In spite of being hunted and trapped for over 200 years, there are more coyotes today 

than when the United States Constitution was signed. 

ACTIVITY: If you have a dog, compare the size of 

your dog’s paw to that of a coyote. How much does 

your dog weigh? How does this compare to the 

average weight of a coyote? 

IDENTIFICATION

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, grasslands, 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 eyesight, 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. 

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. 

ACTIVITY: On the map above, label the 

countries where coyotes live. 

coyote 

track 

shown 

actual 

size - 3 

Canis latrans
Living in harmony . . .

Most of the time, coyotes and humans live

in harmony.

• People enjoy watching and hearing these 

clever animals. 

• Coyotes eat rabbits, rodents and other 

animals that conflict with people. 

• Coyotes are scavengers. They help 

keep areas free from dead animals. 

• Coyotes are part of the food supply for 

animals like wolves and mountain lions. 

People can help keep coyotes from becoming a problem if they:

• Do not feed coyotes.

• Pick up and securely dispose of trash.

• Keep pets inside at night.

• Don’t leave pet food and water outside 

at night.

Living in conflict . . .

Conflicts can arise between coyotes and

humans.

• Coyotes kill livestock like sheep or calves. 

• Coyotes kill cats and dogs. 

• Coyotes sometimes 

 carry rabies or other 

 diseases.

• Coyotes sometimes will 

 kill endangered or 

 threatened animals that 

 people are working to 

 protect.

• Coyotes may hunt the 

 same game mammals 

 and birds that people 

 hunt.

• Coyotes may be a 

 hazard to aircraft. 

Distemper and canine hepatitis are the most common diseases occurring in coyotes. Rabies and tularemia also 

occur and may be transmitted to humans and other animals. Coyotes often carry parasites which include 

mites, ticks, fleas, worms and flukes. 

Many methods are used to 

prevent damage caused by 

coyotes. Some methods are 

lethal and result in the death of 

the coyote. Some methods are 

nonlethal which do not result 

in the death of the animal. 

Often, many methods are used. 

This is called integrated pest 

management or IPM. The 

purpose of IPM is to stop or 

reduce damage rather than 

eliminate the coyotes. 

Some examples of damage 

done by coyotes include:

• killing of lambs and calves

• killing of cats and dogs

• eating watermelons and 

other fruit

• chewing drip irrigation 

systems

• killing endangered animals 

like the black-footed ferret, 

San Joaquin Kit Fox and 

California Least Tern.

Some examples of nonlethal 

ways to reduce damage done 

by coyotes to livestock 

include:

• using net-wire or electric 

fencing to keep coyotes 

away from livestock

• shortening the length of 

calving or lambing seasons 

• confining livestock in a 

coyote proof corral at night 

when coyotes are most 

likely to attack livestock

• using lights above corrals

• removing dead livestock so 

coyotes won’t be attracted 

to scavenge

• removing habitat that 

provides homes to natural 

prey of coyotes, like 

rabbits, from lambing and 

calving area

• using strobe lights and sirens to scare coyotes away

• using guard animals like 

dogs, donkeys and llamas 

to protect livestock.

Some lethal methods include:

• regulating sport hunting 

and trapping of coyotes to 

keep coyote populations in 

balance

• working with the USDA 

Wildlife Services to remove 

problem coyotes by selective hunting and trapping. 
Coyotes that live near cities and towns sometimes kill dogs and cats. Coyotes help 

control populations of dogs and cats that are feral (domestic animals that have become wild). 

People get upset when dogs and cats killed by 

coyotes are pets.

There is a coyote family living in your neighborhood. What do you suggest be done to keep 

coyotes from killing neighborhood pets? 

Establishing a value....

Talk to your friends. Find out how many have 

pets. Make a list of these pets. Now ask them 

“What is the value of each pet?” 

“How much did the pet cost?”

“How much has their family spent caring for their 

pet?”

“If their pet was killed by a coyote, what would 

their loss be?”

Was it easy or hard to determine a value of 

pets?

Value of livestock killed by coyotes:

• lamb and sheep: $14,534,000 ___________ %

• cattle and calves: $21,800,000 ___________ %

• goats: $ 1,605,000 ___________ %

MATH ACTIVITY:

What is the total value of the above animals lost to 

coyotes? 

Source: 95/96 USDA Agricultural Stastitics

Figure the percentage of 

losses of each group of 

livestock to the total for 

livestock lost to coyotes. 

Write the percentage on

the line beside the value of 

the loss.

Crossword: ACROSS: 2. omnivores, 4. Canis latrans, 9. lethal, 11. folklore, 12. ipm, 13. carrion

DOWN: 1. lambs, 3. scavenger, 5. nonlethal, 6. feral, 7. howl, 10. habitat

Math Activity: total $37,939,000; lambs and sheep 38%, cattle 57%, goats 4%

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, legends 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. 

 

Because the coyotes were such an 

integral part of life in the American 

West, several proverbs from that 

region deal with coyotes. When 

one said, “The coyote won’t get 

another chicken from me,” it meant 

that one had learned a valuable 

lesson. To have “heard the coyote 

bark” meant that one had extensive 

experience. 
This activity sheet has been developed by USDA Wildlife Services. For more information about coyotes contact 

your state’s Wildlife Services office or USDA Wildlife Services at (301) 734-7921. 

Wildlife Activity Book and

1998 Wildlife Issue

Colorado Reader

Colorado Foundation for 

Agriculture 

P.O. Box 10

Livermore, CO 80536

1994 Season of 

the Coyote

HarperCollins 

Publisher, Inc. 

10 East 53rd Str.

New York, New York 

10022

Prevention and Control of 

Wildife Damage CD ROM 

or Handbook

202 Natural Resource

University of Nebraska

P.O. Box 83819

Lincoln, NE 68583

Jack H. Berryman 

Institute

for Wildlife Damage 

Management

Utah State University

Logan, Utah 83431-5210

1 1

2

3

4 5

6

9 7

9 10 11

12

13

ACROSS

 2. animals that eat both plants 

and animals

 4. scientific name for coyotes

 9. resulting in death

11. traditional beliefs, legends or 

customs

12. integrated pest management

13. dead animal

DOWN

 1. young sheep

 3. an animal or organism that 

eats dead organic matter

 5. not resulting in death

 6. domesticated animal that has 

gone wild

 7. sound made by coyotes

10. the natural home of a plant or 

animal

 

Canis latrans is the 

scientific name for coyote 

and means barking dog. 

The unique barks, yips and 

howls make a few coyotes 

sound like a large number 

of coyotes. The complex 

series of yips, howls and 

barks provide a communication system for the group.