |page=57 |oclc=13601464 |location=Philadelphia}}</ref> The first time it was used in [[English language|English]] occurred in [[William Bullock (collector)|William Bullock]]'s ''Six months' residence and travels in Mexico'' (1824), where it is variously transcribed as ''cayjotte'' and ''cocyotie''. The word's spelling was standardized as "coyote" by the 1880s.<ref name="mussulman2004">{{cite web |url=http://www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=2177 |title=Coyote |last1=Mussulman |first1=Joseph |date=November 2004 |publisher=Discovering Lewis & Clark |access-date=15 January 2013 |archive-date=July 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721183008/http://www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=2177 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bullock|first=W. |year=1824|url=https://archive.org/stream/gri_sixmonthsres00bull#page/n145/mode/2up/search/wolf|title=Six months' residence and travels in Mexico: Containing remarks on the present state of New Spain, its natural productions, state of society, manufactures, trade, agriculture, and antiquities, &c.: with plates and maps|location=London| publisher=John Murray, Albemarle-Street |pages=119, 261}}</ref> 

The English pronunciation is heard both as a two-syllable word (with the final "e" silent) and as three-syllables (with the final "e" pronounced),<ref>Ogilvie, John (1885). ''The Imperial Dictionary''.</ref> with a tendency for the three-syllable pronunciation in eastern states and near the Mexican border, and outside the United States, with two syllables in western and central states.<ref>Garner, Gryan (2000). ''The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style,'' p. 88. Oxford University Press.</ref><ref>Fogarty, Mignon (March 1, 2018). [https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/articles/how-to-pronounce-coyote/ How to Pronounce 'Coyote']. Retrieved 2 Feb. 2024.</ref>

Alternative English names for the coyote include "prairie wolf", "brush wolf", "cased wolf",<ref name="ern789">{{Harvnb|Seton|1909|p=789}}</ref>{{efn|The name "cased wolf" originates from the fact that the coyote's skin was historically cased{{clarify|reason=Exactly what does "cased" mean in regard to an animal's skin?|date=August 2025}} like that of the [[muskrat]], whereas the wolf's was spread out flat like the [[American beaver|beaver]]'s.<ref name="ern789"/>}} "little wolf"<ref name="gier1974">{{cite book |last=Gier |first=H.T. |year=1974 |chapter=Ecology and Behavior of the Coyote (''Canis latrans'') |pages=247–262 |editor-first=M. W. |editor-last=Fox |title=The Wild Canids: Their systematics, behavioral ecology, and evolution |location=New York |publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold |isbn=978-0-442-22430-1 |oclc=1093505}}</ref> and "American jackal".<ref name="bekoff2003"/> Its [[binomial name]] ''Canis latrans'' translates to "barking dog", a reference to the many vocalizations they produce.<ref name="lehner1978"/>

{{Anchor|Local and indigenous names}}
<!-- PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE ADDING AN INDIGENOUS OR LOCAL NAME FOR THIS BOX
* All names should be from languages present in areas where coyotes are indigenous or were once indigenous.
* Names must be sourced and verifiable.                                                                   
-->
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ Local and indigenous names for ''Canis latrans''
! Linguistic group or area
! Indigenous name
|-
| [[Arikara language|Arikara]]
| ''Stshirits pukatsh''<ref name="young6">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|pp=6–7}}</ref>
|-
| [[Canadian French]]
| ''Coyote''<ref name="ern789"/>
|-
| [[Lower Chinook|Chinook]] || ''Italipas''<ref name="young6"/>
|-
| [[Chipewyan language|Chipewyan]]
| ''Nu-ní-yĕ=̑ts!ế-lĕ''<ref name="curtis">{{cite book |last=Curtis |first=E. S. |year=2007 |orig-date=1st Pub. 1928 |series=The North American Indian |volume=18 |title=The Chipewyan. The western woods Cree. The Sarsi |publisher=Classic Books Company |page=201 |isbn=978-0-7426-9818-5}}</ref>
|-
| [[Cocopah language|Cocopah]]
| ''Ṭxpa''<ref name="crawford1989">{{cite dictionary |last=Crawford |first=J. M. |year=1989 |title=Cocopa Dictionary |page=445 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-09749-0 |oclc=20012309 |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=ohzvjgEACAAJ |page=445}} }}</ref><br />''Xṭpa''<ref name="crawford1989"/>
|-
| [[East Cree|Northern Cree]]<br/>[[Plains Cree language|Plains Cree]]
| {{lang|cr|ᒣᐢᒐᒑᑲᓂᐢ}} (''Mîscacâkanis'')<ref name="leclaire1998">{{cite dictionary |last1=LeClire |first1=N. |last2=Cardinal |first2=G. |year=1998 |title= Alberta Elders' Cree Dictionary |page=279 |publisher=University of Alberta |isbn=978-0-88864-284-4 |oclc=659111819 |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=CPvhQfDMOlIC|page=279}} }}</ref><br/>
{{lang|cr|ᒣᐢᒐᒑᑲᓂᐢ}} (''Mescacâkanis'')<ref name="leclaire1998"/>
|-
| [[Creek language|Creek]]
| ''Yvhuce'' (archaic)<ref name="martin2004">{{cite dictionary |last1=Martin |first1=J. P. |last2=Mauldin|first2=M. M. |year=2004 |title=A Dictionary of Creek / Muskogee |page=153 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-8302-2 |oclc=43561668 |url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=0qDkYfyX010C|page=153}} }}</ref><br/>''Yvhvlanuce'' (modern)<ref name="martin2004"/>
|-
| [[Dakota language|Dakota]]
| ''Mica''<ref name="young6"/><br/>''Micaksica''<ref name="young6"/>
|-
| [[Salishan languages|Flathead]]
| ''Sinchlep''<ref name="young6"/>
|-
| [[Hidatsa language|Hidatsa]]
| ''Motsa''<ref name="young6"/>
|-
| [[Hopi language|Hopi]]
| ''Iisawu''<ref name="albert1985">{{cite dictionary |last1=Albert |first1=R. |last2=Shaul |first2=D. L. |year=1985 |title=A Concise Hopi and English Lexicon |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |page=26 |isbn=978-90-272-2015-8 |oclc=777549431 |url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=YlnwKAt6v68C|page=26}} }}</ref><br />''Isaw''<ref name="albert1985"/>
|-
| [[Karuk language|Karuk]]
| ''Pihnêefich''<ref name=karukdictionary2015>{{cite dictionary |url=http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~karuk/karuk-dictionary.php?exact-match=&lx=&ge=coyote&sd=&pos=&lxGroup-id=4782&audio=&index-position=&index-order= |first1=William |last1=Bright |first2=Susan |last2=Gehr |title=Karuk Dictionary and Texts |entry=Coyote |publisher=Karuk Tribe & UC Berkeley |access-date=22 May 2015}}</ref>
|-
| [[Klamath language|Klamath]]
| ''Ko-ha-a''<ref name="young6"/>
|-
| [[Mandan language|Mandan]]
| ''Scheke''<ref name="young6"/>
|-
| [[Mayan language|Mayan]]
| ''Pek'i'cash''<ref name="reid2009">{{cite book |last=Reid |first=F. A. |year=2009 |title=A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico |publisher= Oxford University Press |page=259 |isbn=978-0-19-534322-9 |oclc=237402526 |url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=aBEbUaXTWYAC|page=259}} }}</ref>
|-
| [[Nez Perce language|Nez Perce]]
| ''ʔiceyé•ye''<ref>{{cite dictionary |last=Aoki |first=Haruo |year=1994 |title=Nez Percé dictionary |page=491 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-09763-6 |oclc=463788185}}</ref>
|-
| [[Nahuatl language|Nahuatl]]
| ''Coyōtl''<ref name="clavijero1817"/>
|-
| [[Navajo language|Navajo]]
| ''Ma'ii''<ref>{{cite dictionary |last=Neundorf |first=A. |year=1983 |title=A Navajo / English Bilingual Dictionary: Áłchíní Bi Naaltsoostsoh |page=512 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |isbn=978-0-8263-3825-9 |oclc=57357517 |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=nRVnA3q_NkgC |page=512}}}}</ref>
|-
| [[Lakota language|Lakota]]
| ''Mee-yah-slay'-cha-lah''<ref name="ern789"/>
|-
| [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]] ([[Chippewa language|Southwestern]])
| ''Wiisagi-ma'iingan''<ref>{{cite web |title=Animal Names, Ojibwemowin |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd897207.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018225253/https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd897207.pdf |archive-date=October 18, 2023 |website=USDA Forest Service |publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture |access-date=8 October 2023}}</ref>
|-
| [[Omaha–Ponca language|Omaha]]
| ''Mikasi''<ref name="young6"/>
|-
| [[Osage language|Osage]]
| {{lang|osa|𐓇𐓪͘𐓨𐓣͘𐓡𐓤𐓘𐓮𐓣}} ''Šómįhkasi''<ref name="quintero">{{cite book |last=Quintero |first=C. |year=2004 |title=Osage Grammar |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |page=83 |isbn=978-0-8032-3803-9 |oclc=57614396 |url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=wnvaInod5MAC|page=83}} }}</ref>
|-
| [[Pawnee language|Pawnee]]
| ''Ckirihki''<ref>{{cite dictionary |last1=Parks |first1=R. P. |last2=Pratt |first2=L. N. |year=2008 |title=A Dictionary of Skiri Pawnee |page=119 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-1926-7 |oclc=940905155}}</ref>
|-
| [[Paiute people|Piute]]
| ''Eja-ah''<ref name="young6"/>
|-
| [[Spanish language in the Americas|Spanish]]
| ''Coyote''<ref name="reid2009"/><br/>
''Perro de monte''<ref name="reid2009"/>
|-
| [[Sahaptin language|Yakama]]
| ''Telipa''<ref name="young6"/>
|-
| [[Timbisha language|Timbisha]]
| ''Isa(ppü)''<ref name="daley1989">{{cite dictionary |last=Dayley |first=J. P. |year=1989 |title=Tümpisa (Panamint) Shoshone Dictionary |publisher=University of California Press |page=436 |isbn=978-0-520-09754-4 |oclc=489876664 |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=rBweNGy2aGMC |page=436}}}}</ref><br/>
''Isapaippü''<ref name="daley1989"/><br/>
''Itsappü''<ref name="daley1989"/>
|-
| [[Wintu language|Wintu]]
| ''Ćarawa''<ref name="pitkin1985">{{cite book |last=Pitkin |first=H. |year=1985 |title=Wintu Dictionary |publisher=University of California Press |pages=65, 573 |isbn=978-0-520-09613-4 |oclc=12313411}}</ref><br/>
''Sedet''<ref name="pitkin1985"/>
|-
| [[Assiniboine language|Nakota]]
| ''Song-toke-cha''<ref name="ern789"/>
|-
| [[Yurok language|Yurok]]
| ''Segep''<ref name=yurokdictionary2015>{{cite dictionary |url=http://corpus.linguistics.berkeley.edu/~yurok/lexicon.php?style=query&writing=&lx-id=2969&index=&yu=&ge=&sd=&rf=&pd=&ps=&mr=&quick-search=coyote |entry=Coyote |publisher=UC Berkeley |access-date=22 May 2015|title=Yurok Dictionary: Segep }}</ref>
|}

===Evolution===
{{Cladogram|align=right|title=[[Phylogenetic tree]] of the [[Canina (subtribe)|wolf-like canids]] with timing in millions of years{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=mtdna_seq_desc|For a full set of supporting references refer to the note (a) in the phylotree at [[Evolution of the wolf#Wolf-like canids]]}}
|cladogram={{clade | style = font-size:85%;line-height:80%;width:400px;
 |label1=[[Caninae]] 3.5 [[Megaannum|Ma]]
 |1={{clade
  |label1=3.0
  |1={{clade
   |label1=2.5
   |1={{clade
    |label1=2.0
    |1={{clade
     |label1=0.96
     |1={{clade
       |label1=0.6
       |1={{clade
        |label1=0.38
        |1={{clade
         |1={{clade
          |1={{clade
           |1=[[Dog|Domestic dog]] <span style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:202104 Dog.svg|50 px]]</span>
           |2=[[Wolf|Gray wolf]] [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I).jpg|50 px]]
}}
}}
         |2='''Coyote''' [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate IX).jpg|50 px]]
}}
        |2=[[African wolf]] [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate XI).jpg|50 px]]
}}
       |2=[[Golden jackal]] [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate X).jpg|50 px]]
}}
      |2=[[Ethiopian wolf]] [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate VI).jpg|50 px]]
}}
     |2=[[Dhole]] [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate XLI).jpg|50 px]]
}}
     |2=[[African wild dog]] [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate XLIV).jpg|50 px]]
}}
  |2={{clade
   |1={{clade
    |1=[[Side-striped jackal]] [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate XIII).jpg|50 px]]
    |2=[[Black-backed jackal]] [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate XII).jpg|50 px]]
}}
    |label1=2.6
}}
}}
}}
}}

====Fossil record====
{{See also|Evolution of the wolf#Fossil record}}

[[Xiaoming Wang (paleontologist)|Xiaoming Wang]] and [[Richard H. Tedford]], one of the foremost [[Author citation (zoology)|authorities]] on carnivore evolution,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Natural History: Canid Family Ties |year=2008|magazine=The Magazine of the American Museum of Natural History|url=https://archive.org/stream/naturalhistory11706unse#page/22|page=22|volume=117|number=6|publisher=American Museum of Natural History|location=New York}}</ref> proposed that the genus ''Canis'' was the descendant of the coyote-like ''[[Eucyon davisi]]'' and its remains first appeared in the [[Miocene]] 6{{nbsp}}million years ago (Mya) in the southwestern US and Mexico. By the [[Pliocene]] (5{{nbsp}}Mya), the larger ''[[Canis lepophagus]]''<ref name=fossilworks1/> appeared in the same region and by the [[early Pleistocene]] (1{{nbsp}}Mya) ''C.{{nbsp}}latrans'' (the coyote) was in existence. They proposed that the progression from ''Eucyon davisi'' to ''C.{{nbsp}}lepophagus'' to the coyote was linear evolution.{{sfn|Wang|Tedford|2008|p=58}} 

''C.{{nbsp}}latrans'' and ''C.{{nbsp}}aureus'' are closely related to ''[[Canis edwardii|C.{{nbsp}}edwardii]]'', a species that appeared earliest spanning the mid-[[Blancan]] ([[late Pliocene]]) to the close of the [[Irvingtonian]] (late Pleistocene), and coyote remains indistinguishable from ''C.&nbsp;latrans'' were contemporaneous with ''C.{{nbsp}}edwardii'' in North America.{{sfn|Tedford|Wang|Taylor|2009|pp=175, 180}} Johnston describes ''C.{{nbsp}}lepophagus'' as having a more slender skull and skeleton than the modern coyote.{{sfn|Johnston|1938|p=385}} Ronald Nowak found that the early populations had small, delicate, narrowly proportioned skulls that resemble small coyotes and appear to be ancestral to ''C.&nbsp;latrans''.{{sfn|Nowak|2003|p=241}}

''C. lepophagus'' was similar in weight to modern coyotes, but had shorter limb bones that indicate a less [[cursorial]] lifestyle. The coyote represents a more primitive form of ''Canis'' than the gray wolf, as shown by its relatively small size and its comparatively narrow skull and jaws, which lack the grasping power necessary to hold the large prey in which wolves specialize. This is further corroborated by the coyote's [[sagittal crest]], which is low or totally flattened, thus indicating a weaker bite than the wolves. The coyote, unlike the wolf, is not a specialized carnivore, as shown by the larger chewing surfaces on the [[molar (tooth)|molars]], reflecting the species' relative dependence on vegetable matter. In these respects, the coyote resembles the fox-like progenitors of the genus more so than the wolf.<ref name=nowak1978/>

The oldest fossils that fall within the range of the modern coyote date to 0.74–0.85 [[Megaannum|Ma]] (million years) in Hamilton Cave, West Virginia; 0.73''&nbsp;''Ma in Irvington, California; 0.35–0.48 Ma in Porcupine Cave, Colorado, and in Cumberland Cave, Pennsylvania.{{sfn|Tedford|Wang|Taylor|2009|p=136}} Modern coyotes arose 1,000 years after the [[Quaternary extinction event]].<ref name="meachen2012"/> Compared to their modern [[Holocene]] counterparts, [[Pleistocene coyote]]s (''C.{{nbsp}}l. orcutti'') were larger and more robust, likely in response to larger [[Competition (biology)|competitors]] and prey.<ref name="meachen2012">{{cite journal | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1113788109|pmid=22371581| title = Evolution in coyotes (''Canis latrans'') in response to the megafaunal extinctions| journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences| volume = 109| issue = 11| pages = 4191–6| year = 2012| last1 = Meachen | first1 = J. A. | last2 = Samuels | first2 = J. X. |issn=1091-6490|oclc=475396714|bibcode=2012PNAS..109.4191M | pmc=3306717| url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1043&context=natlpark|doi-access=free}}</ref> Pleistocene coyotes were likely more specialized carnivores than their descendants, as their teeth were more adapted to shearing meat, showing fewer grinding surfaces suited for processing vegetation.<ref name="meachen2014">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0116041|pmid=25551387| title = Ecological Changes in Coyotes (''Canis latrans'') in Response to the Ice Age Megafaunal Extinctions| journal = PLOS ONE| volume = 9| issue = 12| article-number = e116041| year = 2014| last1 = Meachen | first1 = J. A. | last2 = Janowicz | first2 = A. C. | last3 = Avery | first3 = J. E. | last4 = Sadleir | first4 = R. W. |bibcode = 2014PLoSO...9k6041M | pmc=4281224|doi-access=free}}</ref> Their reduction in size occurred within 1,000 years of the Quaternary extinction event, when their large prey died out.<ref name="meachen2012"/> Furthermore, Pleistocene coyotes were unable to exploit the big-game hunting [[Ecological niche|niche]] left vacant after the extinction of the [[dire wolf]] (''Aenocyon{{nbsp}}dirus''), as it was rapidly filled by gray wolves, which likely actively killed off the large coyotes, with [[natural selection]] favoring the modern gracile morph.<ref name="meachen2014"/>

====DNA evidence====
[[File:Canis latrans orcutti.png|thumb|A skeleton of a [[Pleistocene coyote]] (''C.{{nbsp}}l. orcutti'')]]

In 1993, a study proposed that the wolves of North America display skull traits more similar to the coyote than wolves from Eurasia.<ref name=goulet1993/> In 2010, a study found that the coyote was a [[lineage (genetic)#Basal lineage|basal]] member of the clade that included the [[Tibetan wolf]], the [[Dog|domestic dog]], the [[Mongolian wolf]] and the [[Eurasian wolf]], with the Tibetan wolf diverging early from wolves and domestic dogs.<ref name=zhang2010/>

In 2016, a [[Whole genome sequencing|whole-genome]] DNA study proposed, based on the assumptions made, that all of the North American wolves and coyotes diverged from a common ancestor about 51,000&nbsp;years ago.<ref name=vonholdt2016/><ref name=virginia2016/> However, the proposed timing of the wolf / coyote divergence conflicts with the discovery of a coyote-like specimen in strata dated to 1&nbsp;Mya.{{sfn|Wang|Tedford|2008|p={{page needed|date=November 2020}}}} The study also indicated that all North American wolves have a significant amount of coyote ancestry and all coyotes some degree of wolf ancestry, and that the red wolf and eastern wolf are highly [[Genetic admixture|admixed]] with different proportions of gray wolf and coyote ancestry.<ref name=vonholdt2016/><ref name=virginia2016/>

Genetic studies relating to wolves or dogs have inferred phylogenetic relationships based on the only reference genome available, that of the Boxer dog. In 2017, the first reference genome of the wolf ''Canis lupus lupus'' was mapped to aid future research.<ref name=gopalakrishnan2017/> In 2018, a study looked at the genomic structure and admixture of North American wolves, wolf-like canids, and coyotes using specimens from across their entire range that mapped the largest dataset of nuclear genome sequences against the wolf reference genome.

The study supports the findings of previous studies that North American gray wolves and wolf-like canids were the result of complex gray wolf and coyote mixing. A polar wolf from Greenland and a coyote from Mexico represented the purest specimens. The coyotes from Alaska, California, Alabama, and Quebec show almost no wolf ancestry. Coyotes from Missouri, Illinois, and Florida exhibit 5–10% wolf ancestry. There was 40% wolf to 60% coyote ancestry in red wolves, 60% wolf to 40% coyote in Eastern timber wolves, and 75% wolf to 25% coyote in the Great Lakes wolves. There was 10% coyote ancestry in Mexican wolves and the Atlantic Coast wolves, 5% in Pacific Coast and Yellowstone wolves, and less than 3% in Canadian archipelago wolves. If a third canid had been involved in the admixture of the North American wolf-like canids, then its genetic signature would have been found in coyotes and wolves, which it has not.<ref name=sinding2018/>

In 2018, [[whole genome sequencing]] was used to compare members of the genus ''Canis''. The study indicates that the common ancestor of the coyote and gray [[wolf]] has genetically [[Genetic admixture|admixed]] with a [[ghost population]] of an extinct, unidentified canid. The "ghost" canid was genetically close to the [[dhole]], and had evolved after the divergence of the [[African wild dog]] from the other canid species. The [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] position of the coyote compared to the wolf is proposed to be due to the coyote retaining more of the mitochondrial genome from the unknown extinct canid.<ref name=gopalakrishnan2018/>

===Subspecies===
{{As of|2005}}, 19&nbsp;subspecies are recognized.<ref name=bekoff2003>
{{cite book
 |first1=Marc    |last1=Bekoff
 |first2=Eric M. |last2=Gese
 |year=2003
 |chapter=Coyote
 |pages=467–470
 |editor1-first=George A. |editor1-last=Feldhamer
 |editor2-first=Bruce C.  |editor2-last=Thompson
 |editor3-first=Joseph A. |editor3-last=Chapman
 |title=Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, management, and conservation
 |edition=2nd
 |location=Baltimore, MD
 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press
 |isbn=978-0-8018-7416-1   |oclc=51969059
 |chapter-url={{google books|plainurl=yes|id=-xQalfqP7BcC|page=467}}
}}
</ref><ref name=msw3>
{{MSW3 Wozencraft|id=14000718}}
</ref>
Geographic variation in coyotes is not great; however, taken as a whole, the eastern subspecies ({{nobr|''C. l. thamnos''}} and {{nobr|''C. l. frustor''}}) are large, dark-colored animals, with a gradual paling in color and reduction in size westward and northward ({{nobr|''C. l. texensis''}}, {{nobr|''C. l. latrans''}}, {{nobr|''C. l. lestes''}}, and {{nobr|''C. l. incolatus''}}), a brightening of [[Ochre|'ochraceous']] tones – deep orange or brown – towards the Pacific coast ({{nobr|''C. l. ochropus''}}, {{nobr|''C. l. umpquensis''}}), a reduction in size in [[Aridoamerica]] ({{nobr|''C. l. microdon''}}, {{nobr|''C. l. mearnsi''}}) and a general trend towards dark reddish colors and short muzzles in Mexican and Central American populations.<ref name="young249">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|p=249}}</ref>

{| class="sortable wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%;"
 |- style="background:#115a6c;"
 ! Subspecies
 ! Trinomial authority
 !Trinomial authority (year)
! Description & Image
 ! Range
 
!Synonyms
|-
 | '''Plains coyote'''<br/>''C. l. latrans''<br/>[[nominate subspecies]]
[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. latrans ♂.png|150 px]]
 | [[Thomas Say|Say]]<br/><br/>
 |1823
| [[File:Canis latrans latrans Pennington County SD.jpg|180px]]<br/>The largest subspecies; it has rather pale fur and bears large molars and carnassials.<ref name="merriam1897">{{cite journal |author=Merriam, C.H. |year=1897 |title=Revision of the coyotes or prairie wolves, with descriptions of new forms |journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=11 |pages=19–33 |url=http://biostor.org/reference/82756}}</ref>
 | The [[Great Plains]] from [[Alberta]], Manitoba, and [[Saskatchewan]] south to [[New Mexico]] and the [[Texas Panhandle]]<ref name=range>{{harvnb|Nowak|1979|pp=[https://archive.org/stream/northamericanqua00nowa#page/9/mode/2up 9–10]}}</ref>
 
|{{small|[syn: {{nobr|''C. l. nebracensis''}} (Merriam, 1898)<br/>{{nobr|''C. l. pallidus''}} (Merriam, 1897)]}}
|-
 | '''Mexican coyote'''<br/>''C. l. cagottis''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. cagottis.png|150 px]]
 | C.E.H.&nbsp;Smith
 |1839
| Similar to {{nobr|''C. l. peninsulae''}}, but larger and redder in color; it has shorter ears, larger teeth, and a broader muzzle.<ref name="merriam1897"/>
 | States of [[Oaxaca]], [[San Luis Potosi]], [[Puebla]], and [[Veracruz]] in Mexico<ref name=range/>
 
|
|-
 | '''San Pedro Martir coyote'''<br/>''C. l. clepticus''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. clepticus.png|150 px]]
 | [[Daniel Giraud Elliot|Elliot]]
 |1903
| [[File:Canis latrans.jpg|180px]]<br/>A small subspecies, it has reddish summer fur and a short, broad skull.<ref name="elliot1904">{{cite book |author=Elliot, D.G. |year=1904 |title=The land and sea mammals of Middle America and the West Indies |volume=II |pages=467–468 |publisher=[[Field Museum of Natural History|Field Columbian Museum of Chicago]] |place=Chicago, IL |url=https://archive.org/details/landseamammalsof02elli}}</ref>
 | Northern [[Baja California (state)|Baja California]] and southwestern California<ref name=range/>
 
|
|-
 | '''El Salvador coyote'''<br/>''C. l. dickeyi''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. dickeyi.png|150 px]]
 | [[Edward William Nelson|Nelson]]
 |1932
| [[File:Costa Rica coyote.png|180px]]A large subspecies, it equals {{nobr|''C. l. lestes''}} in size, but has smaller teeth and darker fur.<ref name="nelson1932">{{cite journal |author=Nelson, E.W. |year=1932 |title=Remarks on coyotes, with description of a new subspecies from Salvador |journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=45 |pages=223–225 |url=http://biostor.org/reference/82997 |access-date=September 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907165302/http://biostor.org/reference/82997 |archive-date=September 7, 2014}}</ref>
 | Originally only known from Cerro Mogote, {{convert|2|mi|km|abbr=on|order=flip}} west of the [[Goascorán River]] in [[La Unión, El Salvador]];<ref name="nelson1932"/> in January 2013, it expanded its range southward into southern [[Panama]].<ref name="mendez2014"/>
 
|
|-
 | '''Southeastern coyote'''<br/>''C. l. frustor''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. frustor.png|150 px]]
 | [[Samuel Washington Woodhouse|Woodhouse]]
 |1851
| This subspecies is similar to {{nobr|''C. l. peninsulae''}}, but larger and paler, with shorter ears and a longer muzzle.<ref name="merriam1897"/>
 | Southeastern and extreme eastern [[Kansas]], [[Oklahoma]], [[Texas]], [[Missouri]], and [[Arkansas]]<ref name=range/>
 
|
|-
 | '''Belize coyote'''<br/>''C. l. goldmani''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. goldmani.png|150 px]]
 | [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]]
 |1904
| The largest of the Mexican coyotes, it approaches {{nobr|''C. l. latrans''}} in size, but has a shorter muzzle.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Merriam, C.H. |year=1904 |title=A new coyote from southern Mexico |journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=17 |page=157 |url=http://biostor.org/reference/82977.text |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907165531/http://biostor.org/reference/82977.text |archive-date=September 7, 2014 }}</ref>
 | Known only from San Vicente, [[Chiapas]], Mexico, near the [[Guatemala]]n border, though it could be the coyote of western Guatemala.<ref name=range/>
 
|
|-
 | '''Honduras coyote'''<br/>''C. l. hondurensis''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. hondurensis.png|150 px]]
 | [[Edward Alphonso Goldman|Goldman]]
 |1936
| A small, rufous-colored subspecies, it has coarse, thin fur and a broad skull.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Goldman, E.A. |year=1936 |title=A new coyote from Honduras |journal=J. Wash. Acad. Sci. |volume=26 |pages=32–34  |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ia/journalofwashin261936wash#page/45/mode/1up}}</ref>
 | Known only from the open country northeast of Archaga, north of [[Tegucigalpa]]<ref name=range/>
 
|
|-
 | '''Durango coyote'''<br/>''C. l. impavidus''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. impavidus.png|150 px]]
 | [[Joel Asaph Allen|Allen]]
 |1903
| This canid is similar to {{nobr|''C. l. cagottis''}} in color, but much larger.<ref name="elliot1904"/>
 | Southern [[Sonora]], extreme southwestern [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]], western [[Durango]], western [[Zacatecas]], and [[Sinaloa]]<ref name=range/>
 
|
|-
 | '''Northern coyote'''<br/>''C. l. incolatus''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. incolatus.png|150 px]]
 | [[Ansel Franklin Hall|Hall]]
 |1934
| [[File:Coyote in Alaska.jpg|180px]]<br/>A medium-sized subspecies, it has cinnamon-colored fur and a more concave skull than {{nobr|''C. l. latrans''}}.<ref name="young263">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|p=263}}</ref>
 | Boreal forests of [[Alaska]], the [[Yukon]], the [[Northwest Territories]], northern [[British Columbia]], and northern [[Alberta]]<ref name=range/>
 
|
|-
 | '''Tiburón Island coyote'''<br/>''C. l. jamesi''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. jamesi.png|150 px]]
 | [[Charles Haskins Townsend|Townsend]]
 |1912
| Much paler than {{nobr|''C. l. mearnsi''}}, it has heavier teeth, a large skull, and long ears.<ref name=tiburon>{{cite journal |author=Townsend, C.H. |author-link=Charles Haskins Townsend |year=1912 |journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History |volume=31 |pages=117–130 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/86439#page/151/mode/1up |title=Mammals collected by the 'Albatross' expedition in Lower California in 1911, with descriptions of new species}}</ref>
 | [[Tiburón Island]]<ref name=tiburon/>
 
|
|-
 | '''Mountain coyote'''<br/>''C. l. lestes''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. lestes.png|150 px]]
 | [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]]
 |1897
| [[File:Coyote Yellowstone (cropped).jpg|180px]]<br/>Similar in size and color to {{nobr|''C. l. latrans''}}, this subspecies has a large tail and ears.<ref name="merriam1897"/>
 | Southern British Columbia and southeastern Alberta, [[Washington (state)|Washington]] east of the [[Cascade Range]], [[Oregon]], northern [[California]], western [[Montana]], [[Wyoming]], [[Colorado]] (except the southeastern corner), north-central [[Nevada]], and north-central [[Utah]]<ref name=range/>
 
|
|-
 | '''Mearns' coyote'''<br/>''C. l. mearnsi''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. mearnsi.png|150 px]]
 | [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]]<br/><br/>
 |1897
| [[File:Coyote en Sonora.jpg|180px]]<br/>A small subspecies with medium-sized ears, a small skull and small teeth; its fur is richly and brightly colored. The [[fulvous]] tints are exceedingly bright, and cover the hindfeet and forefeet.<ref name="merriam1897"/>
 | Southwestern [[Colorado]], extreme southern [[Utah]] and [[Nevada]], [[southeastern California]], northeastern [[Baja California]], [[Arizona]], west of the [[Rio Grande]] in [[New Mexico]], northern [[Sonora]] and Chihuahua<ref name=range/>
 
|{{small|[syn: {{nobr|''C. l. estor''}} (Merriam, 1897)]}}
|-
 | '''Lower Rio Grande coyote'''<br/>''C. l. microdon''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. microdon.png|150 px]]
 | [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]]
 |1897
| A small subspecies, it has small teeth and rather dark fur. The upper surface of the hind foot is whitish, while the belly is sprinkled with black-tipped hairs.<ref name="merriam1897"/>
 | Southern Texas and northern [[Tamaulipas]]<ref name=range/>
 
|
|-
 | '''Valley coyote'''<br/>''[[Valley coyote|C. l. ochropus]]''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. ochropus.png|150 px]]
 | [[Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz|von Eschscholtz]]
 |1829
| [[File:Coyote Beverley Hills CA.jpg|180px]]<br/>Similar to {{nobr|''C. l. latrans''}} and {{nobr|''C. l. lestes''}}, but smaller, darker, more brightly colored; it has larger ears and smaller skull and teeth.<ref name="merriam1897"/>
 | California west of the [[Sierra Nevada]]<ref name=range/>
 
|
|-
 | '''Peninsula coyote'''<br/>''C. l. peninsulae''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. peninsulae.png|150 px]]
 | [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]]
 |1897
| It is similar to {{nobr|''C. l. ochropus''}} in size and features, but has darker, redder fur. The underside of the tail is blacker than that of {{nobr|''C. l. ochropus''}}, and the belly has more black-tipped hairs.<ref name="merriam1897"/>
 | Baja California<ref name=range/>
 
|
|-
 | '''[[Eastern coyote]]'''<br/>''C. l.'' var.<br/>[[File:Canis latrans texensis vs Canis latrans "var.".jpg|center|150 px]]
 | Lawrence & Bossert<br/><br/>
 |1969
| [[File:Coyote-face-snow - Virginia - ForestWander.jpg|180px]]<br/> It is a hybrid of {{nobr|''C. lupus''}}/{{nobr|''C. lycaon''}} and {{nobr|''C. latrans''}}; smaller than the [[eastern wolf]] and holds smaller territories, but larger and holds more extensive home ranges than the typical western coyote. 
 | [[New England]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[New Jersey]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[Ohio]], [[West Virginia]], [[Maryland]], [[Delaware]], and [[Virginia]], and the eastern Canadian provinces of [[Ontario]], [[Quebec]], [[New Brunswick]], [[Nova Scotia]], [[Prince Edward Island]], and [[Newfoundland and Labrador]]<ref name=range/>
 
|{{small|[syn: {{nobr|''C. l. oriens''}}, {{nobr|''C. l. virginiensis''}}]}}
|-
 | '''Texas plains coyote'''<br/>''C. l. texensis''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. texensis.png|150 px]]
 | [[Vernon Orlando Bailey|Bailey]]
 |1905
| [[File:Happy Coyote Bandeler Los Alamos NM.jpg|180px]]<br/>Smaller than {{nobr|''C. l. latrans''}}, it has brighter, more [[fulvous]] fur closely approaching the richness found in {{nobr|''C. l. ochropus''}}, though {{nobr|''C. l. texensis''}} lacks that subspecies' large ears.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Bailey, V. |year=1905 |title=Biological survey of Texas |journal=North American Fauna |volume=25 |pages=1–222 |doi=10.3996/nafa.25.0001 |doi-access=free |issn=1944-4575 |oclc=273060038 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015006867405}}</ref>
 | Most of Texas, eastern New Mexico, and northeastern Mexico<ref name=range/>
 
|
|-
 | '''Northeastern coyote'''<br/>''[[Northeastern coyote|C. l. thamnos]]''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. thamnos.png|150 px]]
 | Jackson
 |1949
| [[File:Canis latrans PO.jpg|130px]]<br/>About the same size as {{nobr|''C. l. latrans''}}, or larger, but darker in color, it has a broader skull.<ref name="jackson1949">{{cite journal |author=Jackson, H.H.T. |year=1949 |title=Two new coyotes from the United States |journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=62 |pages=31–32 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/110822#page/47/mode/1up}}</ref>
 | North-central [[Saskatchewan]], [[Manitoba]] (except the extreme southwestern corner), east to southern [[Quebec]], south to eastern [[North Dakota]], [[Minnesota]], [[Iowa]], [[Missouri]] (north of the Missouri River), [[Michigan]], [[Wisconsin]], [[Illinois]] (except the extreme southern portion), and northern [[Indiana]]<ref name=range/>
 
|
|-
 | '''Northwest Coast coyote'''<br/>''C. l. umpquensis''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. umpquensis.png|150 px]]
 | Jackson
 |1949
| [[File:Coyote by Rebecca Richardson.jpg|130px]]<br/>A small subspecies, it has dark, rufous-tinged fur, a comparatively small skull, and weak dentition.<ref name="jackson1949"/>
 | Coasts of [[British Columbia]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], and [[Oregon]]<ref name=range/>
 
|
|-
 | '''Colima coyote'''<br/>''C. l. vigilis''<br/>[[File:The Clever Coyote (1951) C. l. vigilis.png|150 px]]
 | [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]]
 |1897
| Similar to {{nobr|''C. l. peninsulae''}}, but darker and more extensively colored; it has more black on the forearms, and no black on the underside of the tail (excepting the tip).<ref name="merriam1897"/>
 | Pacific coast of Mexico from [[Jalisco]] south to [[Guerrero]]<ref name=range/>
|
|}

===Hybridization===
[[File:Black coyodog.jpg|thumb|Melanistic coyotes owe their color to a mutation that first arose in domestic dogs.<ref name=black/>]]
Coyotes occasionally mate with [[Dog|domestic dog]]s, sometimes producing crosses colloquially known as "[[coydog]]s".<ref name="young121">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|pp=121–24}}</ref> Such matings are rare in the wild, as the mating cycles of dogs and coyotes do not coincide, and coyotes are usually antagonistic towards dogs. Hybridization usually only occurs when coyotes are expanding into areas where conspecifics are few, and dogs are the only alternatives. Even then, pup survival rates are lower than normal, as dogs do not form pair bonds with coyotes, thus making the rearing of pups more difficult.<ref name="cartaino61">{{Harvnb|Cartaino|2011|pp=61–3}}</ref> In captivity, [[F1 hybrid|F<sub>1</sub> hybrid]]s (first generation) tend to be more mischievous and less manageable as pups than dogs, and are less trustworthy on maturity than [[Wolfdog|wolf-dog hybrid]]s.<ref name="young121"/> 

Hybrids vary in appearance, but generally retain the coyote's [[#Description|usual characteristics]]. F<sub>1</sub> hybrids tend to be intermediate in form between dogs and coyotes, while F<sub>2</sub> hybrids (second generation) are more varied. Both F<sub>1</sub> and F<sub>2</sub> hybrids resemble their coyote parents in terms of shyness and intrasexual aggression.<ref name="fox105">{{Harvnb|Fox|1978|p=105}}</ref><ref name="fox136">{{Harvnb|Fox|1978|p=136}}</ref> Hybrids are fertile and can be successfully bred through four generations.<ref name="young121"/> [[Melanism|Melanistic]] coyotes owe their black pelts to a mutation that first arose in domestic dogs.<ref name="black">{{Cite journal | last1 = Anderson | first1 = T. M. | last2 = Vonholdt | first2 = B. M. | last3 = Candille | first3 = S. I. | last4 = Musiani | first4 = M. | last5 = Greco | first5 = C. | last6 = Stahler | first6 = D. R. | last7 = Smith | first7 = D. W. | last8 = Padhukasahasram | first8 = B. | last9 = Randi | first9 = E. | doi = 10.1126/science.1165448 | last10 = Leonard | first10 = J. A. | last11 = Bustamante | first11 = C. D. | last12 = Ostrander | first12 = E. A. | last13 = Tang | first13 = H. | last14 = Wayne | first14 = R. K. | last15 = Barsh | first15 = G. S. | title = Molecular and Evolutionary History of Melanism in North American Gray Wolves | journal = Science | volume = 323 | issue = 5919 | pages = 1339–1343 | year = 2009 | pmid =  19197024| pmc =2903542 |bibcode = 2009Sci...323.1339A|issn=1095-9203|oclc=34298537}}</ref> A population of non-albino white coyotes in Newfoundland owe their coloration to a [[melanocortin 1 receptor]] mutation inherited from [[Golden Retriever]]s.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Zimmer|first=Carl|url=http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/21/snow-coyotes-and-spirit-bears/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122152521/http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/21/snow-coyotes-and-spirit-bears/|archive-date=January 22, 2013|title=Snow Coyotes and Spirit Bears|magazine=National Geographic Magazine|date=January 21, 2013|access-date=July 1, 2016}}</ref>
[[File:Westerncoywolf.png|thumb|A [[coywolf]] hybrid conceived in captivity between a male gray wolf and a female coyote]]

Coyotes have hybridized with wolves to varying degrees, particularly in eastern [[North America]]. The so-called "[[eastern coyote]]" of northeastern North America probably originated in the aftermath of the extermination of gray and eastern wolves in the northeast, thus allowing coyotes to colonize former wolf ranges and mix with the remnant wolf populations. This hybrid is smaller than either the gray or eastern wolf, and holds smaller territories, but is in turn larger and holds more extensive home ranges than the typical western coyote. {{as of|2010}}, the eastern coyote's genetic makeup is fairly uniform, with minimal influence from eastern wolves or western coyotes.<ref name="way2010">{{cite journal|doi=10.1656/045.017.0202 |jstor=40664873|author1=Way, J.G. |author2= Rutledge, L. |author3=Wheeldon, T. |author4=B.N. White|year=2010 |url=http://www.easterncoyoteresearch.com/downloads/GeneticsOfEasternCoywolfFinalInPrint.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107171635/http://easterncoyoteresearch.com/downloads/GeneticsOfEasternCoywolfFinalInPrint.pdf |archive-date=2011-01-07 |url-status=live |title=Genetic characterization of Eastern "Coyotes" in eastern Massachusetts|journal= Northeastern Naturalist |volume= 17|issue=2|pages= 189–204|s2cid=135542|issn=1938-5307|oclc=46381506}}</ref> 

Adult eastern coyotes are larger than western coyotes, with female eastern coyotes weighing 21% more than male western coyotes.<ref name="way2010"/><ref name="way2007">{{cite journal|doi=10.1656/1092-6194(2007)14[111:ACOBMO]2.0.CO;2 |author=Way, J. G. |year=2007|url=http://easterncoyoteresearch.com/downloads/BodyMassWay.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006084632/http://easterncoyoteresearch.com/downloads/BodyMassWay.PDF |archive-date=2008-10-06 |url-status=live |title=A comparison of body mass of ''Canis latrans'' (Coyotes) between eastern and western North America|journal=Northeastern Naturalist|volume= 14|issue=1|pages= 111–24|jstor=4499900|s2cid=85288738 |issn=1938-5307|oclc=46381506}}</ref> Physical differences become more apparent by the age of 35 days, with eastern coyote pups having longer legs than their western counterparts. Differences in dental development also occurs, with [[tooth eruption]] being later, and in a different order in the eastern coyote.<ref name="bekoff1978"/> Aside from its size, the eastern coyote is physically similar to the western coyote. The four color phases range from dark brown to blond or reddish blond, though the most common phase is gray-brown, with reddish legs, ears, and flanks.<ref name="hilton1978">{{cite book|last=Hilton|first=Henry|year=1978|chapter=Systematics and Ecology of the Eastern Coyote|pages=210–28|editor1-first=M. |editor1-last=Bekoff|title=Coyotes: Biology, Behavior, and Management |publisher=Academic Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-930665-42-2|oclc=52626838}}</ref> 

No significant differences exist between eastern and western coyotes in aggression and fighting, though eastern coyotes tend to fight less, and are more playful. Unlike western coyote pups, in which fighting precedes play behavior, fighting among eastern coyote pups occurs after the onset of play.<ref name="bekoff1978">{{cite book|last=Bekoff|first=M. |year=1978 |chapter=Behavioral Development in Coyotes and Eastern Coyotes|pages=97–127|title=Coyotes: Biology, Behavior, and Management|publisher=Academic Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-930665-42-2|oclc=52626838}}</ref> Eastern coyotes tend to reach [[sexual maturity]] at two years of age, much later than in western coyotes.<ref name="way2010"/>

Eastern and red wolves are also products of varying degrees of wolf-coyote hybridization. The eastern wolf probably was a result of a wolf-coyote admixture, combined with extensive [[backcrossing]] with parent gray wolf populations. The red wolf may have originated during a time of declining wolf populations in the [[Southeastern Woodlands]], forcing a wolf-coyote hybridization, as well as backcrossing with local parent coyote populations to the extent that about 75–80% of the modern red wolf's genome is of coyote derivation.<ref name=vonholdt2016/><ref name="genome">{{Cite journal 
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| last7 = Geffen | first7 = E. 
| last8 = Pilot | first8 = M. 
| last9 = Jedrzejewski | first9 = W. 
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| doi = 10.1101/gr.116301.110 | first10 = B. 
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| last13 = Randi | first13 = E. 
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| last17 = Ostrander | first17 = E. A. 
| last18 = Novembre | first18 = J. 
| last19 = Wayne | first19 = R. K. 
| title = A genome-wide perspective on the evolutionary history of enigmatic wolf-like canids 
| journal = Genome Research 
| volume = 21 
| issue = 8 
| pages = 1294–1305 
| year = 2011 
| pmid = 21566151 
| pmc = 3149496 
| issn = 1549-5469
| oclc = 37589079
}}</ref>

==Behavior==

===Social and reproductive behaviors===
[[File:Gpa bill coyote pups 3.jpg|thumb|Mearns' coyote (''C.&nbsp;l. mearnsi'') pups playing]]
[[File:Pair of Coyotes Playing in Santa Teresa County Park (45917548654).jpg|thumb|The "hip-slam"<ref name="fox136"/> is a common play behavior]]
[[File:Pack of coyotes on snow.jpg|thumb|A pack of coyotes in [[Yellowstone National Park]]]]
Like the Eurasian golden jackal, the coyote is gregarious, but not as dependent on [[Biological specificity|conspecifics]] as more social canid species like wolves are. This is likely because the coyote is not a specialized hunter of large prey as the latter species is.<ref name="fox1974">{{cite book|last=Fox|first=M. W. |year=1974|chapter=Evolution of Social Behavior in Canids|pages=429–60|title=The Wild Canids: Their Systematics, Behavioral Ecology, and Evolution|location=New York|publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold|isbn=978-0-442-22430-1|oclc=1093505}}</ref> The basic social unit of a coyote pack is a family containing a reproductive female. However, unrelated coyotes may join forces for companionship, or to bring down prey too large to attack on their own. Such "nonfamily" packs are only temporary, and may consist of bachelor males, nonreproductive females and subadult young. Families are formed in midwinter, when females enter [[estrus]].<ref name="gier1974"/> Pair bonding can occur 2–3 months before actual [[Copulation (zoology)|copulation]] takes place.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bekoff|first1=Marc|first2=Judy|last2=Diamond |year=1976| title=Precopulatory and copulatory behavior in coyotes|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=57|issue=2|pages=372–375|doi=10.2307/1379696|issn=0022-2372|oclc=1800234|jstor=1379696}}</ref> 

The [[copulatory tie]] can last 5–45 minutes.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Carlson | first1 = Debra A. | last2 = Gese | first2 = Eric M. | year = 2008 | title = Reproductive biology of the coyote (Canis latrans): integration of mating behavior, reproductive hormones, and vaginal cytology | journal = Journal of Mammalogy | volume = 89 | issue = 3| pages = 654–664 | doi=10.1644/06-mamm-a-436r1.1| pmid = 32287378 | pmc = 7108653 | doi-access = free }}</ref> A female entering estrus attracts males by scent marking<ref name="Gese1997">{{cite journal | last1 = Gese | first1 = Eric M. | last2 = Ruff | first2 = Robert L. | year = 1997 | title = Scent-marking by coyotes, Canis latrans: the influence of social and ecological factors | journal = Animal Behaviour | volume = 54 | issue = 5| pages = 1155–1166 | doi=10.1006/anbe.1997.0561| pmid = 9398369 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.540.1024 | s2cid = 33603362 }}</ref> and howling with increasing frequency.<ref name=bekoff2003/> A single female in heat can attract up to seven reproductive males, which can follow her for as long as a month. Although some squabbling may occur among the males, once the female has selected a mate and copulates, the rejected males do not intervene, and move on once they detect other estrous females.<ref name="gier1974"/> Unlike the wolf, which has been known to practice both [[Monogamy in animals|monogamous]] and bigamous matings,<ref>{{cite book|last=Mech| first=D. L. |year=2003|title=The Wolves of Minnesota: Howl in the Heartland|publisher=Voyageur Press|page=75|isbn=978-0-89658-509-6|oclc=43694482}}</ref> the coyote is strictly monogamous, even in areas with high coyote densities and abundant food.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1644/11-MAMM-A-184.1|url=http://www.mammalsociety.org/articles/long-term-pair-bonding-and-genetic-evidence-monogamy-among-urban-coyotes-canis-latrans| title = Long-term pair bonding and genetic evidence for monogamy among urban coyotes (''Canis latrans'')| journal = Journal of Mammalogy| volume = 93| issue = 3| pages = 732–742| year = 2012| last1 = Hennessy | first1 = C. A. | last2 = Dubach | first2 = J. | last3 = Gehrt | first3 = S. D. |issn=1545-1542|oclc=39098574| doi-access = free| url-access = subscription}}</ref> 

Females that fail to mate sometimes assist their sisters or mothers in raising their pups, or join their siblings until the next time they can mate. The newly mated pair then establishes a territory and either constructs their own den or cleans out abandoned [[American badger|badger]], [[marmot]], or [[skunk]] earths. During the pregnancy, the male frequently hunts alone and brings back food for the female. The female may line the den with dried grass or with fur pulled from her belly.<ref name="gier1974"/> The [[gestation period]] is 63 days, with an average litter size of six, though the number fluctuates depending on coyote population density and the abundance of food.<ref name="bekoff2003"/>

Coyote pups are born in dens, hollow trees, or under ledges, and weigh {{convert|200|to|500|g|lb|abbr=on}} at birth. They are [[altricial]], and are completely dependent on [[milk]] for their first 10 days. The [[incisor]]s erupt at about 12 days, the [[canine teeth|canine]]s at 16, and the second [[premolar]]s at 21. Their eyes open after 10 days, by which point the pups become increasingly more mobile, walking by 20 days, and running at the age of six weeks. The parents begin supplementing the pup's diet with regurgitated solid food after 12–15 days. By the age of four to six weeks, when their [[milk teeth]] are fully functional, the pups are given small food items such as mice, rabbits, or pieces of [[ungulate]] carcasses, with [[lactation]] steadily decreasing after two months.<ref name="gier1974"/> 

Unlike wolf pups, coyote pups begin seriously fighting (as opposed to play fighting) prior to engaging in play behavior. A common play behavior includes the coyote "hip-slam".<ref name="fox136"/> By three weeks of age, coyote pups bite each other with less inhibition than wolf pups. By the age of four to five weeks, pups have established dominance hierarchies, and are by then more likely to play rather than fight.<ref name="fox33">{{Harvnb|Fox|1978|p=33}}</ref> The male plays an active role in feeding, [[social grooming|grooming]], and guarding the pups, but abandons them if the female goes missing before the pups are completely [[Weaning|weaned]]. The den is abandoned by June to July, and the pups follow their parents in patrolling their territory and hunting. Pups may leave their families in August, though can remain for much longer. The pups attain adult dimensions at eight months and gain adult weight a month later.<ref name="gier1974"/>

===Territorial and sheltering behaviors===
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Individual feeding territories vary in size from {{convert|0.4|to|62|km2|sqmi|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}, with the general concentration of coyotes in a given area depending on food abundance, adequate denning sites, and competition with conspecifics and other predators. The coyote generally does not defend its territory outside of the denning season,<ref name="gier1974"/> and is much less aggressive towards intruders than the wolf is, typically chasing and sparring with them, but rarely killing them.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mlot|first=Chris|year=1998|title=The Coyotes of Lamar Valley: In Yellowstone, the master adapter learns to deal with wolves|journal=Science News|volume=153 |issue=5|pages=76–78|doi=10.2307/4010114|jstor=4010114}}</ref> Conflicts between coyotes can arise during times of food shortage.<ref name="gier1974"/> Coyotes mark their territories by [[raised-leg urination]] and ground-scratching.<ref name="WellsBekoff1981"/><ref name="Gese1997"/>

Like wolves, coyotes use a den, usually the deserted holes of other species, when gestating and rearing young, though they may occasionally give birth under sagebrushes in the open. Coyote dens can be located in [[canyon]]s, [[Washout (erosion)|washout]]s, [[coulee]]s, [[Bank (geography)|bank]]s, rock bluffs, or level ground. Some dens have been found under abandoned homestead shacks, grain bins, drainage pipes, railroad tracks, hollow logs, thickets, and thistles. The den is continuously dug and cleaned out by the female until the pups are born. Should the den be disturbed or infested with fleas, the pups are moved into another den. A coyote den can have several entrances and passages branching out from the main chamber.<ref name="young82">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|pp=82–90}}</ref> A single den can be used year after year.<ref name="bekoff2003"/>

===Hunting and feeding behaviors===
While the popular consensus is that [[olfaction]] is very important for hunting,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Asa|first1=C. S.|last2=Mech|first2=D.|year=1995|chapter=A review of the sensory organs in wolves and their importance to life history |title=Ecology and Conservation of Wolves in a Changing World|editor1-last=Carbyn|editor1-first=L. D.|editor2-last=Fritts|editor2-first=S. H.|editor3-last=Seip|editor3-first=D. R.|location=Edmonton, Alberta|publisher= University of Alberta|pages=287–291|isbn=978-0-919058-92-7|oclc=35162905}}</ref> two studies that experimentally investigated the role of olfactory, auditory, and visual cues found that visual cues are the most important ones for hunting in red foxes<ref>{{cite journal|last=Österholm|first=H.|year=1964|title=The significance of distance reception in the feeding behaviour of fox (''Vulpes vulpes L.'')|journal=Acta Zoologica Fennica|volume=106|pages=1–31}}</ref> and coyotes.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wells|first=M. C.|year=1978|title=Coyote senses in predation – environmental influences on their relative use|journal=Behavioural Processes|volume=3|issue=2|pages=149–158 |doi=10.1016/0376-6357(78)90041-4|pmid=24924653|s2cid=22692213}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wells|first1=M. C.|last2=Lehner|first2=P. N.|year=1978|title=Relative importance of distance senses in coyote predatory behavior |journal= Animal Behaviour|volume=26|pages=251–258|doi=10.1016/0003-3472(78)90025-8|s2cid=53204333}}</ref>

{{image frame|border=no|content={{photo montage|size=220
|photo1a=Coyote Pouncing.jpg
|photo1b=Leaping Coyote Seedskadee NWR (16117597568).jpg
|photo2a=Coyote Hunting Rodents in Santa Teresa County Park (30035278974).jpg
|photo2b=Coyote (Canis latrans) (7147080735).jpg
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When hunting large prey, the coyote often works in pairs or small groups.<ref name="bekoff1977"/> Success in killing large [[ungulate]]s depends on factors such as snow depth and crust density. Younger animals usually avoid participating in such hunts, with the breeding pair typically doing most of the work.<ref name="bekoff2003"/> The coyote pursues large prey, typically [[hamstringing]] the animal, and subsequently then harassing it until the prey falls. Like other canids, the coyote [[Hoarding (animal behavior)|cache]]s excess food.<ref name="young91">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|pp=91–92}}</ref> Coyotes catch mouse-sized rodents by pouncing, whereas [[ground squirrel]]s are chased. Although coyotes can live in large groups, small prey is typically caught singly.<ref name="bekoff2003"/> 

Coyotes have been observed to kill [[North American porcupine|porcupine]]s in pairs, using their paws to flip the rodents on their backs, then attacking the soft underbelly. Only old and experienced coyotes can successfully prey on porcupines, with many predation attempts by young coyotes resulting in them being injured by their prey's quills.<ref name="young97">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|p=97}}</ref> Coyotes sometimes [[urination|urinate]] on their food, possibly to claim ownership over it.<ref name="WellsBekoff1981">Wells, Michael C., and Marc Bekoff. "[http://animalstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1035&context=acwp_ena An observational study of scent-marking in coyotes, Canis latrans]." (1981).</ref><ref name="young98">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|p=98}}</ref> Recent evidence demonstrates that at least some coyotes have become more nocturnal in hunting, presumably to avoid humans.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/science/animals-human-nocturnal-study.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/science/animals-human-nocturnal-study.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited |title=Mammals Go Nocturnal in Bid to Avoid Humans|newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 15, 2018 |access-date=2018-06-21|last1=Jacobs |first1=Julia }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gaynor |date=2021-06-15 |title=The influence of human disturbance on wildlife nocturnality |journal=Science |volume=360 |issue=6394 |pages=1232–1235 |doi=10.1126/science.aar7121 |pmid=29903973 |s2cid=49212187 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Coyotes may occasionally form [[mutualism (biology)|mutualistic]] hunting relationships with [[American badger]]s, assisting each other in digging up rodent prey.<ref>{{cite web|author=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|title=Spotted! A Coyote and Badger Hunting Together|year=2016|url=https://www.fws.gov/news/blog/index.cfm/2016/11/2/Spotted-A-Coyote-and-Badger}}</ref> The relationship between the two species may occasionally border on apparent "friendship", as some coyotes have been observed laying their heads on their badger companions or licking their faces without protest. The amicable interactions between coyotes and badgers were known to pre-Columbian civilizations, as shown on a jar found in Mexico dated to 1250–1300 [[Current era|CE]] depicting the relationship between the two.<ref name="young93"/>

Food scraps, pet food, and animal feces may attract a coyote to a trash can.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Why is there a coyote in my yard? Food lures and other answers|url=https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/why-there-coyote-my-yard-food-lures-and-other-answers|website=The Humane Society of the United States|access-date=2020-05-07}}</ref>

===Communication===
[[File:Howl (cropped).jpg|thumb|A coyote [[howling]]]]
[[File:Pack of coyotes howling.ogg|thumb|Pack of coyotes howling at night]]

====Body language====
Being both a gregarious and solitary animal, the variability of the coyote's visual and vocal repertoire is intermediate between that of the solitary foxes and the highly social wolf.<ref name="fox1974"/> The aggressive behavior of the coyote bears more similarities to that of foxes than it does that of wolves and dogs. An aggressive coyote arches its back and lowers its tail.<ref name="silver1969">{{cite journal|author1=Silver, H. |author2= Silver, W. T. |jstor=3830473|title=Growth and Behavior of the Coyote-like Canid of Northern New England and Observations on Canid Hybrids|year= 1969|journal=The Wildlife Society, Wildlife Monographs|volume= 17|issue= 17 |pages= 24–25| issn=1938-5455 |oclc=60618095}}</ref> Unlike dogs, which solicit playful behavior by performing a "play-bow" followed by a "play-leap", play in coyotes consists of a bow, followed by side-to-side head flexions and a series of "spins" and "dives". Although coyotes will sometimes bite their playmates' scruff as dogs do, they typically approach low, and make upward-directed bites.<ref name="fox134">{{Harvnb|Fox|1978|pp=134–135}}</ref> 

Pups fight each other regardless of sex, while among adults, aggression is typically reserved for members of the same sex. Combatants approach each other waving their tails and snarling with their jaws open, though fights are typically silent. Males tend to fight in a vertical stance, while females fight on all four paws. Fights among females tend to be more serious than ones among males, as females seize their opponents' forelegs, throat, and shoulders.<ref name="silver1969"/>

====Vocalizations====
[[File:Yelping Coyote.webm|thumb|A yelping coyote]]
The coyote has been described as "the most vocal of all [wild] North American mammals".<ref name="Mammals in Kansas">{{cite book|last1=Bee|first1=James|title=Mammals in Kansas|date=1981|publisher=University of Kansas|page=165}}</ref><ref name="Mares_Oklahoma_1999">{{cite book|author1=Michael A. Mares|author2=Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (Norman, Okla.)|title=Encyclopedia of Deserts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g3CbqZtaF4oC&pg=PA137|year=1999|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-3146-7|pages=137–8}}</ref> Its loudness and range of vocalizations was the cause for its binomial name ''Canis latrans'', meaning "barking dog". At least 11 different vocalizations are known in adult coyotes. These sounds are divided into three categories: agonistic and alarm, greeting, and contact. Vocalizations of the first category include woofs, growls, huffs, barks, bark howls, yelps, and high-frequency whines. Woofs are used as low-intensity threats or alarms and are usually heard near den sites, prompting the pups to immediately retreat into their burrows.<ref name="lehner1978"/>

Growls are used as threats at short distances but have also been heard among pups playing and copulating males. Huffs are high-intensity threat vocalizations produced by rapid expiration of air. Barks can be classed as both long-distance threat vocalizations and alarm calls. Bark howls may serve similar functions. Yelps are emitted as a sign of submission, while high-frequency whines are produced by dominant animals acknowledging the submission of subordinates. Greeting vocalizations include low-frequency whines, 'wow-oo-wows', and group yip howls. Low-frequency whines are emitted by submissive animals and are usually accompanied by tail wagging and muzzle nibbling.<ref name="lehner1978"/>

The sound known as 'wow-oo-wow' has been described as a "greeting song". The group yip howl is emitted when two or more pack members reunite and may be the final act of a complex greeting ceremony. Contact calls include lone howls and group howls, as well as the previously mentioned group yip howls. The lone howl is the most iconic sound of the coyote and may serve the purpose of announcing the presence of a lone individual separated from its pack. Group howls are used as both substitute group yip howls and as responses to either lone howls, group howls, or group yip howls.<ref name="lehner1978">{{cite book|last=Lehner|first=Philip N. |year=1978|chapter=Coyote Communication|pages=127–162|editor-first=M. |editor-last=Bekoff|title=Coyotes: Biology, Behavior, and Management|publisher=Academic Press| location=New York|isbn=978-1-930665-42-2|oclc=52626838}}</ref>

==Ecology==

===Habitat===
[[File:Urban Coyote, Bernal Heights.jpg|thumb|upright|An [[urban coyote]] in [[Bernal Heights]], [[San Francisco]]]]
Prior to the near extermination of wolves and cougars, the coyote was most numerous in [[grassland]]s inhabited by [[American bison|bison]], [[pronghorn]], [[elk]], and other deer, doing particularly well in short-grass areas with [[prairie dog]]s, though it was just as much at home in semiarid areas with [[sagebrush]] and [[jackrabbit]]s or in deserts inhabited by [[cactus]], [[kangaroo rat]]s, and [[rattlesnake]]s. As long as it was not in direct competition with the wolf, the coyote ranged from the [[Sonoran Desert]] to the alpine regions of adjoining mountains or the plains and mountainous areas of [[Alberta]]. With the extermination of the wolf, the coyote's range expanded to encompass broken forests from the tropics of [[Guatemala]] and the northern slope of [[Alaska]].<ref name="gier1974" />

Coyotes walk around {{convert|5|–|16|km|mi|0}} per day, often along trails such as logging roads and paths; they may use iced-over rivers as travel routes in winter. They are often [[crepuscular]], being more active around evening and the beginning of the night than during the day. However, in urban areas coyotes are known to be more nocturnal, likely to avoid encounters with humans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Franckowiak |first1=Gregory A. |last2=Perdicas |first2=Marlo |last3=Smith |first3=Gregory A. |date=2019-12-30 |title=Spatial ecology of coyotes in the urbanizing landscape of the Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=14 |issue=12 |article-number=e0227028 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0227028 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=6936805 |pmid=31887177|bibcode=2019PLoSO..1427028F |doi-access=free }}</ref> Like many canids, coyotes are competent swimmers, reported to be able to travel at least {{convert|0.8|km|mi|1}} across water.<ref name="Saunders">{{cite web |last1=Saunders |first1=D.A. |title=Adirondack Ecological Center: Coyote|url=http://www.esf.edu/aec/adks/mammals/coyote.htm|publisher=College of Environmental Science and Forestry, SUNY}}</ref>

===Diet===
[[File:Coyote at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge (31034864347).jpg|thumb|A coyote with a scrap of road-killed [[pronghorn]] in [[Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge]], [[Wyoming]]]]
The coyote is ecologically the North American equivalent of the Eurasian [[golden jackal]].<ref name=Hall-1978>{{cite book|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=tj60BQAAQBAJ|page=156}}|title=Wolf and man: Evolution in Parallel|first1=Robert L. |last1=Hall|first2=Henry S. |last2=Sharp|year=1978|publisher=Academic Press|location=New York|page=156|isbn=978-0-12-319250-9|oclc=3607816}}</ref> Likewise, the coyote is highly versatile in its choice of food, but is primarily [[carnivorous]], with 90% of its diet consisting of meat. Prey species include [[American bison|bison]] (largely as [[carrion]]), [[white-tailed deer]], [[mule deer]], [[moose]], [[elk]], [[bighorn sheep]], [[pronghorn]], [[rabbit]]s, [[hare]]s, [[rodent]]s, [[bird]]s (especially [[galliformes]], [[roadrunner]]s, young [[water bird]]s and [[Columbidae|pigeons and doves]]), [[amphibian]]s (except [[toad]]s), [[lizard]]s, [[snake]]s, [[turtle]]s and [[tortoise]]s, [[fish]], [[crustacean]]s, and [[insect]]s. Coyotes may be picky over the prey they target, as animals such as [[shrew]]s, [[Mole (animal)|moles]], and [[brown rat]]s do not occur in their diet in proportion to their numbers.<ref name="gier1974"/>
[[File:Coyote, Marin County, CA, USA imported from iNaturalist photo 99934561.jpg|thumb|Hunting for [[Botta's pocket gopher|gophers]], California]]
[[Terrestrial animals]] or burrowing small mammals such as [[ground squirrel]]s and associated species ([[marmot]]s, [[prairie dog]]s, [[chipmunk]]s) as well as [[vole]]s, [[pocket gopher]]s, [[kangaroo rat]]s and other ground-favoring rodents may be quite common foods, especially for lone coyotes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Minta |first1=S. C. |last2=Minta |first2=K. A. |last3=Lott |first3=D. F. |date=1992 |title=Hunting associations between badgers (Taxidea taxus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=73 |number=4 |pages=814–820|doi=10.2307/1382201 |jstor=1382201 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bartel |first1=R. A. |last2=Knowlton |first2=F. F. |date=2005 |title=Functional feeding responses of coyotes, Canis latrans, to fluctuating prey abundance in the Curlew Valley, Utah, 1977–1993 |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |volume=83 |number=4 |pages=569–578|doi=10.1139/z05-039 |bibcode=2005CaJZ...83..569B }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Best |first1=T. L. |last2=Hoditschek |first2=B. |last3=Thomas |first3=H. H. |date=1981 |title=Foods of coyotes (Canis latrans) in Oklahoma |journal=The Southwestern Naturalist |volume=26 |number=1 |pages=67–69|doi=10.2307/3671333 |jstor=3671333 |bibcode=1981SWNat..26...67B }}</ref> Examples of specific, primary mammal prey include [[Eastern cottontail|eastern cottontail rabbits]], [[thirteen-lined ground squirrel]]s, and [[white-footed mice]].<ref name="tokar">{{cite web |last=Tokar |first=Erik |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Canis_latrans/ |title=Canis latrans |website=Animal Diversity Web |access-date=16 February 2023}}</ref> More unusual prey include [[Fisher (animal)|fishers]],<ref>{{cite thesis |url=https://www.esf.edu/aec/publications/abstract/brundige.htm |last=Brundige |first=G. C. |year=1993 |title=Predation ecology of the eastern coyote (''Canis latrans'' var.) in the central Adirondacks, New York |publisher=State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse |type=PhD |access-date=November 28, 2020 |archive-date=December 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207214323/https://www.esf.edu/aec/publications/abstract/brundige.htm }}</ref> young [[American black bear|black bear]] cubs,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Boyer, R. H. |year=1949|title= Mountain coyotes kill yearling black bear in Sequoia National Park|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume= 30 |page=75 |doi=10.1093/jmammal/30.1.75 |issn=1545-1542 |oclc =39098574}}</ref> [[harp seal]]s<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Way, J. G. |author2=Horton, J. |year=2004 |url=http://www.canids.org/canidnews/7/Coyote_kills_harp_seal.pdf |title=Coyote kills harp seal |journal=Canid News |volume=7 |issue=1 |issn=1545-1542|oclc=39098574|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060513151608/http://www.canids.org/canidnews/7/Coyote_kills_harp_seal.pdf |archive-date=May 13, 2006}}</ref> and [[rattlesnake]]s. Coyotes kill rattlesnakes mostly for food, but also to protect their pups at their dens, by teasing the snakes until they stretch out and then biting their heads and snapping and shaking the snakes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Klauber|first=Lawrence Monroe |title=Rattlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind|volume=1|edition=2nd |location=Berkeley, California|publisher=University of California Press|year=1997|pages=1072–1074 |isbn=978-0-520-21056-1 |oclc=39523012 |url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=W8Tz8QaJ2HoC|page=1095}}}}</ref> Birds taken by coyotes may range in size from [[thrasher]]s, [[lark]]s and [[Passerellidae|sparrows]] to adult [[wild turkey]]s and, rarely, brooding adult [[Trumpeter swan|swans]] and [[American white pelican|pelicans]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sperry |first1=C. C. |year=1939 |title=Food habits of peg-leg coyotes |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=20 |issue=2| pages=190–194 |doi=10.2307/1374376| jstor=1374376}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=MacCracken |first1=J. G. |last2=Uresh |first2=D. W. |year=1984 |title=Coyote foods in the Black Hills, South Dakota |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=1420–1423 |doi=10.2307/3801809|jstor=3801809}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Smith |first=J. W. |date=1988 |chapter=Status of Missouri's experimental Trumpeter Swan restoration program |title=Proc. and Papers of the 10th Trumpeter Swan Society Conf. |editor-first=D. |editor-last=Compton |pages=100–103 |location=Maple Plain, MN |publisher=The Trumpeter Swan Society}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bunnell |first1=F. L. |last2=Dunbar |first2=D. |last3=Koza |first3=L. |last4=Ryder |first4=G. |date=1981 |title=Effects of disturbance on the productivity and numbers of white pelicans in British Columbia: observations and models |journal=Colonial Waterbirds |volume=4 |pages=2–11|doi=10.2307/1521105 |jstor=1521105 }}</ref> 

If working in packs or pairs, coyotes may have access to larger prey than lone individuals normally take, such as various prey weighing more than {{convert|10|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name= Gese>{{cite journal |last1=Gese |first1=E. M. |last2=Rongstad |first2=O. J. |last3=Mytton |first3=W. R. |date=1988 |title=Relationship between coyote group size and diet in southeastern Colorado |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=52 |issue=4 |pages=647–653|doi=10.2307/3800924 |jstor=3800924 }}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last=Bowen |first=W. D. |date=1978 |title=Social organization of the coyote in relation to prey size |type=PhD. |publisher=University of British Columbia}}</ref> In some cases, packs of coyotes have dispatched much larger prey such as adult ''[[Odocoileus]]'' deer, cow [[elk]], [[pronghorn]]s and [[Ovis|wild sheep]], although the young fawn, calves and lambs of these animals are considerably more often taken even by packs, as well as [[domestic sheep]] and [[Cattle|domestic cattle]]. In some cases, coyotes can bring down prey weighing up to {{convert|100|to|200|kg|lb|abbr=on}} or more. When it comes to adult ungulates such as wild deer, they often exploit them when vulnerable such as those that are infirm, stuck in snow or ice, otherwise winter-weakened or heavily pregnant, whereas less wary domestic ungulates may be more easily exploited.<ref name= Gese/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Arjo |first1=W. M. |last2=Pletscher |first2=D. H. |last3=Ream |first3=R. R. |year=2002 |title=Dietary overlap between wolves and coyotes in northwestern Montana |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=83 |issue=3| pages=754–766 |doi=10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083<0754:dobwac>2.0.co;2| doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gese |first1=E. M. |last2=Grothe |first2=S. |date=1995 |title=Analysis of coyote predation on deer and elk during winter in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming |journal=American Midland Naturalist |volume=133 |issue=1 |pages=36–43|doi=10.2307/2426345 |jstor=2426345 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Whitlaw |first1=H. A. |last2=Ballard |first2=W. B. |last3=Sabine |first3=D. L. |last4=Young |first4=S. J. |last5=Jenkins |first5=R. A. |last6=Forbes |first6=G. J. |date=1998 |title=Survival and cause-specific mortality rates of adult white-tailed deer in New Brunswick |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=1335–1341|doi=10.2307/3801999 |jstor=3801999 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Bruns | first1 = E. H. | year = 1970 | title = Winter predation of golden eagles and coyotes on pronghorn antelopes | journal = Can. Field-Nat. | volume = 84 | issue = 3 | pages = 301–304 | doi = 10.5962/p.342975 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Boggess |first1=E. K. |last2=Andrews |first2=R. D. |last3=Bishop |first3=R. A. |date=1978 |title=Domestic animal losses to coyotes and dogs in Iowa |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=362–372|doi=10.2307/3800272 |jstor=3800272 }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Connolly |first=G. |date=1992 |title=Coyote damage to livestock and other resources. Boer, AH, Ecology and management of the eastern coyote |publisher=University of New Brunswick |location=New Brunswick}}</ref>

Although coyotes prefer fresh meat, they will [[scavenge]] when the opportunity presents itself. Excluding the insects, fruit, and grass eaten, the coyote requires an estimated {{convert|600|g|lb|abbr=on}} of food daily, or {{convert|250|kg|lb|abbr=on}} annually.<ref name="gier1974"/> The coyote readily [[cannibalism (zoology)|cannibalizes]] the carcasses of [[conspecifics]], with coyote fat having been successfully used by coyote hunters as a lure or poisoned bait.<ref name="young63">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|pp=63–4}}</ref> The coyote's winter diet consists mainly of large ungulate carcasses, with very little plant matter. Rodent prey increases in importance during the spring, summer, and fall.<ref name="bekoff1977"/>

The coyote feeds on a variety of different [[produce]], including [[strawberry|strawberries]],<ref name="tokar"/> [[blackberry|blackberries]], [[blueberry|blueberries]], [[Smilax|sarsaparilla]]s,<ref name="tokar"/> [[peach]]es, [[pear]]s, [[apple]]s, [[Opuntia|prickly pears]], [[chapote]]s, [[persimmon]]s, [[peanut]]s, [[watermelon]]s, [[cantaloupe]]s, and [[carrot]]s. During the winter and early spring, the coyote eats large quantities of grass, such as green [[wheat]] blades. Plants eaten also include the [[leaves]] of [[Abies balsamea|balsam fir]] and [[Thuja occidentalis|white cedar]].<ref name="tokar"/> It sometimes eats unusual items such as [[Garbage|human trash]], [[Cottonseed meal|cotton cake]], [[soybean]] meal, domestic animal droppings, [[bean]]s, and cultivated [[grain]] such as [[maize]], wheat, and [[sorghum]].<ref name="gier1974"/><ref name="tokar"/>

In coastal California, coyotes now consume a higher percentage of marine-based food than their ancestors, which is thought to be due to the extirpation of the grizzly bear from this region.<ref name=reid2018/> In [[Death Valley]], coyotes may consume great quantities of [[hawkmoth]] [[caterpillar]]s or [[beetle]]s in the spring flowering months.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cordey|first=Huw|year=2013|title=North America: A World in One Continent |location=Philadelphia|publisher=Running Press|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=JCAVAgAAQBAJ|page=305}}|isbn=978-0-7624-4843-2|oclc=808413615}}</ref>

===Enemies and competitors===
[[File:USFWS - How to recognise a gray wolf 1.png|thumb|A comparative illustration of a coyote and a [[gray wolf]]]]
[[File:Feeling Unwelcome.jpg|thumb|Mountain coyotes (''C.&nbsp;l. lestes'') cornering a juvenile [[cougar]]]]
In areas where the ranges of coyotes and gray wolves overlap, interference competition and predation by wolves has been hypothesized to limit local coyote densities. Coyote ranges expanded during the 19th and 20th centuries following the extirpation of wolves, while coyotes were driven to extinction on [[Isle Royale]] after wolves colonized the island in the 1940s. One study conducted in [[Yellowstone National Park]], where both species coexist, concluded that the coyote population in the [[Lamar River|Lamar River Valley]] declined by 39% following the reintroduction of wolves in the 1990s, while coyote populations in wolf inhabited areas of the [[Grand Teton National Park]] are 33% lower than in areas where they are absent.<ref name="berger2007">{{cite journal|author1=Berger, K. M.|author2=Gese, E. M.|year=2007|title=Does interference competition with wolves limit the distribution and abundance of coyotes?|journal=Journal of Animal Ecology|volume=76|issue=6|pages=1075–1085|pmid=17922704|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2656.2007.01287.x|doi-access=free|bibcode=2007JAnEc..76.1075B }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last= Stains|first=H. J. |year=1974|chapter=Distribution and Taxonomy of the Canidae|pages=3–26|editor-first=M. W. |editor-last=Fox|title=The Wild Canids: Their Systematics, Behavioral Ecology, and Evolution|location=New York |publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold|isbn=978-0-442-22430-1|oclc=1093505}}</ref> Wolves have been observed to not tolerate coyotes in their vicinity, though coyotes have been known to trail wolves to feed on their kills.<ref name="young93">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|pp=93–96}}</ref>

Coyotes may compete with [[cougar]]s in some areas. In the eastern [[Sierra Nevada]], coyotes compete with cougars over [[mule deer]]. Cougars normally outcompete and dominate coyotes, and may kill them occasionally, thus reducing coyote predation pressure on smaller carnivores such as foxes and [[bobcat]]s.<ref name=hornocker2009>{{cite book|last1=Hornocker|first1=M. |last2=Negri|first2=S. |year=2009|title=Cougar: Ecology and Conservation|publisher= University of Chicago Press|page=170|isbn=978-0-226-35347-0|oclc=609634655|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=ZSDUxT3fSYEC|page=170}}}}</ref> Coyotes that are killed are sometimes not eaten, perhaps indicating that these comprise competitive interspecies interactions, however there are multiple confirmed cases of cougars also eating coyotes.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Palomares | first1 = F. | last2 = Caro | first2 = T. M. | year = 1999 | title = Interspecific killing among mammalian carnivores | url =https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/51387/1/Palomares%20%26%20Caro_1999_Am%20Nat.pdf | journal = The American Naturalist | volume = 153 | issue = 5 | pages = 492–508 | doi=10.1086/303189| pmid = 29578790 | bibcode = 1999ANat..153..492P | hdl = 10261/51387 | s2cid = 4343007 | hdl-access = free }}</ref><ref>Ackerman, B. B., Lindzey, F. G., & Hemker, T. P. (1984). ''Cougar food habits in southern Utah''. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 147–155.</ref> In northeastern [[Mexico]], cougar predation on coyotes continues apace but coyotes were absent from the prey spectrum of sympatric [[jaguar]]s, apparently due to differing habitat usages.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Hernández-Saint Martín | first1 = A. D. | last2 = Rosas-Rosas | first2 = O. C. | last3 = Palacio-Núñez | first3 = J. | last4 = Tarango-Arambula | first4 = L. A. | last5 = Clemente-Sánchez | first5 = F. | last6 = Hoogesteijn | first6 = A. L. | year = 2015 | title = Food habits of jaguar and puma in a protected area and adjacent fragmented landscape of Northeastern Mexico | journal = Natural Areas Journal | volume = 35 | issue = 2| pages = 308–317 | doi=10.3375/043.035.0213| s2cid = 86622145 }}</ref>

Other than by gray wolves and cougars, predation on adult coyotes is relatively rare but multiple other predators can be occasional threats. In some cases, adult coyotes have been preyed upon by both [[American black bear|American black]] and [[grizzly bear]]s,<ref>Beer, ''Encyclopedia of North American Mammals: An Essential Guide to Mammals of North America''. Thunder Bay Press (2004), {{ISBN|978-1-59223-191-1}}.</ref> [[American alligator]]s,<ref name= Guggisberg>{{cite book | author = Guggisberg, C.A.W. | title = Crocodiles: Their Natural History, Folklore, and Conservation| year = 1972 | isbn = 978-0-7153-5272-4 | page = 195| publisher = David & Charles}}</ref> large [[Canada lynx]]<ref>O'Donoghue, M., Boutin, S., Murray, D. L., Krebs, C. J., Hofer, E. J., Breitenmoser, U., Breitenmoser-Wuersten, C., Zuleta, G., Doyle, C. & Nams, V. O. (2001). ''Coyotes and lynx''. Ecosystem dynamics of the boreal forest: the Kluane project. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, USA, 276–323.</ref> and [[golden eagle]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/publications/00pubs/00-41.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922194907/http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/publications/00pubs/00-41.pdf |archive-date=2008-09-22 |title=Golden Eagle Attacks and Kills Adult Male Coyote |author=Mason, J.R. |year=2000 |journal=Journal of Raptor Research |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=244–245}}</ref> At kill sites and carrion, coyotes, especially if working alone, tend to be dominated by wolves, cougars, bears, [[wolverine]]s and, usually but not always, [[eagle]]s (i.e., [[Bald eagle|bald]] and golden). When such larger, more powerful or more aggressive predators come to a shared feeding site, a coyote may either try to fight, wait until the other predator is done or occasionally share a kill, but if a major danger such as wolves or an adult cougar is present, the coyote will tend to flee.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Allen | first1 = M. L. | last2 = Elbroch | first2 = L. M. | last3 = Wilmers | first3 = C. C. | last4 = Wittmer | first4 = H. U. | year = 2015 | title = The comparative effects of large carnivores on the acquisition of carrion by scavengers | journal = The American Naturalist | volume = 185 | issue = 6| pages = 822–833 | doi=10.1086/681004| pmid = 25996866 | bibcode = 2015ANat..185..822A | hdl = 2142/101871 | s2cid = 206003003 | hdl-access = free }}</ref><ref>Green, G. I., Mattson, D. J., & Peek, J. M. (1997). ''Spring feeding on ungulate carcasses by grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park''. The Journal of wildlife management, 1040-1055.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wilmers | first1 = C. C. | last2 = Stahler | first2 = D. R. | last3 = Crabtree | first3 = R. L. | last4 = Smith | first4 = D. W. | last5 = Getz | first5 = W. M. | year = 2003 | title = Resource dispersion and consumer dominance: scavenging at wolf-and hunter-killed carcasses in Greater Yellowstone, USA | url = https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4w12t8gz| journal = Ecology Letters | volume = 6 | issue = 11| pages = 996–1003 | doi=10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00522.x| bibcode = 2003EcolL...6..996W | s2cid = 55961335 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Hornocker | first1 = M. G. | last2 = Hash | first2 = H. S. | year = 1981 | title = Ecology of the wolverine in northwestern Montana | journal = Canadian Journal of Zoology | volume = 59 | issue = 7| pages = 1286–1301 | doi=10.1139/z81-181 | bibcode = 1981CaJZ...59.1286H }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Bowen | first1 = W. D. | year = 1980 | title = Coyote-Golden Eagle interactions at an ungulate carcass | journal = J. Mammal. | volume = 61 | issue = 2| pages = 376–377 | doi=10.2307/1380075| jstor = 1380075 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Jordheim | first1 = S | year = 1980 | title = Eagle-coyote incident | journal = Blue Jay | volume = 38 | pages = 47–48 | doi = 10.29173/bluejay4577 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Jung | first1 = T. S. | last2 = Everatt | first2 = K. T. | last3 = Andresen-Everatt | first3 = L. M. | year = 2009 | title = Kleptoparasitism of a coyote (Canis latrans) by a golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) in Northwestern Canada | journal = Northwestern Naturalist | volume = 90 | issue = 1| pages = 53–55 | doi=10.1898/1051-1733-90.1.53| s2cid = 86356027 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=McCollough, M. A. |author2= Todd, C. S. |author3= Owen R. B. Jr. |year=1994|title=Supplemental feeding program for wintering Bald Eagles in Maine|journal= Wildlife Society Bulletin|volume= 22|issue=2|pages=147–154|jstor=3783240|doi=10.1016/0006-3207(96)83230-7}}</ref>

Coyotes rarely kill healthy adult [[red fox]]es, and have been observed to feed or den alongside them, though they often kill foxes caught in traps. Coyotes may kill fox kits, but this is not a major source of mortality.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Sargeant, Alan B. |author2=Allen, Stephen H. |year=1989|title=Observed interactions between coyotes and red foxes|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume= 70|issue=3|pages=631–633|doi=10.2307/1381437 |jstor=1381437 |bibcode=1989JMamm..70..631S |issn=1545-1542|oclc=39098574}}</ref> In southern California, coyotes frequently kill [[gray fox]]es, and these smaller canids tend to avoid areas with high coyote densities.<ref name=fedriani2000>{{Cite journal |author1=Fedriani, J. M. |author2=Fuller, T. K. |author3=Sauvajot, R. M. |author4=York, E. C. |year=2000 |title=Competition and intraguild predation among three sympatric carnivores |journal=Oecologia |volume=125 |pages=258–270 |url=http://www.ebd.csic.es/cani/public_html/Oecologia_00.pdf |doi=10.1007/s004420000448 |pmid=24595837 |issue=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006040228/http://www.ebd.csic.es/cani/public_html/Oecologia_00.pdf |archive-date=October 6, 2011|issn=1432-1939|oclc=76327396|bibcode=2000Oecol.125..258F |hdl=10261/54628 |s2cid=24289407 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

In some areas, coyotes share their ranges with bobcats. These two similarly-sized species rarely physically confront one another, though bobcat populations tend to diminish in areas with high coyote densities.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1139/z89-170|author1=Litvaitis, J. A. |author2=D. J. Harrison|year=1989|title= Bobcat-coyote niche relationships during a period of coyote population increase|journal= Canadian Journal of Zoology |volume=67 |pages=1180–1188|issue=5 |bibcode=1989CaJZ...67.1180L }}</ref> However, several studies have demonstrated interference competition between coyotes and bobcats, and in all cases coyotes dominated the interaction.<ref name=bunnell2006>{{Cite journal |title=Potential Impacts of Coyotes and Snowmobiles on Lynx Conservation in the Intermountain West|journal=Wildlife Society Bulletin|doi=10.2193/0091-7648(2006)34[828:PIOCAS]2.0.CO;2|jstor=3784713|year=2006 |volume=34 |last1=Bunnell |first1=Kevin D. |last2=Flinders|first2=Jerran T. |last3=Wolfe|first3=Michael L. |issue=3|pages=828–838|s2cid=85901240 |issn=1938-5463|oclc=60353682}}</ref><ref name=gipson2002/> Multiple researchers<ref>Anderson, E. M. (1986). ''Bobcat behavioral ecology in relation to resource use in southeastern Colorado''. Dissertation, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA.</ref><ref>Jackson, D. H. (1986). ''Ecology of bobcats in east-central Colorado''. Dissertation, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA.</ref><ref>Toweill, D. E. (1986). ''Resource partitioning by bobcats and coyotes in a coniferous forest''. Thesis, Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA</ref><ref name=gipson2002/><ref>{{Cite journal|jstor=3830671|author=Knick, S. T. |year=1990|title= Ecology of bobcats relative to exploitation and a prey decline in southeastern Idaho|journal= Wildlife Monographs|volume=108|pages=1–42|issue=108}}</ref> reported instances of coyotes killing bobcats, whereas bobcats killing coyotes is more rare.<ref name="bunnell2006" /> Coyotes attack bobcats using a bite-and-shake method similar to what is used on medium-sized prey. Coyotes, both single individuals and groups, have been known to occasionally kill bobcats. In most cases, the bobcats were relatively small specimens, such as adult females and juveniles.<ref name=gipson2002>{{Cite journal |author1=Gipson, P. S. |author2= Kamler, J. F. |jstor=3672519|title=Bobcat Killed by a Coyote|journal=The Southwestern Naturalist|volume=47|issue=3|year=2002|pages=511–513|doi=10.2307/3672519|bibcode= 2002SWNat..47..511G |issn=0038-4909|oclc=525604174}}</ref> 

Coyote attacks, by an unknown number of coyotes, on adult male bobcats have occurred. In California, coyote and bobcat populations are not negatively correlated across different habitat types, but predation by coyotes is an important source of mortality in bobcats.<ref name=fedriani2000/> Biologist [[Stanley Paul Young]] noted that in his entire trapping career, he had never successfully saved a captured bobcat from being killed by coyotes, and wrote of two incidents wherein coyotes chased bobcats up trees.<ref name="young93"/> Coyotes have been documented to directly kill [[Canada lynx]] on occasion,<ref name=ripple2011>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1002/wsb.59 |url=http://www.cof.orst.edu/leopold/papers/Ripple_etal_Lynx2011.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416235040/http://www.cof.orst.edu/leopold/papers/Ripple_etal_Lynx2011.pdf |archive-date=2014-04-16 |url-status=live| title = Can restoring wolves aid in lynx recovery?| journal = Wildlife Society Bulletin| volume = 35| issue = 4| pages = 514–518| year = 2011| last1 = Ripple | first1 = W. J. | last2 = Wirsing | first2 = A. J. | last3 = Beschta | first3 = R. L. | last4 = Buskirk | first4 = S. W. |bibcode=2011WSBu...35..514R }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=O'Donoghue, M. |author2=Hofer, E. J. |author3=Doyle, F. I. |year=1995|title= Predator versus predator|journal= Natural History |volume=104|pages=6–9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Rockwood|first=Larry L. |year=2015|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes |id=xHFuCAAAQBAJ|page=273}}|title=Introduction to Population Ecology|location=Chichester, United Kingdom|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|page=273|isbn=978-1-118-94755-5|oclc=899267730}}</ref> and compete with them for prey, especially [[snowshoe hare]]s.<ref name=ripple2011/> In some areas, including central Alberta, lynx are more abundant where coyotes are few, thus interactions with coyotes appears to influence lynx populations more than the availability of snowshoe hares.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bushkirk|first1=S. W. |last2=Ruggiero|first2=L. F. |last3=Krebs|first3=C. J.|year=2000|chapter-url=http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr030/rmrs_gtr030_083_100.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070226023730/http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr030/rmrs_gtr030_083_100.pdf |archive-date=2007-02-26 |url-status=live|chapter=Habitat Fragmentation and Interspecific Competition: Implications for Lynx Conservation|pages=91–92|editor1-first=L. F.|editor1-last=Ruggiero|editor2-first=K. B.|editor2-last=Aubry|editor3-first=S. W.|editor3-last=Buskirk|editor4-first=G. M.|editor4-last=Koehler|editor5-first=C. J.|editor5-last=Krebs |editor6-first=K. S. |editor6-last=McKelvey|editor7-first=J. R.|editor7-last=Squires|title=Ecology and conservation of lynx in the United States|publisher=University of Colorado Press|location=Denver}}</ref>

==Range==
[[File:Coyote subspecies distribution map.svg|thumb|left|The range of coyote subspecies as of 1978: (1) Mexican coyote, (2) San Pedro Martir coyote, (3) El Salvador coyote, (4) southeastern coyote, (5) Belize coyote, (6) Honduras coyote, (7) Durango coyote, (8) northern coyote, (9) [[Tiburón Island|Tiburón Island coyote]], (10) [[plains coyote]], (11) mountain coyote, (12) [[Mearns coyote|Mearns' coyote]], (13) Lower Rio Grande coyote, (14) California valley coyote, (15) peninsula coyote, (16) Texas plains coyote, (17) northeastern coyote, (18) northwest coast coyote, (19) Colima coyote, (20) [[eastern coyote]]<ref name=range/>]]
[[File:Coyote expansion past 10,000 years.jpg|thumb|Coyote expansion over the past 10,000 years<ref name=hody2018>{{cite journal|doi=10.3897/zookeys.759.15149|pmid=29861647|pmc=5974007|title=Mapping the expansion of coyotes (Canis latrans) across North and Central America|journal=ZooKeys|issue=759|pages=81–97|year=2018|last1=Hody|first1=James W|last2=Kays|first2=Roland|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018ZooK..759...81H }}</ref>]]

Due to the coyote's wide range and abundance throughout North America, it is listed as [[Least Concern]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN).<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" /> The coyote's pre-Columbian range was limited to the Southwest and Plains regions of North America, and northern and central Mexico. By the 19th century, the species expanded north and east, expanding further after 1900, coinciding with land conversion and the extirpation of wolves. By this time, its range encompassed the entire North American continent, including all of the contiguous United States and Mexico, southward into Central America, and northward into most of Canada and Alaska.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/science/coyotes-americas-spread.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524194914/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/science/coyotes-americas-spread.html |archive-date=2018-05-24 |url-access=limited|title=Coyotes Conquered North America. Now They're Heading South |date=2018-05-24|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-05-25 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> This expansion is ongoing, and the species now occupies the majority of areas between 8°N (Panama) and 70°N (northern Alaska).<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" />

Although it was once widely believed that coyotes are recent immigrants to southern Mexico and Central America, aided in their expansion by deforestation, Pleistocene and Early Holocene records, as well as records from the pre-Columbian period and early European colonization show that the animal was present in the area long before modern times. Range expansion occurred south of [[Costa Rica]] during the late 1970s and northern Panama in the early 1980s, following the expansion of cattle-grazing lands into tropical rain forests.<ref name="mihart2004"/>

The coyote is predicted to appear in northern [[Belize]] in the near future, as the habitat there is favorable to the species.<ref name="mihart2004">{{cite journal|author=Hidalgo-Mihart, M. G.|title=Historical and present distribution of coyote (''Canis latrans'') in Mexico and Central America|journal=Journal of Biogeography |year=2004 |volume=31 |issue=12 |pages=2025–2038|url=http://www.ots.ac.cr/bnbt/27408.html|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2699.2004.01163.x|bibcode=2004JBiog..31.2025H |s2cid=56048806 |access-date=January 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525110604/http://www.ots.ac.cr/bnbt/27408.html|archive-date=May 25, 2017|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Concerns have been raised of a possible expansion into South America through the [[Isthmus of Panama|Panamanian Isthmus]], should the [[Darién Gap]] ever be closed by the [[Pan-American Highway]].<ref name="rosa2010">{{cite book|last1=De la Rosa|first1=C. L.|last2=Nocke|first2=C. C.|year=2010|title=A Guide to the Carnivores of Central America: Natural History, Ecology, and Conservation|chapter=Carnivore Evolution: Central America and the Great North-South Migrations|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-78951-7|chapter-url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=x5ihAwAAQBAJ}}}}</ref> This fear was partially confirmed in January 2013, when the species was recorded in eastern Panama's [[Chepo District]], beyond the [[Panama Canal]].<ref name="mendez2014">{{cite journal|author=Méndez-Carvajal, P.|year=2014|title=Mammalia, Carnivora, Canidae, ''Canis latrans'' (Say, 1823): actual distribution in Panama |url=https://checklist.pensoft.net/article/18897/ |journal=Check List|volume=10|issue=2|pages=376–379|doi=10.15560/10.2.376|issn=1809-127X|oclc=828104819|access-date=January 26, 2015|doi-access=free}}</ref>

A 2017 genetic study proposes that coyotes were originally not found in the area of the eastern United States. From the 1890s, dense forests were transformed into agricultural land and wolf control implemented on a large scale, leaving a niche for coyotes to disperse into. There were two major dispersals from two populations of genetically distinct coyotes. The first major dispersal to the northeast came in the early 20th century from those coyotes living in the northern Great Plains. These came to New England via the northern Great Lakes region and southern Canada, and to Pennsylvania via the southern Great Lakes region, meeting together in the 1940s in New York and Pennsylvania.<ref name=heppenheimer2017/>

These coyotes have hybridized with the remnant gray wolf and eastern wolf populations, which has added to coyote genetic diversity and may have assisted adaptation to the new niche. The second major dispersal to the southeast came in the mid-20th century from Texas and reached the Carolinas in the 1980s. These coyotes have hybridized with the remnant red wolf populations before the 1970s when the red wolf was extirpated in the wild, which has also added to coyote genetic diversity and may have assisted adaptation to this new niche as well. Both of these two major coyote dispersals have experienced rapid population growth and are forecast to meet along the mid-Atlantic coast. The study concludes that for coyotes the long range dispersal, gene flow from local populations, and rapid population growth may be inter-related.<ref name=heppenheimer2017/>

==Diseases and parasites==
[[File:Mangy coyote Año Nuevo State Park.jpg|thumb|California valley coyote (''C.&nbsp;l. ochropus'') suffering from [[sarcoptic mange]]]]
Among large North American carnivores, the coyote probably carries the largest number of diseases and parasites, likely due to its wide range and varied diet.<ref name="young107">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|pp=107–114}}</ref> [[Viral diseases]] known to infect coyotes include [[rabies]], [[canine distemper]], [[infectious canine hepatitis]], four strains of [[equine encephalitis]], and [[Oral florid papillomatosis|oral papillomatosis]]. By the late 1970s, serious rabies outbreaks in coyotes had ceased to be a problem for over 60 years, though sporadic cases every 1–5 years did occur. Distemper causes the deaths of many pups in the wild, though some specimens can survive infection. ''[[Tularemia]]'', a [[bacterial disease]], infects coyotes from tick bites and through their rodent and lagomorph prey, and can be deadly for pups.<ref name="gier1978">{{cite book|last1= Gier|first1=H. T. |last2=Kruckenberg|first2=S. M. |last3=Marler|first3=R. J. |year=1978|chapter=Parasites and diseases of coyotes|pages=37–71|editor1-first=M. |editor1-last=Bekoff|title=Coyotes: biology, behavior, and management|publisher=Academic Press |location=New York|isbn=978-1-930665-42-2|oclc=52626838}}</ref>

Coyotes can be infected by both [[Demodicosis|demodectic]] and [[sarcoptic mange]], the latter being the most common. [[Mite]] infestations are rare and incidental in coyotes, while [[tick]] infestations are more common, with seasonal peaks depending on locality (May–August in the Northwest, March–November in Arkansas). Coyotes are only rarely infested with [[Louse|lice]], while [[flea]]s infest coyotes from puphood, though they may be more a source of irritation than serious illness. ''[[Pulex|Pulex simulans]]'' is the most common species to infest coyotes, while ''[[Ctenocephalides canis]]'' tends to occur only in places where coyotes and dogs (its primary host) inhabit the same area. Although coyotes are rarely host to [[Trematoda|fluke]]s, they can nevertheless have serious effects on coyotes, particularly ''[[Nanophyetus salmincola]]'', which can infect them with [[salmon poisoning disease]], a disease with a 90% mortality rate. Trematode ''[[Metorchis conjunctus]]'' can also infect coyotes.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Chai|first1=J. Y.|last2=Darwin|first2=Murrell K.|last3=Lymbery|first3=A. J.|year=2005| title=Fish-borne parasitic zoonoses: Status and issues|journal=International Journal for Parasitology|volume=35|issue=11–12|pages=1233–1254|doi=10.1016/j.ijpara.2005.07.013|pmid=16143336}}</ref> 

[[Tapeworm]]s have been recorded to infest 60–95% of all coyotes examined. The most common species to infest coyotes are ''[[Taenia pisiformis]]'' and ''[[Taenia crassiceps]]'', which uses cottontail rabbits and rodents as intermediate hosts. The largest species known in coyotes is ''[[Taenia hydatigena|T. hydatigena]]'', which enters coyotes through infected [[ungulates]], and can grow to lengths of {{convert|80|to|400|cm|in|abbr=on}}. Although once largely limited to wolves, ''[[Echinococcus granulosus]]'' has expanded to coyotes since the latter began colonizing former wolf ranges.<ref name="gier1978"/>

The most frequent [[Ascarididae|ascaroid]] roundworm in coyotes is ''[[Toxascaris leonina]]'', which dwells in the coyote's small intestine and has no ill effects, except for causing the host to eat more frequently. [[Hookworm]]s of the genus ''[[Ancylostoma]]'' infest coyotes throughout their range, being particularly prevalent in humid areas. In areas of high moisture, such as coastal Texas, coyotes can carry up to 250 hookworms each. The blood-drinking ''[[Ancylostoma caninum|A. caninum]]'' is particularly dangerous, as it damages the coyote through blood loss and lung congestion. A 10-day-old pup can die from being host to as few as 25 ''A. caninum'' worms.<ref name="gier1978"/>

==Relationships with humans==
{{Further|Urban coyote}}

===In folklore and mythology===
{{Main|Coyote (mythology)}}
[[File:Coyoteinacanoe.png|thumb|upright|Coyote paddling in a canoe in [[Edward S. Curtis]]'s ''Indian days of long ago'']]
Coyote features as a [[trickster]] figure and [[skin-walker]] in the folktales of some [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], notably several nations in the [[Indigenous peoples of the North American Southwest|Southwestern]] and [[Plains Indians|Plains]] regions, where he alternately assumes the form of an actual coyote or that of a man. As with other trickster figures, Coyote acts as a picaresque hero who rebels against social convention through deception and humor.<ref name="watts2006">{{cite book|last= Watts|first=L. S.|year=2006|title=Encyclopedia of American Folklore|publisher=Infobase Publishing|pages=93–94|isbn=978-1-4381-2979-2|oclc=465438817}}</ref> Folklorists such as Harris believe coyotes came to be seen as tricksters due to the animal's intelligence and adaptability.<ref>{{cite book|last=Harris|first=M.|year=1979|title=Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture|location=New York|publisher=AltaMira Press|pages=200–1|isbn=978-0-7591-0135-7|oclc=47100657|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=8Xc9DMbB5KQC|page=200}}}}</ref> After the European colonization of the Americas, [[Anglo-America]]n depictions of Coyote are of a cowardly and untrustworthy animal.<ref name=Gillespie>{{cite book|first1=Angus K.|last1=Gillespie|first2=Jay|last2=Mechling|year=1987|title=American Wildlife in Symbol and Story|publisher=University of Tennessee Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanwildlife0000unse/page/225 225–230]|isbn=978-0-87049-522-9|oclc=14165533|url=https://archive.org/details/americanwildlife0000unse/page/225}}</ref> Unlike the gray wolf, which has undergone a radical improvement of its public image, Anglo-American cultural attitudes towards the coyote remain largely negative.<ref name=conundrum>{{cite journal|author=Way, J. G. |year=2012 |url=http://www.wolf.org/wolves/news/iwmag/2012/winter/iw2012_coyotewolves.pdf |title=Love wolves and hate coyotes? A conundrum for canid enthusiasts |journal=International Wolf |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=8–11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121224225047/http://www.wolf.org/wolves/news/iwmag/2012/winter/iw2012_coyotewolves.pdf |archive-date=December 24, 2012 }}</ref>

In the [[Maidu]] creation story, Coyote introduces work, suffering, and death to the world. [[Zuni people|Zuni]] lore has Coyote bringing winter into the world by stealing light from the [[kachina]]s. The [[Chinookan peoples|Chinook]], Maidu, [[Pawnee people|Pawnee]], [[Tohono O'odham]], and [[Ute people|Ute]] portray the coyote as the companion of [[Creator deity|The Creator]]. A Tohono O'odham [[flood myth|flood story]] has Coyote helping [[Montezuma (mythology)|Montezuma]] survive a global deluge that destroys humanity. After The Creator creates humanity, Coyote and Montezuma teach people how to live. The [[Crow Nation|Crow]] creation story portrays Old Man Coyote as The Creator. In [[Diné Bahaneʼ|The Dineh creation story]], Coyote was present in the First World with First Man and First Woman, though a different version has it being created in the Fourth World. The Navajo Coyote brings death into the world, explaining that without death, too many people would exist, thus no room to plant corn.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lynch|first1=P. A.|last2=Roberts|first2=J.|year=2010|title=Native American Mythology A to Z |publisher=Infobase Publishing|page=27|isbn=978-1-4381-3311-9|oclc=720592939}}</ref>

[[File:Teotihuacán - Palacio de Atetelco Wandmalerei 3.jpg|thumb|A mural from Atetelco, [[Teotihuacán]] depicting coyote warriors]]
Prior to the [[Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire]], Coyote played a significant role in Mesoamerican cosmology. The coyote symbolized military might in [[Mesoamerican chronology#Classic Era|Classic era]] [[Teotihuacan]], with warriors dressing up in coyote costumes to call upon its predatory power. The species continued to be linked to Central Mexican warrior cults in the centuries leading up to the post-Classic Aztec rule.<ref name="schwartz1998">Schwartz, M. (1998). ''A History of Dogs in the Early Americas''. Yale University Press. pp. 146–149. {{ISBN|978-0-300-07519-9}}.</ref> 

In [[Aztec mythology]], [[Huehuecoyotl|Huehuecóyotl]] (meaning "old coyote"), the god of dance, music and carnality, is depicted in several codices as a man with a coyote's head.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=M. E.|last2=Taube|first2=K. A.|year=1993|title=The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion|publisher=Thames and Hudson|page=[https://archive.org/details/godssymbolsofa00mill/page/92 92]|isbn=978-0-500-05068-2 |oclc=27667317 |url=https://archive.org/details/godssymbolsofa00mill/page/92}}</ref> He is sometimes depicted as a [[Promiscuity|womanizer]], responsible for bringing war into the world by seducing [[Xochiquetzal]], the goddess of love.<ref>{{cite book|last=Olivier|first=G.|year=2003|title=Mockeries and Metamorphoses of an Aztec God: Tezcatlipoca, "Lord of the Smoking Mirror"|publisher=University Press of Colorado|page=[https://archive.org/details/mockeriesmetamor00guil/page/32 32]|isbn=978-0-87081-745-8|oclc=52334747|url=https://archive.org/details/mockeriesmetamor00guil/page/32}}</ref> [[Epigraphy|Epigrapher]] [[David H. Kelley]] argued that the god Quetzalcoatl owed its origins to pre-Aztec [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]] mythological depictions of the coyote, which is portrayed as mankind's "Elder Brother", a creator, seducer, trickster, and culture hero linked to the morning star.<ref name="kelley1995">{{cite journal|author=Kelley, D. H. |year=1955|title= Quetzalcoatl and his Coyote Origins|journal=El México Antiguo|volume=8|pages=397–416}}</ref>

===Attacks on humans===
{{Main|Coyote attacks on humans}}
[[File:No Feeding.jpg|thumb|A sign discouraging people from feeding coyotes, which can lead to them habituating themselves to human presence, thus increasing the likelihood of attacks]]
Coyote attacks on humans are uncommon and rarely cause serious injuries, due to the relatively small size of the coyote, but have been increasingly frequent, especially in [[California]]. By the middle of the 19th century, the coyote was already marked as an enemy by humans.<ref name=Hall-1978/>{{rp|41-54}} There have been only two confirmed fatal attacks: one on three-year-old [[Kelly Keen coyote attack|Kelly Keen]] in [[Glendale, California]]<ref name="AOH"/> and another on nineteen-year-old singer-songwriter [[Taylor Mitchell]] in [[Nova Scotia]], Canada.<ref>{{cite AV media|date=October 27, 2009|title=Attack in the Wild: Coyote Mystery|medium=documentary|publisher=National Geographic Channel|url=http://natgeotv.com/asia/attack-in-the-wild-coyote-mystery/about|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626035450/http://natgeotv.com/asia/attack-in-the-wild-coyote-mystery/about|archive-date=June 26, 2013|access-date=November 5, 2016}}</ref> In the 30 years leading up to March 2006, at least 160 attacks occurred in the United States, mostly in the [[Los Angeles County]] area.<ref name="smithsonian200603">{{cite magazine | url=http://smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/City-Slinkers.html?c=y&story=fullstory | title=City Slinkers | magazine=Smithsonian | date=March 2006 | access-date=June 14, 2012 | author=Dell'Amore, Christine | archive-date=December 20, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220122714/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/City-Slinkers.html?c=y&story=fullstory }}</ref> Data from [[United States Department of Agriculture]] (USDA) [[Wildlife Services]], the California Department of Fish and Game, and other sources show that while 41 attacks occurred during the period of 1988–1997, 48 attacks were verified from 1998 through 2003. The majority of these incidents occurred in Southern California near the suburban-wildland interface.<ref name="AOH">{{cite web| title = Coyote Attacks: An Increasing Suburban Problem|url = http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/awm/docs/coyoteattacks.pdf |access-date =August 19, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070926044522/http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/awm/docs/coyoteattacks.pdf |archive-date = September 26, 2007|date=March 2004}}</ref>

In the absence of the harassment of coyotes practiced by rural people, urban coyotes are losing their fear of humans, which is further worsened by people intentionally or unintentionally feeding coyotes. In such situations, some coyotes have begun to act aggressively toward humans, chasing joggers and bicyclists, confronting people walking their dogs, and stalking small children.<ref name="AOH" /> Albeit rarely, coyotes in these areas have targeted small children, mostly under the age of 10, though some adults have been bitten.<ref name=attacks>{{cite conference |last=Baker|first=Rex O.|title=A Review of Successful Urban Coyote Management Programs Implemented to Prevent or Reduce Attacks on Humans and Pets in Southern California |year=2007 |book-title=Proceedings of the 12th Wildlife Damage Management Conference |pages=382–392|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1057&context=icwdm_wdmconfproc}}</ref>

Although media reports of such attacks generally identify the animals in question as simply "coyotes", research into the genetics of the eastern coyote indicates those involved in attacks in northeast North America, including Pennsylvania, New York, New England, and eastern Canada, may have actually been [[Coywolf|coywolves]], hybrids of ''Canis latrans'' and ''C.&nbsp;lupus,'' not fully coyotes.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0575 |pmid=19776058|pmc=2817252| title = Rapid adaptive evolution of northeastern coyotes via hybridization with wolves| journal = Biology Letters| volume = 6|issue=1| pages = 89–93| year = 2009| last1 = Kays | first1 = R.| last2 = Curtis | first2 = A.| last3 = Kirchman | first3 = J. J.}}</ref>

===Livestock and pet predation===
[[File:Coyote vs Dog.jpg|thumb|A coyote confronting a dog]]
{{asof|2007}}, coyotes were the most abundant livestock predators in western North America, causing the majority of sheep, goat, and cattle losses.<ref name="CP">{{cite web|title=Coyote Predation – Description |url= http://texnat.tamu.edu/ranchref/predator/coyote/t-coyote.htm |access-date=August 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070806144513/http://texnat.tamu.edu/ranchref/predator/coyote/t-coyote.htm |archive-date=August 6, 2007}}</ref> For example, according to the [[National Agricultural Statistics Service]], coyotes were responsible for 60.5% of the 224,000 sheep deaths attributed to predation in 2004.<ref>{{cite report| date=May 6, 2005|title =Sheep and Goats Death Loss |publisher=[[National Agricultural Statistics Service]] |url=https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/hh63sv88v/xk81jp327/9g54xm03j/sgdl-05-06-2005.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122144925/https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/hh63sv88v/xk81jp327/9g54xm03j/sgdl-05-06-2005.pdf |archive-date=2019-01-22 |url-status=live |access-date=2020-11-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite report| date=May 27, 2010| title=Sheep and Goats Death Loss |publisher=[[National Agricultural Statistics Service]] |url=https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/hh63sv88v/mc87pt05z/jw827f62b/sgdl-05-27-2010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609151845/https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/hh63sv88v/mc87pt05z/jw827f62b/sgdl-05-27-2010.pdf |archive-date=2019-06-09 |url-status=live |access-date=2020-11-27}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=November 2020}} The total number of sheep deaths in 2004 comprised 2.22% of the total sheep and lamb population in the United States,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/sheepdeathloss2015.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403065109/https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/sheep/downloads/sheepdeath/SheepDeathLoss2015.pdf |archive-date=2016-04-03 |url-status=live |year=2015|title=Sheep and Lamb Predator and Nonpredator Death Loss in the United States, 2015 |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|access-date=July 1, 2016}}</ref> which, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA report, totaled 4.66&nbsp;million and 7.80&nbsp;million heads respectively as of July 1, 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/7s75dc38h/sj139487n/f7623g296/Shee-07-22-2005.txt |title=Sheep and lamb inventory |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |access-date=February 1, 2010 }}</ref> 

Because coyote populations are typically many times greater and more widely distributed than those of wolves, coyotes cause more overall predation losses. United States government agents routinely shoot, poison, trap, and kill about 90,000 coyotes each year to protect livestock.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna31880990 |title=Controlling wily coyotes? Still no easy answers |work=NBC News|date=December 7, 2009 |access-date=September 14, 2013}}</ref> An Idaho census taken in 2005 showed that individual coyotes were 5% as likely to attack livestock as individual wolves.<ref name="relative">{{cite journal |last1=Collinge |first1=Mark |year=2008 |url=http://naldc-legacy.nal.usda.gov/naldc/download.xhtml?id=27917 |title=Relative risks of predation on livestock posed by individual wolves, black bears, mountain lions and coyotes in Idaho |journal=Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference |first2=R. M. |last2=Timm |first3=M. B. |last3=Madon |pages=129–133 |access-date=December 29, 2018 |archive-date=April 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427201415/https://naldc-legacy.nal.usda.gov/naldc/download.xhtml?id=27917 }}</ref> In Utah, more than 11,000 coyotes were killed for bounties totaling over $500,000 in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017.<ref name=utah/>

[[Livestock guardian dog]]s are commonly used to aggressively repel predators and have worked well in both fenced pasture and range operations.<ref name=AIB588>{{cite web|title=Livestock Protection Dogs|date=October 2010|url=https://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/wildlife_damage/content/printable_version/fs_livestock_protection.pdf|publisher=Wildlife Services|access-date=July 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909143007/https://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/wildlife_damage/content/printable_version/fs_livestock_protection.pdf|archive-date=September 9, 2016}}</ref> A 1986 survey of sheep producers in the USA found that 82% reported the use of dogs represented an economic asset.<ref name=LGDfact>{{cite web|title=Livestock guarding dogs fact sheet|url=http://www.lgd.org/usdafacts.html|publisher=Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service United States Department of Agriculture|access-date=April 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324172301/http://www.lgd.org/usdafacts.html|archive-date=March 24, 2012}}</ref>

Re-wilding cattle, which involves increasing the natural protective tendencies of cattle, is a method for controlling coyotes discussed by [[Temple Grandin]] of Colorado State University.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://beefmagazine.com/pasture-range/experts-say-ranching-done-right-improves-environment-and-wildlife-habitat|title=Experts say ranching done right improves the environment and wildlife habitat |last=Grandin |first=Temple |date=2015-02-26|work=Beef Magazine|access-date=2017-12-30}}</ref> This method is gaining popularity among producers who allow their herds to calve on the range and whose cattle graze open pastures throughout the year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://kansas-grass-fed.com/bred-cows-bred-heifers-feeder-calves-products-in-the-pipeline/|title=Bred Cows, Bred Heifers, Feeder Calves|date=2016-10-04|work=Rhino's Beef & Farm Raised Aussies|access-date=2017-12-30}}</ref>

[[File:coyote with typical hold on lamb.jpg|thumb|right|A coyote with a typical throat hold on a domestic sheep]]
Coyotes typically [[Throat clamp|bite the throat]] just behind the jaw and below the ear when attacking adult sheep or goats, with death commonly resulting from suffocation. Blood loss is usually a secondary cause of death. Calves and heavily fleeced sheep are killed by attacking the flanks or hindquarters, causing shock and blood loss. When attacking smaller prey, such as young lambs, the kill is made by biting the skull and spinal regions, causing massive tissue and bone damage. Small or young prey may be completely carried off, leaving only blood as evidence of a kill. Coyotes usually leave the hide and most of the skeleton of larger animals relatively intact, unless food is scarce, in which case they may leave only the largest bones. Scattered bits of wool, skin, and other parts are characteristic where coyotes feed extensively on larger carcasses.<ref name="CP" />

Tracks are an important factor in distinguishing coyote from dog predation. Coyote tracks tend to be more oval-shaped and compact than those of domestic dogs, and their claw marks are less prominent and the tracks tend to follow a straight line more closely than those of dogs. With the exception of [[sighthound]]s, most dogs of similar weight to coyotes have a slightly shorter stride.<ref name="CP" /> Coyote kills can be distinguished from wolf kills by less damage to the underlying tissues in the former. Also, coyote scat tends to be smaller than wolf scat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://animalrangeextension.montana.edu/wildlife/documents/wolf_depredation.pdf |year=2006 |title=Ranchers' Guide to Wolf Depredation |publisher=Montana State University |access-date=July 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409223159/http://animalrangeextension.montana.edu/articles/wildlife/wolf_depredation.htm |archive-date=April 9, 2013 |url-status=unfit}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Coping With Coyotes: Management Alternatives for Minimizing Livestock Losses|url=http://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/87812/pdf_91.pdf?sequence=1 |first=Dale|last=Rollins|publisher=Texas Agricultural Extension Service|pages=4–7|access-date=November 5, 2016}}</ref>

Coyotes are often attracted to [[dog food]] and animals that are small enough to appear as prey. Items such as garbage, pet food, and sometimes feeding stations for birds and squirrels attract coyotes into backyards. About three to five pets attacked by coyotes are brought into the Animal Urgent Care hospital of [[South Orange County]] (California) each week, the majority of which are dogs, since cats typically do not survive the attacks.<ref name="AOP">{{cite web|title=For coyotes, pets are prey |work=Greg Hardesty |publisher=Orange County Register |url=http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/sections/news/focus_in_depth/article_508026.php |date=May 5, 2005 |author=Hardesty, Greg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715134302/http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/sections/news/focus_in_depth/article_508026.php |archive-date=July 15, 2007 }}</ref> Scat analysis collected near [[Claremont, California]], revealed that coyotes relied heavily on pets as a food source in winter and spring.<ref name="AOH"/> 

At one location in Southern California, coyotes began relying on a colony of [[feral cat]]s as a food source. Over time, the coyotes killed most of the cats and then continued to eat the cat food placed daily at the colony site by people who were maintaining the cat colony.<ref name="AOH" />
Coyotes usually attack smaller-sized dogs, but they have been known to attack even large, powerful breeds such as the [[Rottweiler]] in exceptional cases.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130526200405/http://www4.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO52127/ "A coyote attacks in Weymouth and kills a dog"]. WHDH-TV – New England News. May 14, 2007</ref> Dogs larger than coyotes, such as [[greyhound]]s, are generally able to drive them off and have been known to kill coyotes.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/sports/26greyhounds.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/sports/26greyhounds.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited|title=Coyote vs. Greyhound: The Battle Lines Are Drawn |first=Juliet|last=Macur|year=2010|access-date=July 3, 2016|newspaper=New York Times}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Smaller breeds are more likely to suffer injury or death.<ref name=attacks/>

=== Hunting ===
[[File:Coyote Tracks.jpg|thumb|Coyote tracks compared to those of the domestic dog]]
Coyote hunting is one of the most common forms of predator hunting that humans partake in. There are not many regulations with regard to the taking of the coyote which means there are many different methods that can be used to hunt the animal. The most common forms are [[trapping]], [[Imitation|calling]], and [[Dog|hound]] hunting.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.outdoorlife.com/coyote-nation-crash-course-in-coyote-hunting/|title=Coyote Nation: A Crash Course in Coyote Hunting|website=Outdoor Life|date=January 23, 2019|access-date=2019-12-22}}</ref> Since coyotes are colorblind, seeing only in shades of gray and subtle blues, open camouflages and plain patterns can be used. As the average male coyote weighs 8 to 20&nbsp;kg (18 to 44&nbsp;lbs) and the average female coyote 7 to 18&nbsp;kg (15 to 40&nbsp;lbs), a universal projectile that can perform between those weights is the [[.223 Remington]], so that the projectile expands in the target after entry, but before the exit, thus delivering the most energy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Coyote Nation: A Crash Course in Coyote Hunting|url=https://www.outdoorlife.com/coyote-nation-crash-course-in-coyote-hunting/|website=Outdoor Life|date=January 23, 2019|access-date=2020-05-07}}</ref> 

Coyotes being the light and agile animals they are, they often leave a very light impression on terrain. The coyote's footprint is oblong, approximately 6.35&nbsp;cm (2.5-inches) long and 5.08&nbsp;cm (2-inches) wide. There are four claws in both their front and hind paws. The coyote's center pad is relatively shaped like that of a rounded triangle. Like the domestic dog the coyote's front paw is slightly larger than the hind paw. The coyote's paw is most similar to that of the domestic dog.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How to Identify Coyote Tracks|url=http://www.wildlifelandtrust.org/wildlife/diy-activities/how-to-identify-coyote-tracks.html |website=Wildlife Land Trust|access-date=2020-05-10}}</ref>

The hunting of coyotes often results in grey wolves being shot in places where the two species still coexist, as a result of mistaken identity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Newsome |first1=Thomas M. |last2=Bruskotter |first2=Jeremy T. |last3=Ripple |first3=William J. |date=November 2015 |title=When shooting a coyote kills a wolf: Mistaken identity or misguided management? |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10531-015-0999-0 |journal=Biodiversity and Conservation |language=en |volume=24 |issue=12 |pages=3145–3149 |doi=10.1007/s10531-015-0999-0 |bibcode=2015BiCon..24.3145N |issn=0960-3115|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Fur uses===
[[File:Canis latrans (Kanada) fur skin.jpg|thumb|upright|Fur of a Canadian coyote]]
Prior to the mid-19th century, coyote fur was considered worthless. This changed with the diminution of [[North American beaver|beaver]]s, and by 1860, the hunting of coyotes for their fur became a great source of income (75 [[Penny (United States coin)|cent]]s to [[United States dollar|$]]1.50 per skin) for [[wolfers (hunting)|wolfers]] in the [[Great Plains]]. Coyote pelts were of significant economic importance during the early 1950s, ranging in price from $5 to $25 per pelt, depending on locality.<ref name="young115">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|pp=115–116}}</ref> The coyote's fur is not durable enough to make rugs,<ref name="ern816">{{Harvnb|Seton|1909|p=816}}</ref> but can be used for coats and jackets, scarves, or muffs. The majority of pelts are used for making [[Trim (sewing)|trimming]]s, such as coat collars and sleeves for women's clothing. Coyote fur is sometimes dyed black as imitation [[Silver fox (animal)|silver fox]].<ref name="young115"/>

Coyotes were occasionally eaten by trappers and mountain men during the [[Manifest destiny|western expansion]]. Coyotes sometimes featured in the feasts of the [[Plains Indians]], and coyote pups were eaten by the indigenous people of [[San Gabriel, California]]. The taste of coyote meat has been likened to that of the wolf and is more tender than [[pork]] when boiled. Coyote fat, when taken in the fall, has been used on occasion to grease leather or eaten as a [[Spread (food)|spread]].<ref name="young119">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|pp=119–21}}</ref>

===Tameability===
Coyotes were likely semidomesticated by various pre-Columbian cultures. Some 19th-century writers wrote of coyotes being kept in native villages in the Great Plains. The coyote is easily tamed as a pup, but can become destructive as an adult.<ref name="young64">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|pp=64–9}}</ref> Both full-blooded and hybrid coyotes can be playful and confiding with their owners, but are suspicious and shy of strangers,<ref name="young121"/> though coyotes being tractable enough to be used for practical purposes like [[Retriever|retrieving]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Schultz|first=J. W.|year=1981|orig-date=1st Pub. 1962|title=Blackfeet and Buffalo: Memories of Life Among the Indians|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|pages=141–3|isbn=978-0-8061-1700-3|oclc=248716|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=DgVBVTrDEpAC|page=143}}}}</ref> and [[Pointing breed|pointing]] have been recorded.<ref>{{cite news|last=Etter|first=J. |date=February 15, 1998|url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1998/02/15/coyote-blends-in-as-best-bird-dog-for-durham-man/62291484007/ |title=Coyote Blends in as Best Bird Dog for Durham Man|newspaper=[[The Oklahoman]]|access-date=July 1, 2016}}</ref> A tame coyote named "Butch", caught in the summer of 1945, had a short-lived career in [[Film|cinema]], appearing in ''[[Smoky (1946 film)|Smoky]]'' (1946) and ''[[Ramrod (film)|Ramrod]]'' (1947) before being shot while raiding a henhouse.<ref name="young64"/>

==In popular culture==
*[[Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner|Wile E. Coyote]] features prominently in the ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' and ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' series of animated short films, in which he makes numerous ill-fated attempts to capture an elusive [[roadrunner]].
*Dag and his coyote pack are the main antagonists in Nickelodeon's 2006 animated film ''[[Barnyard (film)|Barnyard]]''. 
*The [[National Hockey League|NHL]] team in [[Arizona]] (1996–2024) was named the [[Arizona Coyotes]] to pay tribute to the large population of coyotes in the region. The team's official suited mascot was Howler.
*The famous ''oo-wee-oo-wee-oo wah-wah-wah'' scream in ''[[The Good, The Bad and The Ugly]]'' (1966) was inspired by the howl of the coyote.<ref name="Times">{{cite news |last=Edwards |first=Mark |title=The good, the brave and the brilliant |newspaper=The Times |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article1580081.ece |access-date=26 May 2007 |location=London |date=1 April 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110517035908/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article1580081.ece | archive-date = 17 May 2011 }}</ref>
*Copper, a coyote, was one of three mascots for the [[2002 Winter Olympics]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Salt Lake City 2002: The Mascot |url=https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/salt-lake-city-2002/mascot}}</ref>
*[[The Coyote (mascot)|The Coyote]] is the official mascot of the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]]'s [[San Antonio Spurs]]. The mascot made his debut in 1983 and was inducted in to the [[Mascot Hall of Fame]] in 2007.
*An animated coyote voiced by [[Johnny Cash]] plays a pivotal role as a spirit guide to Homer Simpson in the ''[[The Simpsons|Simpsons]]'' episode "[[El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)|El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Classic Country Music, 2020: 23 Years Later, Johnny Cash's "Simpsons" Cameo Is Still Being Aired |date=August 21, 2018 |url=https://classiccountrymusic.com/21-years-later-johnny-cashs-simpsons-cameo-remains-a-classic/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Johnnycash.com: The Simpsons |url=https://www.johnnycash.com/film/the-simpsons/}}</ref>
*The West Canaan Coyotes are the fictional high school Varsity football team in the 1999 sports comedy-drama film ''[[Varsity Blues (film)|Varsity Blues]]''; the film focuses on players of the team under pressure of a ruthless coach.
*The 2013 documentary film ''[[Bad Coyote]]'' profiles the expansion of coyotes into [[Atlantic Canada]], centred in part on the 2009 death of singer-songwriter [[Taylor Mitchell]] in a coyote attack.<ref>[https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/lifestyles/local-filmmaker-has-new-doc-on-coyotes-70885/ "Local filmmaker has new doc on coyotes"]. ''[[SaltWire Network]]'', October 23, 2013.</ref>
*Athletic teams at the [[University of South Dakota]] are called the [[South_Dakota_Coyotes|Coyotes]].
*''[[The Daily Coyote]]'', a 2008 autobiographical book about a woman who raises a coyote pup.

== Explanatory notes==
{{Notelist}}

== Citations ==
{{Reflist|refs=

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<ref name=gopalakrishnan2017>{{cite journal|doi=10.1186/s12864-017-3883-3|pmid=28662691|pmc=5492679|title=The wolf reference genome sequence (Canis lupus lupus) and its implications for Canis spp. Population genomics|journal=BMC Genomics|volume=18|issue=1|page=495|year=2017|last1=Gopalakrishnan|first1=Shyam|last2=Samaniego Castruita|first2=Jose A.|last3=Sinding|first3=Mikkel-Holger S.|last4=Kuderna|first4=Lukas F. K.|last5=Räikkönen|first5=Jannikke|last6=Petersen|first6=Bent|last7=Sicheritz-Ponten|first7=Thomas|last8=Larson|first8=Greger|last9=Orlando|first9=Ludovic|last10=Marques-Bonet|first10=Tomas|last11=Hansen|first11=Anders J.|last12=Dalén|first12=Love|last13=Gilbert|first13=M. Thomas P. |doi-access=free }}</ref>

<ref name=gopalakrishnan2018>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.041|pmid=30344120|pmc=6224481|title=Interspecific Gene Flow Shaped the Evolution of the Genus Canis|journal=Current Biology|volume=28|issue=21|pages=3441–3449.e5|year=2018|last1=Gopalakrishnan|first1=Shyam|last2=Sinding|first2=Mikkel-Holger S.|last3=Ramos-Madrigal|first3=Jazmín|last4=Niemann|first4=Jonas|last5=Samaniego Castruita|first5=Jose A.|last6=Vieira|first6=Filipe G.|last7=Carøe|first7=Christian|last8=Montero|first8=Marc de Manuel|last9=Kuderna|first9=Lukas|last10=Serres|first10=Aitor|last11=González-Basallote|first11=Víctor Manuel|last12=Liu|first12=Yan-Hu|last13=Wang|first13=Guo-Dong|last14=Marques-Bonet|first14=Tomas|last15=Mirarab|first15=Siavash|last16=Fernandes|first16=Carlos|last17=Gaubert|first17=Philippe|last18=Koepfli|first18=Klaus-Peter|last19=Budd|first19=Jane|last20=Rueness|first20=Eli Knispel|last21=Heide-Jørgensen|first21=Mads Peter|last22=Petersen|first22=Bent|last23=Sicheritz-Ponten|first23=Thomas|last24=Bachmann|first24=Lutz|last25=Wiig|first25=Øystein|last26=Hansen|first26=Anders J.|last27=Gilbert|first27=M. Thomas P.|bibcode=2018CBio...28E3441G }}</ref>

<ref name=goulet1993>{{cite thesis|last1=Goulet|first1=G.D.|title=Comparison of temporal and geographical skull variation among Nearctic, modern, Holocene, and late Pleistocene gray wolves (Canis lupus) and selected Canis |type=Master's thesis|publisher=University of Manitoba, Winnipeg|year=1993|pages=1–116}}</ref>

<ref name=heppenheimer2017>{{cite journal|doi=10.1038/s41437-017-0014-5|pmid=29269931|pmc=5836586|title=Demographic history influences spatial patterns of genetic diversityin recently expanded coyote (Canis latrans) populations |journal=Heredity|year=2017|last1=Heppenheimer|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Cosio|first2=Daniela S. |last3=Brzeski|first3=Kristin E. |last4=Caudill|first4=Danny|last5=Van Why|first5=Kyle|last6=Chamberlain |first6=Michael J. |last7=Hinton |first7=Joseph W. |last8=Vonholdt|first8=Bridgett|volume=120|issue=3|pages=183–195}}</ref>

<ref name=nowak1978>{{cite book|last=Nowak|first=R. M. |year=1978|chapter=Evolution and taxonomy of coyotes and related ''Canis''|pages=3–16|editor-first=M.|editor-last=Bekoff|title=Coyotes: Biology, Behavior, and Management |publisher=Academic Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-930665-42-2|oclc=52626838}}</ref>

<ref name=reid2018>{{cite journal|doi=10.1177/0959683618788714|title=Coyote (Canis latrans) use of marine resources in coastal California: A new behavior relative to their recent ancestors|journal=The Holocene|volume=28|issue=11|pages=1781–1790|year=2018|last1=Reid|first1=Rachel EB|last2=Gifford-Gonzalez|first2=Diane|last3=Koch|first3=Paul L|bibcode=2018Holoc..28.1781R|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name=sinding2018>{{cite journal|doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1007745|pmid=30419012|pmc=6231604 |title=Population genomics of grey wolves and wolf-like canids in North America|journal=PLOS Genetics |volume=14|issue=11|at=e1007745 |year=2018|last1=Sinding|first1=Mikkel-Holger S.|last2=Gopalakrishan |first2=Shyam|last3=Vieira|first3=Filipe G.|last4=Samaniego Castruita|first4=Jose A. |last5=Raundrup |first5=Katrine|last6=Heide Jørgensen|first6=Mads Peter |last7=Meldgaard|first7=Morten|last8=Petersen |first8=Bent|last9=Sicheritz-Ponten|first9=Thomas|last10=Mikkelsen|first10=Johan Brus|last11=Marquard-Petersen|first11=Ulf|last12=Dietz|first12=Rune|last13=Sonne|first13=Christian |last14=Dalén|first14=Love |last15=Bachmann|first15=Lutz|last16=Wiig|first16=Øystein|last17=Hansen|first17=Anders J.|last18=Gilbert |first18=M. Thomas P. |doi-access=free }}</ref>

<ref name=vonholdt2016>{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/sciadv.1501714|pmid=29713682|pmc=5919777|title=Whole-genome sequence analysis shows that two endemic species of North American wolf are admixtures of the coyote and gray wolf|journal=Science Advances|volume=2|issue=7|article-number=e1501714|year=2016|last1=Vonholdt|first1=B. M.|last2=Cahill|first2=J. A.|last3=Fan|first3=Z.|last4=Gronau|first4=I.|last5=Robinson|first5=J.|last6=Pollinger|first6=J. P.|last7=Shapiro|first7=B.|last8=Wall|first8=J.|last9=Wayne|first9=R. K.|bibcode=2016SciA....2E1714V}}</ref>
<ref name=virginia2016>{{cite journal|doi= 10.1126/science.aag0699|title= How do you save a wolf that's not really a wolf?|journal=Science|year=2016|last1=Morell|first1=Virginia |volume=353|issue=6300}}</ref>

<ref name=zhang2010>{{cite journal|doi=10.1007/s11033-010-0276-y|pmid=20859694|title=The complete mitochondrial genome of dhole Cuon alpinus: Phylogenetic analysis and dating evolutionary divergence within canidae|journal=Molecular Biology Reports|volume=38|issue=3|pages=1651–60|year=2010|last1=Zhang|first1=Honghai|last2=Chen|first2=Lei|s2cid=7476436}}</ref>

<ref name=utah>{{cite report
| title = Utah's Predator Control Program Summary, Program activities and data from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017
| url = https://wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/predator_program_summary_2017.pdf
| publisher = Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
| year = 2017
| access-date = October 17, 2018
| archive-date = November 13, 2018
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181113071254/https://wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/predator_program_summary_2017.pdf
}}</ref>
}}

== General and cited sources ==
*{{Cite book|last=Cartaino|first=Carol|title=Myths & Truths about Coyotes: What You Need to Know about America's Most Misunderstood Predator|publisher=Readhowyouwant.com |year=2011|isbn=978-1-4587-2668-1 |oclc=876517032}}
*{{Cite book|last=Fox|first=M. W.|title=The Dog: Its Domestication and Behavior|publisher=Garland STPM Press |year=1978|isbn=978-0-8240-9858-2|oclc=3223381}}
*{{cite journal|last=Johnston|first=C. S.|year=1938|title=Preliminary report on the vertebrate type locality of Cita Canyon and the description of an ancestral coyote|journal=American Journal of Science |series=5 |volume=35 |issue=209 |pages=383–390|doi=10.2475/ajs.s5-35.209.383|bibcode=1938AmJS...35..383J}}
*{{Cite book|last=Nowak|first=R. M.|editor-last=Wiley|editor-first=E. O. |chapter=History and Statistical Analysis of Recent Populations |url=https://archive.org/details/northamericanqua00nowa |title=North American Quaternary ''Canis'' |volume=6 |location=Lawrence, Kansas |publisher=University of Kansas Printing Service |year=1979 |isbn=0-89338-007-5}}
*{{Cite book|last=Nowak|first=R. M.|chapter=Wolf evolution and taxonomy|editor-last=Mech|editor-first=L. David|editor2-last=Boitani|editor2-first=Luigi|title=Wolves: Behaviour, Ecology and Conservation |publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=2003|isbn=978-0-226-51696-7 |pages=239–258}}
*{{Cite book|last=Seton|first=E. T.|url=https://archive.org/details/lifehistoriesofn02seto |title=Life-histories of northern animals: an account of the mammals of Manitoba|place=New York|publisher=Scribner |year=1909}}
*{{cite journal|doi=10.1206/574.1|title=Phylogenetic Systematics of the North American Fossil Caninae (Carnivora: Canidae) |journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History|volume=325|year=2009 |last1=Tedford |first1=Richard H. |last2=Wang|first2=Xiaoming|last3=Taylor|first3=Beryl E.|pages=1–218 |url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/5999/1/B325.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406021726/http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/5999/1/B325.pdf |archive-date=2012-04-06 |url-status=live |hdl=2246/5999 |s2cid=83594819}}
*{{cite book|last1=Wang|first1=Xiaoming|last2=Tedford|first2=Richard H.|title=Dogs: Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History|location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0-231-13528-3 |oclc=185095648 |url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=LnWdpK7ctI0C|page=front}}}}
*{{Cite book|last1=Young|first1=S. P.|last2=Jackson|first2=H. H. T.|title=The Clever Coyote |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=1978|isbn=978-0-8032-5893-8|oclc=3294630}}

==Further reading==
=== Books ===
* Dixon, J. S. (1920). ''[https://archive.org/details/controlofcoyotei320dixo Control of the coyote in California]''. Berkeley, Cal. : Agricultural Experiment Station
* Flores, D. (2016). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=CSvXCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History]''. Basic Books. {{ISBN|978-0-465-05299-8}}
* Harding, A. R. (1909). ''[https://archive.org/details/wolfcoyotetrappi00hard Wolf and coyote trapping; an up-to-date wolf hunter's guide, giving the most successful methods of experienced "wolfers" for hunting and trapping these animals, also gives their habits in detail]''. Columbus, Ohio, A. R. Harding pub. co.
* {{cite journal | last1 = Kurtén | first1 = B | year = 1974 | title = A history of coyote-like dogs (Canidae, Mammalia) | journal = Acta Zoologica Fennica | volume = 140 | pages = 1–38 }}
* {{cite book|last=Leydet|first=François|year=1988|title=The Coyote: Defiant Songdog of the West|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-2123-9|oclc=17106424|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=7KIfDNJLyuwC}}}}
* {{cite thesis|last=Morey|first=Paul|year=2004|title=Landscape use and diet of coyotes, Canis latrans, in the Chicago metropolitan area|institution=Utah State University}}
* Murie, A. (1940). [https://archive.org/details/ecologyofcoyotei00muri ''Ecology of the coyote in the Yellowstone'']. Washington, D.C. : U.S. G.P.O.
* Parker, Gerry. (1995). "Eastern Coyote: Story of Its Success", Nimbus Publishing, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
* Van Nuys, Frank (2015). ''Varmints and Victims: Predator Control in the American West.'' Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
* Wagner, M. M. (c. 1920). [https://archive.org/details/tamecoyote00wagnrich ''The autobiography of a tame coyote'']. San Francisco, Harr Wagner pub. co.

=== Video ===
*Shelly, Priya (June 2016). ''[https://aeon.co/videos/wildlife-management-is-really-a-misnomer-it-s-about-managing-people Living with Coyote]'' (18 minutes). ''[[Aeon (digital magazine)|Aeon]]''.

=== Audiobooks ===
* Olson, Jack (May 2015). ''The Last Coyote'' (8 hours). Narrated by Gary MacFadden. Originally published as ''Slaughter the Animals, Poison the Earth'', Simon & Schuster, Oct. 11, 1971. {{ASIN|B00WGUA5HK}}.

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikispecies|Canis latrans}}
{{Wiktionary|coyote}}
{{Commons}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Coyote |volume=7 |short=x}}
* {{ITIS |id=180599 |taxon=Canis latrans |access-date=March 23, 2006}}
* [https://www.azgfd.com/wildlife/livingwith/coyotes/ Arizona Game & Fish Department, "Living with Coyotes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802193241/https://www.azgfd.com/wildlife/livingwith/coyotes/ |date=August 2, 2018 }}
* [http://wolf.nrdpfc.ca/westerncoyote.htm Western coyote] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922115740/http://wolf.nrdpfc.ca/westerncoyote.htm |date=September 22, 2017 }}, Wolf and Coyote DNA Bank @ Trent University
* View occurrences of ''[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/name/Canis_latrans Canis latrans]'' in the [[Biodiversity Heritage Library]]

{{Carnivora|Ca.}}
{{Canidae extinct nav|W.}}
{{North American Game}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q44299}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Carnivorans of Central America]]
[[Category:Carnivorans of North America]]
[[Category:Coyotes| ]]
[[Category:Extant Middle Pleistocene first appearances]]
[[Category:Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Rocky Mountains]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Western United States]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1823]]
[[Category:Mammals of Canada]]
[[Category:Mammals of Mexico]]
[[Category:Mammals of the United States]]
[[Category:Pleistocene carnivorans]]
[[Category:Pleistocene mammals of North America]]
[[Category:Quaternary carnivorans]]
[[Category:Scavengers]]
[[Category:Spanish words and phrases]]
[[Category:Symbols of South Dakota]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Thomas Say]]
[[Category:Fur trade]]
[[Category:Least concern biota of the United States]]