Coyote Geography - Range

The ubiquitous coyote is found throughout North America from eastern Alaska to New England and south through Mexico to Panama. It originally ranged primarily in the northwest corner of the US, but it has adapted readily to the changes caused by human occupation and, in the past 200 years, has been steadily extending its range. Sightings now commonly occur in Florida, New England and eastern Canada.

 Description of the Coyote

The coyote is a member of the dog family. In size and shape the coyote is like a medium-sized Collie dog, but its tail is round and bushy and is carried straight out below the level of its back.

 

 

Coyotes found in low deserts and valleys weigh about 20 pounds, less than half of their mountain kin, who can weigh up to 50 pounds. Desert Coyotes are light gray or tan with a black tip on the tail.

Coyotes of high elevations have fur that is darker, thicker and longer; the under parts are nearly white, with some specimens having a white tip on the tail. In winter the coats of mountain coyotes become long and silky, and trappers hunt them for their fur.

Related Species
The coyote is one of 8 species of the genus Canis. Four of these are jackals of Europe, Africa & Asia. Other members of the genus include the Gray Wolf (C. lupus), the Red Wolf (C. rufus) and all the breeds of the domestic dog (C. familiaris).

Vocalization
The coyote is one of the few wild animals whose vocalizations are commonly heard. At night coyotes both howl (a high quavering cry) and emit a series of short, high-pitched yips. Howls are used to keep in touch with other coyotes in the area. Sometimes, when it is first heard, the listener may experience a tingling fear of primitive danger, but to the seasoned outdoorsman, the howl of the coyote is truly a song of the West.
 

• Howling - communication with others in the area. Also, an announcement that “I am here and this is my area. Other males are invited to stay away but females are welcome to follow the sound of my voice. Please answer and let me know where you are so we don't have any unwanted conflicts.”
   
• Yelping - a celebration or criticism within a small group of coyotes. Often heard during play among pups or young animals.
   
• Bark - The scientific name for coyotes means "Barking dog," Canis latrans. The bark is thought to be a threat display when a coyote is protecting a den or a kill.
   
• Huffing - is usually used for calling pups without making a great deal of noise.
   

Tail
The coyote's tail is used in threat displays. It becomes bushy and is held horizontally when the Coyote displays aggression.

Ears
The coyote's hearing is very acute and is used for detecting prey and avoiding danger. Movement and position of the ears are used to communicate mood and rank.

Nose
The coyote's sense of smell is highly developed and is used to detect prey and carrion. It is also used to detect the scent left by other coyotes as territorial markers.

Feet
The coyote has 5 digits on the forefeet, including the dewclaw (remnants of a 5th digit) and 4 digits on the hindfeet. The coyote is digitigrade meaning it walks with only its toes touching the ground.

Coyote Behavior

One of the most adaptable animals in the world, the coyote can change its breeding habits, diet and social dynamics to survive in a wide variety of habitats.

Alone, in pairs or in packs, coyotes maintain their territories by marking them with urine. They also use calls to defend this territory, as well as for strengthening social bonds and general communication. Coyotes can easily leap an 8 foot fence or wall. They have been spotted climbing over a 14 foot cyclone fence.
 

Although the coyote usually digs its own den, it will sometimes enlarge an old badger hole or perhaps fix up a natural hole in a rocky ledge to suit its own needs. Dens are usually hidden from view, but they are fairly easy to locate because of the trails that lead away from the den. The coyote uses the den to birth its young and to sleep. The coyote does not hibernate.

Coyotes have a good sense of smell, vision and hearing which, coupled with evasiveness, enables them to survive both in the wild and occasionally in the suburban areas of large cities. They are common in most rural areas, but because of their secretive nature, few are seen. Efforts to control or exterminate the Coyote by predator control agents seem to have produced an animal that is extremely alert and wary and well able to maintain itself.

Habitat

Coyotes inhabit all life zones of the Desert Southwest from low valley floors to the crest of the highest mountains, but especially open plains, grasslands and high mesas. Its natural habitat is open grassland, but it will move to wherever food is available.

Some studies indicate that in the desert, valleys and low foothills, Coyotes occupy a range of no more than 10 or 12 square miles. In mountainous areas they probably have both a summer and winter range, as heavy snows drive them to lower elevations.

Food & Hunting

A coyote travels over its range and hunts both day and night, running swiftly and catching prey easily. It has a varied diet and seems able to exist on whatever the area offers in the way of food. Coyotes eat meat and fish, either fresh or spoiled, and at times eat fruit and vegetable matter and have even been known to raid melon patches.

Although the coyote has been observed killing sheep, poultry and other livestock, it does not subsist on domestic animals. Food habit studies reveal that its principle diet is composed of mice, rabbits, ground squirrels, other small rodents, insects, even reptiles, and fruits and berries of wild plants.

The coyote is an opportunistic predator that uses a variety of hunting techniques to catch small mammals likes rabbits and squirrels, which comprise the bulk of its diet. Although it hunts alone to catch small prey, it may join with others in hunting larger mammals like young deer or a pony.

The coyote often tracks its prey using its excellent sense of smell, then stalks it for 20-30 minutes before pouncing. It may also take advantage of its stamina to chase its prey over long distances, and then strike when the quarry is exhausted.

In the dry season they may try to dig for water or find a cattle tank to have a drink. They also derive moisture from their diet. Everything they eat has some moisture in it. There are also the Coyote Melons which grow in the desert. To humans, they taste terrible but they provide moisture and coyotes and javelina are about the only animals that eat them.

Urban coyotes do take advantage of swimming pools, dog water dishes, ponds and water hazards at golf courses and other water bearing human artifacts as a source of moisture. However, the majority of coyotes never see people.

Breeding

At the beginning of the mating season in January, several lone male coyotes may gather around a female to court her, but she will form a relationship with only one of them. The male and female desert coyote may travel together before mating in January or February.

The female bears one litter of 3 to 9 puppies a year, usually in April or May when food is abundant. The gestation period is from 63 to 65 days.

The pups are born blind in a natal den, but their eyes open after about 14 days and they emerge from the den a few days later. They suckle for 5 to 7 weeks, and start eating semi-solid food after 3 weeks. While the male helps support the family with regurgitated food, the mother does not allow him to come all the way into the den.

The pups live and play in the den until they are 6 to 10 weeks old, when the mother starts taking them out hunting in a group. The family gradually disbands, and by fall the pups are usually hunting alone. Within a year, they go their own way, staking out their own territory, marked with the scent of their urine.

Conservation

Coyotes have long been one of the most controversial of all non-game animals. Agricultural interests have urged its control by whatever means necessary so that actual and potential livestock losses may be eliminated. Since 1891, when the first programs aimed at control were begun in California, nearly 500,000 coyotes have been reported destroyed at a cost of an estimated $30 million of the taxpayers' money.

Environmentalists firmly believe that the coyotes are necessary to preserve the balance of nature. Some sportsmen feel the coyote is responsible for the declines in game species. Biologists agree that individual animals preying on livestock and poultry should be destroyed but that the species as a whole is not necessarily harmful, because much of its diet is made up of destructive rodents. Biologists also agree that coyote populations have no lasting effects on other wildlife populations. So the controversy rages on.

Coyotes have recently been classified as non-game animals in California and may be taken throughout the year under the authority of a hunting license. Meanwhile, despite the constant hunting and intensive efforts to reduce the coyote population, on a quiet night the song of the "Little Wolf" may still be heard throughout the Desert Southwest.

The Bobcat - Felis rufus There is only one species of Bobcat in California and in the southwestern deserts -- Felis rufus. It has the widest and most continuous range of any California carnivore and is found throughout all the deserts of the American Southwest. Habitat Bobcats are found in almost all types of habitat -- except metropolitan areas -- especially in mountains and even in desert areas where water is available. In fact it ranges through all four deserts of the American Southwest, but favors rocky, brushy hillsides on which to live and hunt. Description The name Bobcat may have originated from its short tail, which is only 6 or 7 inches long. The end of its tail is always black, tipped with white, which distinguishes the Bobcat from its northern cousin, the Canadian Lynx, whose tail is tipped solid black. The Bobcat has long legs and large paws. Large specimens can weigh up to 30 pounds, but the average Bobcat is only 15 to 20 pounds. The Bobcat's growls and snarls are so deep and fearsome, particularly when hidden from view, that one gets the mis-impression it must be a Mountain Lion. Geographic variations have some effect on their color. Those found in timber and heavy brush fields are darker with rust-colored tones, while those found in the Great Basin area of northeastern California generally are a paler tawny-gray, often with a complete absence of spots on the back and less distinct markings. The coat in wintertime is a beautiful fur.   Habits Despite its pussycat appearance when seen in repose, the Bobcat is quite fierce and is equipped to kill animals as large as deer. When living near a ranch, it may take lambs, poultry and even young pigs. However, food habit studies have shown Bobcats subsist on a diet of rabbits, ground squirrels, mice, pocket gophers and wood rats. Quail have been found in bobcat stomachs, but predation by bobcats does not harm healthy game populations. The Bobcat roams freely at night and is frequently abroad during the day except at the peak of summer. It does not dig its own den. If a crevice or a cave is not available, it will den in a dense thicket of brush or sometimes choose a hollow in a log or a tree. Bobcats occupy areas from 1/4 of a square mile to as much as 25 square miles, depending on the habitat and sex of the Bobcat. Female Bobcats occupy smaller areas than males and normally do not associate with other female bobcats. Males roam wider than females; while they are not particularly tolerant of other males, the home ranges of males will overlap those of both males and females. Life Cycle Its mating behavior is similar to a housecat's. Young are usually born in April and May, although litters may be born during almost any month except December and January. The normal Bobcat litter consists of 2 or 3 kittens, born blind and weighing 4 to 8 ounces. Birth occurs in a rock crevice or burrow, after a 60-day gestation period. The kittens open their eyes after 10 days and are taught hunting skills by their mother until they leave her 9 or 10 months later. The father has no role in raising the offspring. Males are usually fertile by their first year, but females do not usually give birth to their first litter until they are two years old. Females normally produce just one litter per year. Because Bobcats are solitary animals, males and females spend only a few days of the year together -- during courtship and mating. Bobcats in captivity have been known to live as long as 25 years. Young Bobcats appear as lovable and harmless domestic kittens, but because they are wild animals with the ability to inflict injury to humans, it is illegal to keep Bobcats as pets without special permits. Current Status Until 1971 the Bobcat, like the Coyote, had been pursued and destroyed as an undesirable predator, and little thought was given to its status or welfare. It could be killed at any time and in any manner. With the international protection of the world's spotted cats, the fur trade turned to the North American Bobcat. Almost overnight the pelt of the Bobcat came into prominence as one of the most desirable and expensive furs that could be taken legally. Because of the high value of the Bobcat's fur and the recent increase in the take by hunters and licensed fur trappers, the California Fish and Game Commission has imposed a wintertime trapping season to control the amount of time when Bobcat can be taken. The Department of Fish and Game has initiated a number of studies throughout the state to determine density, home range, and territoriality of the bobcat and to determine details of population dynamics, including age and sex structure of bobcats so that management plans may regulate what has become a valuable commercial resource. Presently, the fur trapping season extends from November 15 to the last day of February. However, due to the very nature and location of the terrain which Bobcats prefer, the deep snows and impassable muddy roads in winter virtually close thousands of square miles of bobcat habitat during the hunting and trapping season. This, plus the protective regulations, should allow the Bobcat to thrive in California. The Bobcat has at last been recognized as a valuable part of our wildlife resources. -- A.R Royo

Information provided by