Suburban Coyotes

Love them or hate them, coyotes are very much a fixture here in Southern California and for that fact alone you may as well come down on the “love” side. Visit Project Coyote for science-based evidence about what makes North America’s “Song Dog” so great, but for starters, here’s some cool facts about these jackals of the north:

• Coyotes are strictly monogamous despite the fact that the female’s hormones draw as many as seven suitors while she’s in estrus. When have you ever had so much choice? But unlike you (and me, insert sad face here) she’s not some slut – inconceivably, she picks just one and stays with him, and he seems worth the monotony because he brings her meat while she’s pregnant and nursing. Chivalry isn’t dead everywhere! And mother coyotes are so attuned to their pup’s comfort that they soften the den with fur pulled from their own bellies. Selfless! Think about that the next time you complain about virtual school.

• Coyotes are actually not omnivores – meat comprises a full 90% of their diet – similar to wolves – making them carnivores (but not obligate carnivores like cats). True, their scat often shows the presence of fruit when available, but it’s a very small portion of their diet and the idea that they root around in trash is a total fallacy – it’s your grody pet dog that does that.

• Coyotes are faster than roadrunners. The bird tops out at 20MPH while coyotes can exceed 30MPH, so we’ve all been lied to by that cartoon! Imagine: that whole time, he could’ve just caught that smug little bird on foot.

• They can walk on their tip toes (bio-nerd term: digit grading). Like people, when they want to be extra sneaky they walk on only the toe pads of their feet, and you can see evidence of it in the snow or mud.

• You can always tell what kind of canid you’re viewing from afar based on its tail position while running: tail up indicates a dog, straight out behind is typical of a wolf, and down (like below) is a coyote. Now if you’re going to try to claim your dog is part wolf or a coydog just because they run tail-out or -down, know that I’ll blame your parenting. It is widely known that overfeeding can cause tail droop in mutts, but in this coyote it is perfectly normal:

• They are excellent swimmers, routinely crossing bodies of water to expand their territory and find prey. Did you know: they can also bite your ankle while submerged? This could make for an excellent sequel to the movie Jaws, and since coyotes really do live on land it seems entirely possible that you should be racing away from a submerged, biting coyote in your pool rather than a shark. We all know sharks don’t live in pools!

• They have the broadest vocal range of any North American mammal. This isn’t rocket science to figure out, just think about their low growls all the way up to their high-pitched yelps. Take a listen to the vocalizations this female makes at me in the video below, none of which were pleasant:

This video shows that same female as above (I believe) trying to hunt my cat, who is sitting smugly inside the house. Notice her large pup, who appears around the side about midway through the video, explaining her high level of aggression. We’ve all been there, showing off for family:

And here’s one hunting rodents hiding underground, like a fox. This video was captured by the old man during a long mountain bike ride through Escondido, and let’s just say the coyote wasn’t intimidated by his presence in the slightest. So much for humans being “the ultimate predator”:

Above all, coyotes are playful. Check out the coyote, below, who has formed a genuine friendship with a badger. How can you not be a fan now? I dare say that badger would never have befriended you.

Thanks for looking. If you have any coyote stories to share, leave a comment. xoxo 🙂