²

• About 200 years ago, coyotes range was limited to the plains western US. Coyotes are now found in most of North America, from Alaska to Panama (observed south of the canal for the first time in 2013!) and all the maritime provinces on the east coast. The eastern subspecies tends to be larger and would be the results of hybridization with wolves. Genetic studies have shown that most eastern coyotes bear some % of wolves DNA (and wolves would also have coyote DNA). They were observed in Montréal for the first time in the 1980s. Urbanization and the eradication of wolves are factors that probably contributed to their expansion.
• Their home range varies from 7 to 80 km2. They can travel great distances if required.
• Can run to over 60 km/h.
• They are SO adaptable! They have flexible behaviour and variable social organization. Their basic social unit is a mated pair, but they can also live alone or, in certain circumstances (like when food is readily available) in packs.
• Can be active at any time of day-night, but generally most active at dawn and sunset. In cities they became nocturnal to avoid human presence.
• They communicate through facial expression, voice and scent marking.
• Coyotes are opportunists, they eat a wide variety of food: small mammals, songbirds, poultry, frogs, snakes, fishes, insects, fruits, berries, carrion and garbage. Whatever is readily available!
• If you see one, make sure it has room to escape. Coyotes are very unlikely to attack people, but they can bite defensively if they feel trapped... that is what happened in Montreal a couple years ago: coyote seen in a public park in North Montreal was surrounded by people who were trying to scare him away, he had no way out and did bite a kid before running away. Do not feed them as it conditioned them to come closer to humans which can lead to potentially harmful situations for both people and animals (true for all wild animals).

Fontes e Créditos

1. (c) Don McCullough, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-NC), https://www.flickr.com/photos/69214385@N04/19717999940/
2. (c) Alice Roy-Bolduc, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA)

Mais informações

• BioDiversity4All taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• ASM Mammal Diversity Database
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CalPhotos
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• iNaturalist Mammal Working Group
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• VertNet

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