# Coyote

*Canis latrans*

Coyotes sometimes form hunting partnerships with American badgers; the coyote chases prey above ground while the badger digs them out below.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Mammalia › Carnivora › Canidae › Canis
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** increasing
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Extremely adaptable, ranging from open grasslands and deserts to dense forests and metropolitan urban centers.
- **Diet:** Opportunistic omnivore consuming rodents, rabbits, deer, fruit, insects, carrion, and occasionally human refuse.
- **Range:** North America, Central America
- **Size:** 15-46 lbs (7-21 kg), 3.3-4.3 feet (1-1.3 m) in length
- **Lifespan:** 10-14 years in the wild
- **Active:** crepuscular
- **Threats:** Vehicle collisions, rodenticide poisoning, and targeted hunting or trapping due to human-wildlife conflict.
- **Safe to approach?:** Coyotes are generally defensive and avoid humans, but can become habituated if fed. Maintain a safe distance of at least 150 feet. If approached, stand tall, wave your arms, and make loud noises (hazing) to scare it away. Never run, as this can trigger their chase instinct. In the rare event of a bite, wash the wound with soap and water immediately and seek urgent medical care for rabies evaluation.

## About

The coyote ( Canis latrans ); from Nahuatl pronunciation (help·info)) is a canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological niche as the golden jackal does in Eurasia, though it is larger and more predatory, and is sometimes called the American jackal by zoologists.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/5c574e98-c4d9-4bdb-8643-d2bbfe158826
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/42051
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canis latrans
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/2916298/medium.jpg (avocat, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.