coyote

coyote

coyote or prairie wolf, small, swift wolf , Canis latrans, native to W North America. It is found in deserts, prairies, open woodlands, and brush country; it is also called brush wolf.

The coyote resembles a medium-sized dog, with a narrow, pointed face, long, thick, tawny fur and a black-tipped bushy tail. Adult males have a head and body length of about 35 in. (89 cm), with a 14-in. (36-cm) tail; they stand 21 in. (53 cm) at the shoulder and usually weigh about 30 lb (14 kg). The cry of the coyote, heard in the early evening, is a series of high-pitched yelps. Coyotes live in pairs, and both parents care for the young; they make their dens in roots of trees, rock crevices, or in ground burrows made by other animals. They are largely nocturnal, but are also seen in the day, and are extremely wary of humans.

They hunt alone, in pairs, or when hunting larger prey in small groups. Omnivorous feeders, they prey on a variety of small animals, sometimes cooperating to attack larger mammals; they also eat plant matter, carrion, and garbage. They can maintain a speed of 35 mi (56 km) per hour while chasing prey. Coyotes are responsible for destroying some domestic livestock, but they are valuable scavengers and destroyers of rodents.

There has almost always been a bounty on coyotes somewhere in the United States, and many thousands are killed each year. Despite this, coyotes have not been reduced in number, and their range has actually increased in the past century, due in part to the fact that many formerly forested areas now more closely resemble the plains and also that the eradication of top-level predators, such as wolves and mountain lions, has left an open ecological niche. Common in the central and W United States, they range N to Alaska, S to Central America, and E to New England and Nova Scotia; they have even begun to move into urban centers, such as New York City. The coyotes of the E United States are larger than those in the West as a result of having interbred with wolves.

The coyote is classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Canidae.

Bibliography: See W. Grady, The Nature of Coyotes (1995).

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"coyote." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Coyote

COYOTE

COYOTE (Canis latrans) is a wild dog species, smaller than wolves but larger than foxes. The subject of many Native American creation tales and myths, coyotes came under attack during the twentieth century. Livestock ranchers, aided by government bounty hunters, used poison, traps, and aerial hunting to kill 428,849 coyotes in 1988 and an estimated 20 million during the entire century. Nevertheless, coyotes have expanded their numbers and domain from the trans-Mississippi west to every state except Hawaii because they are omnivorous, adaptable, and freed from competitors and predators by those same hunters. Coyotes demonstrate that humans often cannot control nature as they wish.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ryden, Hope. God's Dog: A Celebration of the North American Coyote. New York: Lyons and Burford, 1989.

David C.Hsiung

See alsoIndian Oral Literature ; Livestock Industry .

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"Coyote." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Coyote." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401801075.html

"Coyote." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401801075.html

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coyote

coy·o·te / ˈkīˌōt; kīˈōtē/ • n. 1. (pl. same or coyotes ) a wolflike wild dog (Canis latrans) native to North America. 2. inf. a person who smuggles Latin Americans across the U.S. border, typically for a high fee.

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"coyote." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"coyote." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-coyote.html

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coyote

coyote Wild dog originally native to w North America. Coyotes have moved into many e areas of the USA formerly inhabited by wolves. Usually greyish-brown, they have pointed muzzles, big ears, and bushy tails. Length: 90cm (35in); weight: c.12kg (26lb). Species Canis latrans.

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"coyote." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"coyote." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-coyote.html

"coyote." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-coyote.html

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coyote

coyote prairie wolf of n. America. XIX. — Mex. Sp. — Nahuatl coyotl.

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T. F. HOAD. "coyote." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "coyote." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-coyote.html

T. F. HOAD. "coyote." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-coyote.html

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coyote

coyote (Canis latrans) See CANIDAE.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "coyote." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "coyote." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-coyote.html

MICHAEL ALLABY. "coyote." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-coyote.html

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coyote

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"coyote." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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coyote. (Image by marya (emdot), CC)