Coyote

코요테

Endlessly adaptable, the coyote has spread across almost all of North America, from deserts to big cities. It can run faster than 60 km/h, eats everything from rodents to fruit, and its yips and howls carry far at night.

See it on the 3D globe →

At a glance

Class: Mammals
Lives in: Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USA
Diet: Eats both plants and meat (omnivore)
Weight: about 13 kg
Length: about 1.2 m
Top speed: about 65 km/h
Lifespan: up to about 21 years
Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN LC)
Habitat: deserts, grasslands, forests, towns & cities

Quick answers

Where does the Coyote live?

It lives in deserts, grasslands, forests, towns & cities. On the globe you can find it near Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USA.

How big is the Coyote?

It grows to about 1.2 m and 13 kg.

What does the Coyote eat?

Its diet: eats both plants and meat (omnivore).

How fast is the Coyote?

It can reach about 65 km/h.

How long does the Coyote live?

It can live up to about 21 years.

Is the Coyote endangered?

It is listed as Least Concern (IUCN LC).

The coyote is a small, slender wild dog of North America, also called the prairie wolf or brush wolf. It is smaller than the gray wolf, and it fills in North America a role similar to that of the golden jackal in Eurasia. Its fur is mostly light gray and reddish, mixed with black and white.

Coyotes are among the most adaptable animals in North America. They live in deserts, grasslands, forests and big cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago. An average male weighs 8 to 20 kilograms. They are famous for a howl that changes quickly in pitch, and the IUCN lists them as Least Concern.

What does a coyote eat?

Coyotes eat nearly anything: deer, rabbits, hares, rodents, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects, and sometimes fruit and vegetables. They live either as a family or in loose packs of unrelated animals. Their social life is very flexible. Humans are the greatest threat to coyotes, followed by cougars and gray wolves. The coyote is smaller than its cousin the gray wolf and a little smaller than the eastern wolf and red wolf. A coyote can also eat what people leave out, which is one reason it does so well near towns and cities.

Coywolves and legends

Coyotes do not mate with gray wolves in the wild, but they do interbreed with eastern wolves and red wolves, producing 'coywolf' hybrids. In the northeast, the larger eastern coyote came from such matings. Genetic studies show that most North American wolves carry some coyote DNA. The coyote is also a star of Native American folklore, often shown as a trickster. In 2013 it was first seen in eastern Panama.