Species: Canis latrans

Coyote
Species
    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Mammalia

    Order

    Carnivora

    Family

    Canidae

    Genus

    Canis

    Classification
    Other Global Common Names
    Coyote - coyote
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Carnivores
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Carnivora - Canidae - Canis - ) genes are incorporated into the coyote gene pool in the southeastern U.S. due to extensive hybridization. Genetic transfer of coyote mitochondrial DNA into wolf populations has occurred through hybridization in a contiguous geographic region in Minnesota, Ontario, and Quebec; the frequency of coyote-type mtDNA in these wolf populations is greater than 50%; no coyotes sampled had a wolf-derived mtDNA genotype; probably hybridization is occurring between male wolves and female coyotes in regions where coyotes only recently have become abundant following conversion of forests to farmlands (Lehman et al. 1991).
    Migration
    true - false - false - >
    Non-migrant
    true
    Locally Migrant
    false
    Food Comments
    An opportunistic feeder; mainly carrion (including prey killed by other carnivores), small vertebrates, and invertebrates. Occasionally feeds on vegetation.
    Reproduction Comments
    Mates in late winter. Gestation lasts 60-65 days. Litter size averages 4-7 in different areas. Young are born March-May. Both parents tend young. Family leaves den when young 8-10 weeks old. Young are on their own by late fall. Sexually mature in 1-2 years. Interbreeds freely with domestic dog.
    Ecology Comments
    Population density generally is around 0.2-1.0 per sq km, though seasonally higher densities have been recorded in Texas. (Knowlton 1972). Most of the population usually is less than 3 years old. <br><br>In the north, populations may increase when wolf population is low, decrease when wolf population increases. <br><br>In Texas, "interactions between social organization and food availability were implicated in regulation of [a]...lightly exploited high-density population" (Windberg 1995). <br><br>In the prairie pothole region, the presence of low numbers of coyotes may benefit ducks by excluding the more destructive red fox (NBS news release, 29 June 1994).
    Length
    132
    Weight
    18100
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G5
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    1996-11-15
    Global Status Last Changed
    1996-11-15
    Other Status

    LC - Least concern

    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.AB=S5&CA.BC=S5&CA.LB=S3&CA.MB=S5&CA.NB=S5&CA.NF=S5&CA.NT=S4&CA.NS=S5&CA.ON=S5&CA.PE=S5&CA.QC=S5&CA.SK=S5&CA.YT=S5&US.AL=S5&US.AK=S5&US.AZ=S5&US.AR=S5&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S5&US.CT=S5&US.DE=SU&US.FL=SNR&US.GA=S4&US.ID=S5&US.IL=S5&US.IN=S4&US.IA=S5&US.KS=S5&US.KY=S5&US.LA=S5&US.ME=S5&US.MD=S4&US.MA=S5&US.MI=S5&US.MN=SNR&US.MS=S5&US.MO=SNR&US.MT=S5&US.NN=S5&US.NE=S5&US.NV=S5&US.NH=S5&US.NJ=S5&US.NM=S5&US.NY=S5&US.NC=S4&US.ND=SNR&US.OH=SNR&US.OK=S5&US.OR=S5&US.PA=S4&US.RI=SU&US.SC=SNR&US.SD=S5&US.TN=S5&US.TX=S5&US.UT=S5&US.VT=S5&US.VA=S5&US.WA=S5&US.WV=S4&US.WI=S5&US.WY=S5" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    Originally ranged throughout western and central North America, perhaps with only widely scattered populations in the southeastern U.S. Range expanded into eastern U.S. with opening of forest and extermination of wolf. Range has also expanded north to northern Alaska and south to Costa Rica. Introduced in Florida and Georgia. (Wozencraft, in Wilson and Reeder 1993).
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102680