COYOTES

Identification
In body form and size, the coyote ( Canis latrans ) resembles a small collie dog, with erect pointed ears, slender muzzle, and a bushy tail. Coyotes are predominantly brownish gray in color with a light gray to cream-colored belly. Color varies greatly, however, from nearly black to red or nearly white in some individuals and local populations. Most have dark or black guard hairs over their back and tail. In western states, typical adult males weigh from 25 to 45 pounds (11 to 16 kg) and females from 22 to 35 pounds (10 to 14 kg). In the East, many coyotes are larger than their western counterparts, with males averaging about 45 pounds (14 kg) and females about 30 pounds (13 kg).

Coyote-dog and coyote-wolf hybrids exist in some areas and may vary greatly from typical coyotes in size, color, and appearance. Also, coyotes in the New England states may differ in color from typical western coyotes. Many are black, and some are reddish. These colorations may partially be due to past hybridization with dogs and wolves. True wolves are also present in some areas of coyote range, particularly in Canada , Alaska , Montana , northern Minnesota , Wisconsin , and Michigan . Relatively few wolves remain in the southern United States and Mexico.

Range
Historically, coyotes were most common on the Great Plains of North America. They have since extended their range from Central America to the Arctic , including all of the United States (except Hawaii ), Canada, and Mexico.

Habitat
Many references indicate that coyotes were originally found in relatively open habitats, particularly the grasslands and sparsely wooded areas of the western United States . Whether or not this was true, coyotes have adapted to and now exist in virtually every type of habitat, arctic to tropic, in North America . Coyotes live in deserts, swamps, tundra, grasslands, brush, dense forests, from below sea level to high mountain ranges, and at all intermediate altitudes. High densities of coyotes also appear in the suburbs of Los Angeles , Pasadena , Phoenix , and other western cities.

Food Habits
Coyotes often include many items in their diet. Rabbits top the list of their dietary components. Carrion, rodents, ungulates (usually fawns), insects (such as grasshoppers), as well as livestock and poultry, are also consumed. Coyotes readily eat fruits such as watermelons, berries, and other vegetative matter when they are available. In some areas coyotes feed on human refuse at dump sites and take pets (cats and small dogs).

Coyotes are opportunistic and generally take prey that is the easiest to secure. Among larger wild animals, coyotes tend to kill young, inexperienced animals, as well as old, sick, or weakened individuals. With domestic animals, coyotes are capable of catching and killing healthy, young, and in some instances, adult prey. Prey selection is based on opportunity and a myriad of behavioral cues. Strong, healthy lambs are often taken from a flock by a coyote even though smaller, weaker lambs are also present. Usually, the stronger lamb is on the periphery and is more active, making it more prone to attack than a weaker lamb that is at the center of the flock and relatively immobile.

Coyote predation on livestock is generally more severe during early spring and summer than in winter for two reasons. First, sheep and cows are usually under more intensive management during winter, either in feedlots or in pastures that are close to human activity, thus reducing the opportunity for coyotes to take livestock. Second, predators bear young in the spring and raise them through the summer, a process that demands increased nutritional input, for both the whelping and nursing mother and the growing young. This increased demand corresponds to the time when young sheep or beef calves are on pastures or rangeland and are most vulnerable to attack. Coyote predation also may increase during fall when young coyotes disperse from their home ranges and establish new territories.

General Biology, Reproduction, and Behavior
Coyotes are most active at night and during early morning hours (especially where human activity occurs), and during hot summer weather. Where there is minimal human interference and during cool weather, they may be active throughout the day.

Coyotes bed in sheltered areas but do not generally use dens except when raising young. They may seek shelter underground during severe weather or when closely pursued. Their physical abilities include good eyesight and hearing and a keen sense of smell. Documented recoveries from severe injuries are indicative of coyotes' physical endurance. Although not as fleet as greyhound dogs, coyotes have been measured at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour (64 km/hr) and can sustain slower speeds for several miles (km).

Distemper, hepatitis, parvo virus, and mange (caused by parasitic mites) are among the most common coyote diseases. Rabies and tularemia also occur and may be transmitted to other animals and humans. Coyotes harbor numerous parasites including mites, ticks, fleas, worms, and flukes. Mortality is highest during the first year of life, and few survive for more than 10 to 12 years in the wild. Human activity is often the greatest single cause of coyote mortality.

Coyotes usually breed in February and March, producing litters about 9 weeks (60 to 63 days) later in April and May. Females sometimes breed during the winter following their birth, particularly if food is plentiful. Average litter size is 5 to 7 pups, although up to 13 in a litter has been reported. More than one litter may be found in a single den; at times these may be from females mated to a single male. As noted earlier, coyotes are capable of hybridizing with dogs and wolves, but reproductive dysynchrony and behaviors generally make it unlikely. Hybrids are fertile, although their breeding seasons do not usually correspond to those of coyotes.

Coyote dens are found in steep banks, rock crevices, sinkholes, and underbrush, as well as in open areas. Usually their dens are in areas selected for protective concealment. Den sites are typically located less than a mile (km) from water, but may occasionally be much farther away. Coyotes will often dig out and enlarge holes dug by smaller burrowing animals. Dens vary from a few feet (1 m) to 50 feet (15 m) and may have several openings.

Both adult male and female coyotes hunt and bring food to their young for several weeks. Other adults associated with the denning pair may also help in feeding and caring for the young. Coyotes commonly hunt as singles or pairs; extensive travel is common in their hunting forays. They will hunt in the same area regularly, however, if food is plentiful. They occasionally bury food remains for later use.

Pups begin emerging from their den by 3 weeks of age, and within 2 months they follow adults to large prey or carrion. Pups normally are weaned by 6 weeks of age and frequently are moved to larger quarters such as dense brush patches and/or sinkholes along water courses. The adults and pups usually remain together until late summer or fall when pups become independent. Occasionally pups are found in groups until the breeding season begins.

Coyotes are successful at surviving and even flourishing in the presence of people because of their adaptable behavior and social system. They typically display increased reproduction and immigration in response to human-induced population reduction.

Damage and Damage Identification
Coyotes can cause damage to a variety of resources, including livestock, poultry, and crops such as watermelons. They sometimes prey on pets and are a threat to public health and safety when they frequent airport runways and residential areas, and act as carriers of rabies. Usually, the primary concern regarding coyotes is predation on livestock, mainly sheep and lambs. Predation will be the focus of the following discussion.

Since coyotes frequently scavenge on livestock carcasses, the mere presence of coyote tracks or droppings near a carcass is not sufficient evidence that predation has taken place. Other evidence around the site and on the carcass must be carefully examined to aid in determining the cause of death. Signs of a struggle may be evident. These may include scrapes or drag marks on the ground, broken vegetation, or blood in various places around the site. The quantity of sheep or calf remains left after a kill vary widely depending on how recently the kill was made, the size of the animal killed, the weather, and the number and species of predators that fed on the animal.

One key in determining whether a sheep or calf was killed by a predator is the presence or absence of subcutaneous (just under the skin) hemorrhage at the point of attack. Bites to a dead animal will not produce hemorrhage, but bites to a live animal will. If enough of the sheep carcass remains, carefully skin out the neck and head to observe tooth punctures and hemorrhage around the punctures. Talon punctures from large birds of prey will also cause hemorrhage, but the location of these is usually at the top of the head, neck, or back. This procedure becomes less indicative of predation as the age of the carcass increases or if the remains are scanty or scattered.

Coyotes, foxes, mountain lions, and bobcats usually feed on a carcass at the flanks or behind the ribs and first consume the liver, heart, lungs, and other viscera. Mountain lions often cover a carcass with debris after feeding on it. Bears generally prefer meat to viscera and often eat first the udder from lactating ewes. Eagles skin out carcasses on larger animals and leave much of the skeleton intact. With smaller animals such as lambs, eagles may bite off and swallow the ribs. Feathers and "whitewash" (droppings) are usually present where an eagle has fed.

Coyotes may kill more than one animal in a single episode, but often will only feed on one of the animals. Coyotes typically attack sheep at the throat, but young or inexperienced coyotes may attack any part of the body. Coyotes usually kill calves by eating into the anus or abdominal area.

Dogs generally do not kill sheep or calves for food and are relatively indiscriminate in how and where they attack. Sometimes, however, it is difficult to differentiate between dog and coyote kills without also looking at other sign, such as size of tracks and spacing and size of canine tooth punctures. Coyote tracks tend to be more oval-shaped and compact than those of common dogs. Nail marks are less prominent and the tracks tend to follow a straight line more closely than those of dogs. The average coyote's stride at a trot is 16 to 18 inches (41 to 46 cm), which is typically longer than that of a dog of similar size and weight. Generally, dogs attack and rip the flanks, hind quarters, and head, and may chew ears. The sheep are sometimes still alive but may be severely wounded.

Accurately determining whether or not predation occurred and, if so, by what species, requires a considerable amount of knowledge and experience. Evidence must be gathered, pieced together, and then evaluated in light of the predators that are in the area, the time of day, the season of the year, and numerous other factors. Sometimes even experts are unable to confirm the cause of death, and it may be necessary to rely on circumstantial information.

Legal Status
The status of coyotes varies depending on state and local laws. In some states, including most western states, coyotes are classified as predators and can be taken throughout the year whether or not they are causing damage to livestock. In other states, coyotes may be taken only during specific seasons and often only by specific methods, such as trapping. Night shooting with a spotlight is usually illegal. Some state laws allow only state or federal agents to use certain methods (such as snares) to take coyotes. Some states have a provision for allowing the taking of protected coyotes (usually by special permit) when it has been documented that they are preying on livestock. In some instances producers can apply control methods, and in others, control must be managed by a federal or state agent. Some eastern states consider the coyote a game animal, a furbearer, or a protected species.

Federal statutes that pertain to wildlife damage control include the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), which deals with using toxicants, and the Airborne Hunting Act, which regulates aerial hunting.

Laws regulating coyote control are not necessarily uniform among states or even among counties within a state, and they may change frequently. A 1989 Supreme Court action established that it was not legal to circumvent the laws relative to killing predators, even to protect personal property (livestock) from predation.

Damage Prevention and Control Methods

Exclusion
Produce livestock in confinement. Herd livestock into pens at night. Exclusion fences (net-wire and/or electric), properly constructed and maintained, can aid significantly in reducing predation.

Habitat Modification
Select pastures that have a lower incidence of predation to reduce exposure of livestock to predation. Herding of livestock generally reduces predation due to human presence during the herding period. Change lambing, kidding, and calving seasons. Shed lambing, kidding, and calving usually reduce coyote predation. Remove carrion to help limit coyote populations.

Frightening
Guarding dogs: Some dogs have significantly reduced coyote predation. Donkeys and llamas: Some are aggressive toward canines and have reduced coyote predation.

Repellents
Sonic and visual repellents: Strobe lights, sirens, propane cannons, and others have reduced predation on both sheep and calves. Chemical odor and taste repellents: None have shown sufficient effectiveness to be registered for use.

Toxicants
M-44 ejector devices for use with sodium cyanide-loaded plastic capsules. They are most effective during cold weather (fall to spring). Livestock protection collars (LPC) containing Compound 1080 (sodium monofluoroacetate ) are registered for use only in certain states.

Fumigants
Gas cartridges are registered as a burrow (den) fumigant.

Trapping
Leghold traps (Nos. 3 and 4) are effective and are the most versatile control tool. Snares are effective where coyotes pass through or under net-wire fences and in trail sets.

Shooting
Shooting from the ground is effective. Use rabbit distress calls or mimic howling or other coyote sounds to bring coyotes within shooting distance. Aerial hunting is effective in removing coyotes where terrain, ground cover, vegetation, regulations, and landownership conditions permit. Hunting with dogs is effective for trailing coyotes from kill sites, locating dens, running coyotes, and assisting with aerial hunting or calling.

Other Methods
Denning: Remove adult coyotes and/ or their young from dens.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The above information was adapted from PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF WILDLIFE DAMAGE with permission of the editors, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Robert M. Timm, and Gary E. Larson (Cooperative Extension Division, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Nebraska-Lincoln, United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Animal Damage Control, Great Plains Agricultural Council Wildlife Committee).