They can weigh up to 35 lb. Their color is generally a light grey with black ticking and pale underparts. Coyotes that live in the mountains tend to be darker and dessert coyotes tend to be more yellowish in color. They may even have cinnamon markings on their face and sides of their body. They can live for up to 15 years in the wild.
Coyotes live in all of North America, from northern Canada and Alaska, to Central America.
They are found in all the contiguous 48 states and Alaska. They are abundant in Mexico and most countries in Central America, but do not extend to South America. Their range in North America originally was only in the West, but since the extermination of the red and grey wolves, their range has expanded more eastward, taking over territory that was once occupied by the wolves, and in a sense filling in their niche. Now that the wolves are regaining some ground, coyotes are finding that they are no longer the top dog, as they were for some 50 - 100 years in some areas. Coyotes are opportunistic feeders.