In some Native American stories, the trickiest creature of all.

Coyote

In some Native American stories, the trickiest creature of all is Coyote(Canis Latrans). They are clever animals and quickly take advantage of changes around them. Once coyotes lived mainly on prairies and in the deserts of North America, but as people settled across the land, coyotes learned to survive in mountains, forests, and now, even in urban areas. Attempts to exterminate coyotes generally have limited success due to the coyote’s adaptability. It has also been argued that without coyotes, rodent populations would quickly swell. Opportunistic creatures, coyotes will eat almost anything. Though they may usually feed on small rodents and insects, they also pounce on snakes and lizards and eat grasses, nuts and fruit. (Luna, one of our educational coyotes, is especially fond of watermelon!)

Species Information

Much smaller than their relative, the wolf, a coyote’s body length,including the long tail, is about three to four feet. Coyotes usually livein family groups of parents and young, with each family guarding its own area and marking it with urine to show it is occupied. The female bears three to twelve pups in the spring and both parents care for the young.Coyotes often mate for life.

Beautiful Music

Researchers have identified eleven forms of vocal communication. Coyotes"woof" softly to warn their young; a bark tells enemies to keep away. In the evening, several coyotes may "sing" in chorus, starting with a string of sharp "yips" which evolve into howls. Other coyotes join in and soon their song echoes across the hills. Sometimes coyotes howl for the sheer joy of self-expression-in the words of one researcher, giving voice to"some deeper feelings and needs of the caller." Several coyotes call the Wildlife Waystation home and a number of them, as educational animals, act as ambassadors for their species.