Coyotes look like small collie dogs. They have erect pointed ears, slender muzzle and a bushy tail. Most coyotes are brownish gray in color with a light gray to cream colored belly. However, color can vary from nearly black to nearly white. Most coyotes have dark or black hairs over their back and tail. Male coyotes weigh between 25 to 45 pounds. Female coyotes weigh 22 to 35 pounds.

Habitat

Coyotes can live just about anywhere. They are found in deserts, swamps, tundra, grass-lands, brush and dense forests, from below sea level to high mountains. They have also learned to live in suburbs and cities like Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix and Denver.

Food

Coyotes are omnivores. This means they eat both meat and plants. They eat rabbits, carrion (dead animals), rodents, deer (usually fawns), insects (such as grasshoppers), livestock and poultry. Coyotes eat fruit including berries and watermelons. They will also eat cats and dogs.

Behavior

Coyotes are most active at night and during early morning hours. Coyotes bed in sheltered areas but do not generally use dens except when rearing their young. Coyotes have good eye-sight, hearing and a keen sense of smell.

Coyotes usually breed in February and March and have their pups in April and May. Average litter size is 5 to 7 pups. Both male and female coyotes hunt and bring food to their young. Other adults associated with the denning pair may help with hunting and caring for the young. Pups are usually weaned by six weeks of age but will remain with their parents until late summer or fall.

North American Range

Historically, coyotes were most commonly found on the Great Plains of North America. Their range now extends from Central America to the Arctic. Except for Hawaii, coyotes live in all of the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Legends and Folklore

There is much folklore about the coyote. From the Aztec and Mayan civilizations of Mexico to almost all Native American peoples living west of the Mississippi River, leg-ends about coyotes are plentiful. These cultures believed the coyote had magical powers.

The coyote is also known as Medicine Dog, Brother, Old Man Coyote and Little Wolf. The cunning nature of this animal earned it a place as the trickster in many Native American folk stories. In Indian folklore, the coyote brought gifts to the people. According to Zuni legend, the coyote taught man to hunt. The Sioux believe it taught humans about useful plants. Indians of the Pacific Northwest tell how the coyote put salmon in the rivers and taught men how to make fish traps and salmon spears. The Sen people say the coyote taught them to take the sweet juice out of cactus.

When the world was first created, the buffalo had such keen eyesight that hunters could not come close without the buffalo running away. The coyote is said to have taken pity on the hunters. The coyote kicked sand in the buffaloes' eyes to make them nearsighted, a condition that remains to this day. The tales were meant to amuse as well as to teach moral lessons.