The snow and brutal temperatures helped the coyotes hunt elk and other ungulates. Although they do not depend on these prey, as wolves do, the coyotes took advantage of them in winter, when it didn't take much to bring down the nutritionally stressed ones. The coyotes caught elk or deer in five of nine attempts that the researchers observed during winter. For the rest of the year, voles and other small mammals were the coyotes' dietary staple, although coyotes will consume almost anything, a key factor in their adaptability. W ith wolves now installed in the valley, coyotes are adopting new feeding habits.
Coyotes feed off a carcass.
They recently have begun to scavenge meals from animals killed by wolves. They go waddling off for 4 or 5 hours with 15 pounds of meat in their stomach. That's when coyotes move in and scavenge. Upon their return, wolves will often chase off or attack a scavenging coyote, lunging at and biting the animal for up to 15 minutes. In the course of nearly 1,000 hours of observation, Crabtree and his coworkers witnessed coyotes clashing with wolves 33 times.