Song-Dog Days of Summer

In CELM, our favorite dogs are those who are always kept on a 6’ leash and cleaned up after while on hikes in our Conservation Parks or Nature Preserves. What are our second favorite dogs? Coyotes!

In the diverse array of North American wildlife, few animals evoke such contrasting emotions and narratives as the coyote. From folklore to modern ecological and ethical debates, these canines have been both revered for their adaptability and resilience and maligned for their perceived threat to livestock and pets.

Coyote’s scientific name, Canis latrans, means “barking dog,” and the name we know them as “coyote” comes from the Nauhuatl/Aztec word coyotyl, which is believed to loosely translate to “trickster.” Many cultures in America have viewed the coyote as clever, and it’s likely because of the coyote’s resilience. They’ve been able to fill niches we’ve created, live alongside us, and outsmart us for centuries.

Love them or hate them, coyotes are here to stay. Learning about these fascinating animals is your best bet to peacefully coexist with them.

Coyote on a trail, photo by Jitze Couperus

Evolution and History

Coyotes evolved away from their other canine cousins around 10,000 years ago during the Pleistocene age. While we now think of Coyotes as coming from Western North America, their fossils have been found in West Virginia, Maryland, and New Brunswick suggesting they were perhaps as widespread in the Pleistocene as they are today.

One of the key evolutionary adaptations of coyotes is their remarkable versatility and adaptability. Unlike their larger relatives such as wolves, coyotes are smaller in size and more agile, which allows them to exploit a wide range of habitats and food sources. This adaptability played a crucial role as coyotes expanded their range to encompass virtually the entire continent, including urban and suburban areas.

When Europeans arrived in the Americas, coyotes were primarily found in the southwestern prairies and central grasslands. Westward expansion of settlers created new opportunities for coyotes to expand East. Timber harvesting and deforestation for homes and farms, hunting of wolves and other large predators, and the garbage left behind by humans gave the coyotes just what they needed. Having no larger predators around they found safety and an abundance of food and they expanded eastward once again.

A coyote stops to smell the flowers in one of our Nature Preserves

Description

The coyote is a medium-sized canine. It is larger than a fox, and smaller than many domestic dog breeds. In Florida tend to stay around 30 lbs, and their body length ranges from 32-37 inches, and they have a bushy tail of 11-16 inches long. They have a narrow snout and longer ears than a wolf. They coloring is usually reddish-grey, with salt and pepper longer hairs along the back, and with buff legs and belly, but can range in color – melanistic “black” coyotes are not uncommon and have been seen in Hillsborough.

A coyote print in the sand at Double Branch Bay Nature Preserve

Size comparison of coyotes, dogs, foxes, and housecats. From Project Coyote.

A black, or "melanistic" coyote in Clearwater. Photo from FWC

Diet

Coyotes are opportunistic omnivores, meaning they have a varied diet that includes small mammals, birds, insects, fish, frogs, snakes, fruits, and even carrion and our own trash. Several studies across multiple states where stomach contents of coyotes were examined have stated that rabbits and rodents make up the majority of their diet. This dietary flexibility has been a significant factor in their ability to survive and thrive in both natural and human-altered landscapes.

Their preference in, and keen ability to hunt for, small rodents make then decent neighbors for those of us in urban areas who may be in constant battle with roof rats; though we should be ever aware of our pets outdoor activities.

Social Behaviors

Their dietary habits suggest that coyotes are often self-sufficient loners, or in pairs or small groups in urban environments – but in areas with more space and where deer may be hard for one or two coyotes to handle the family order becomes more prevalent.

Coyotes are known to form social structures based on family units, with a dominant breeding pair typically leading a pack of offspring from multiple breeding seasons. This social organization enhances their cooperative hunting and survival strategies; especially when denning with pups. Coyote parents will only breed once per year, usually between January and March. When pups are born they are cared for by the mother and occasionally by siblings from a previous litter, and by the father by way of providing food.

Much to the annoyance of hunters, coyotes will produce larger litters when they know their numbers have been lowered in their range. Meaning – a mother who may only have small litters of 2 or 3 pups a year will produce a larger litter if members of her family have been killed off.

A compilation of coyote pups on trail cameras at our Nature Preserves
Warning: cuteness overload

Living with coyotes in Florida.

While panthers and bears are making a comeback in Florida, coyotes are here to stay. They now fill a very important ecological niche as a predator that has been left open, and their negative effects are less harmful than hogs and other invasive species.

Coyotes are extremely adaptable and can be found in rural, suburban and urban landscapes. They are typically shy and elusive but sightings of them and encounters between people and coyotes can occur. Facebook neighborhood groups and Nextdoor pages are frequently platforms where you can find posts about urban and suburban coyotes, with a mix of fact and fiction in the comments. Some groups have learned to embrace their canid neighbors – even creating well known mascots (search “Seminole Heights Coyote” for reference), while others remain fearful and unwilling to adapt.

Dear reader – being as open and adaptable as our coyote friends may be the best way to maintain a healthy and safe relationship with them.

What happens now with coyotes prevalent in our neighborhoods? Humans should not be fearful of coyotes, but they should be wise. Much like when we discussed precautions to take for bears, coyotes deserve the same treatment to keep everyone safe.

As outlined earlier, coyotes are not very big. If you see one in your yard or on a walk, haze it. Get loud and shout at it, act aggressive, throw small rocks near it (not at it), and do other actions to encourage it to run off.

Around your home be sure to secure any food sources; if you feed outdoor cats you may also be feeding other animals – and both the cat food and the feral cats are attractive to the coyote. Keeping trash in a garage or other secure space is also recommended, as is cleaning up birdseed and fallen fruit. Like bears, alligators, and other wildlife, feeding coyotes is illegal and can become a dangerous situation if a coyote starts associating people with food.

To protect pets, keep an eye on small dogs when outside, especially around dusk and dawn. Do not let cats roam freely, keep them indoors – free roaming cats are at high risk of coyote attacks, car strikes, and other hazards. If you have small livestock like chickens, perform frequent checks of their enclosures to maintain security. Additionally, consider a 6' fence for your yard if possible.

We hope, with all fears allayed, you can find the magic in the coyote that people have observed for centuries and embrace them as just another one of the fascinating and beautiful animals that we get to share Florida with.