Group+7-+Colorado+Division+of+Wildlife

Mary K. McCormac Northeast Region Education/Volunteer Coordinator
We emailed Mary Mcormac some questions about coyotes from the Colorado Division of wild life and she answered back to us.

2. Are humans invading coyotes home?
We wouldn't use the term invading, but indeed as human population and urban development increases, the chance for human-wildlife interactions and conflicts also increases. The interesting fact about coyotes is that with our increased urban development, they have actually thrived. Coyotes were once strictly desert animals but with urban/surburban development, we have created perfect habitat for them and many other animals. Studies have shown coyotes need no natural habitat to survive - if you have food, shelter, water, and space in your yard, you have perfect coyote habitat! Coyotes now live in every state in the continental U.S. (including Alaska) and in every urban area, including Chicago and New York City.

3. How old can a coyote live?
In captivity, a coyote can live up to 13-15 years. In the wild, most die before they're 3 years old. Many urban coyotes are killed by cars.

4. What do they normally eat?
The important thing to know about coyote eating behavior is they are opportunistic feeders, like raccoons and bears. I tell kids that coyotes are like big raccoons (a bear is like a huge raccoon) because they will eat anything and everything they can get their paws on! Their primary source of food is rodents; they also eat deer, rabbits, birds, raccoons, insects, fish, grass, fruit, etc. So small mammals make up the majority of their diet, but even though they are technically carnivores, they really are omnivores. I also tell kids that if they had to work for their food, what would they do? Would they go for a rabbit who knows to run away from them, how and where to hide, etc., or would they go for a cat or small dog, who are not trained to escape predators and are much easier to catch? Becomes much easier to understand why any wild animal may target a pet for food - we also try to explain that wild animals cannot tell the difference between a wild animal and a domesticated one, so when your pet is outdoors, essentially it becomes part of the food chain.

5. What are their habits?
Coyotes are territorial animals, but in urban areas their territories are much smaller than those that live in rural areas. They use a range of howls, barks and whines to communicate to each other. They typically have a highly organized social system, consisting of groups/packs that apparently defend territories from other coyotes. Packs/groups most often consist of family members and size can vary greatly across geographic regions and habitat types. Although they live in family groups, they usually travel or hunt in loose pairs. In urban populations, solitary animals are fairly common, as they search to join a group or start their own. Coyotes are typically crepuscular, meaning active at dusk and dawn; however, in urban areas, they can be active any time of day. Coyotes are probably the most intelligent land mammal in North America and so are incredibly adaptable and can learn people's habits (why we tell people never let your dog out at the same time every day) and we can re-instill fear of humans in them, but it will take a community effort.

6. What should you do when you see a coyote?
If the coyote is in a park/open space area and not close to anyone/bothering anyone, it should be left alone. The Division of Wildlife strongly encourages people to haze coyotes that come into yards/get too close to people, as they may have become habituated and lost their fear of humans. Hazing can be in the form of squirting with a hose, spraying vinegar/water with a spray bottle, pepper spray, blow a whistle, yell, clap hands, throw small rocks/sticks at it, basically the intent is for the coyote to fear people - what is best for the coyote and people. If meeting a coyote face-to-face, be as big and loud as possible, wave arms, clap and throw objects at the coyote, do NOT turn your back or run, back away slowly until coyote leaves or you are at a safe distance. WE have a great brochure and post card we give out to folks with more information on how to protect pets, etc. - if you send me an address I'll throw them in the mail for you...

7. Are coyotes an endangered species?
No, coyotes populations are believed to be quite healthy throughout the U.S.

8. How many babies do they normally have?
Litter sizes often range from 4 to 7 pups, depending on food availability and the density of the surrounding coyote population. What is really cool about coyotes is they have the ability to adjust their litter sizes based on the above factors. So, if there is a lot of food and habitat available, they'll have larger litters (also, if you try to reduce the population through a removal program, they'll increase their litters as well).

9. What animals are predators to coyotes?
Mountain lions are the main wildlife predator. Coyotes could attack and kill each other. In areas where there are wolves, they would be a predator. The main predator in Colorado is people, though, as more coyotes are killed from vehicle collisions and hunting/removal than any wild predator.

10. How many packs do coyotes travel?
See above in #5.

11. Is there any other types of coyotes?
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).

12. how often do coyotes attacks?
Coyote attacks are still fairly uncommon and we are very careful to delineate between a human "attack" and a situation that involves a pet. Most people are bit when trying to break-up an incident between a coyote and their dog - an attack on a person alone is VERY rare. We may see a handful of incidents between people, pets and coyotes a year (sometimes more, sometimes less) but I like to remind folks that in one year you can see over 20 fatalities caused by domestic dogs, vs. 0 for coyotes (2008 there were 23 fatalities in the U.S. caused by dogs, none by coyotes). And you can have millions of people bit by domestic dogs in the U.S. each year, compared to much less by coyotes. It's all about perspective sometimes! I think here is where the officer's might have more to add...

Helpful websites: Chicago Coyote Study: http://ohioline.osu.edu/b929/pdf/b929.pdf Dog bite info: http://www.dogsbite.org/bite-study-nonfatal-emergency-2001.htm ​http://wildlife.state.co.us/wildlifespecies/livingwithwildlife/mammals/coyotecountry.htm