Scientific Name: Canis latrans

Temporal Activity: Crepuscular and Nocturnal. They do not hibernate.

Diet: Mainly carrion, small vertebrates and invertebrates. They occasionally eat vegetation.

Predation: Coyotes are very secretive. They keep their young in the den while they are young so they are not killed by wolves or mountain lions. They most dangerous predators are humans who hunt the animal for sport and pelt.

Breeding: They mate in late winter. Gestation lasts 60-65 days. Litter size averages 4-7. Both parents tend young in their dens until they are 8-10 weeks old. Dens are burrows in the ground with the opening often oriented toward the south. They may also be above ground, in overhanging branches or at the base of a tree, or under buildings.

Notes: Free-ranging coyotes have been captured for research purposes with steel leg-hold traps, aerial darting, aerial net-gunning, manual capture from helicopters, and manual capture from snowmobiles.

Photo: Taken at Brown's Ranch on May 16, 2003.

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