Beyond Your Backyard 🌾 "The Coyote - A Keystone Species of Our Prairies"
By Kimberly J. Epp
Often demonized and misunderstood, the coyote provides many benefits to the prairie ecosystem.
The coyote is also known as the brush wolf or prairie wolf. It is the size of a large collie. The coyote's muzzle is long and fox-like, as compared to the shorter muzzle on the wolf. The coyote is also half the size of a wolf. Coyotes have large pointed ears, small feet and a black-tipped bushy tail. Their coat is tan-coloured and helps them to blend in with their surroundings. Coyotes in mountain and forest habitats are darker in colouring. The average weight of a coyote is twenty-eight pounds. Males are slightly larger than females. Coyotes have few predators around here, although the main predator is man.
Healthy adult coyote showing a varied coat, perfect for camouflage (photo by Michael St. Laurent).
Females normally begin breeding at the age of two, although some may start as early as age one. Mating usually occurs in February, when the females come into heat. Gestation is from 60 to 63 days. A normal litter size consists of 5 to 7 pups - however litters of 12 or more have been observed. The pups are born in April. The female prepares a birthing den, then moves the newborns into another den within a few days - of which she had previously dug. She is wary of predators, so moves her pups often to at least 3 pre-made densites. The male brings the female food. Coyotes have one litter a year, and the pair remain together for several years.
Coyote pups at play. Play determines dominance and helps the pups form strategies to survive in the wild (photo by Vishal Subramanian).
While searching for some ptarmigan to photograph, John came across this healthy looking coyote instead. Nature often gives us surprises (photo by John C. Corden)!
Coyote's have a keen sense of hearing, and this is one of their precise means in finding prey. Training begins when they are pups, with play fighting, jumping and pouncing. Coyotes can hear a mouse squeak in the subnivean layer under the snow. The coyote "freezes", listens, then pounces. Karen Reyda-Mayer accurately described her observation of a coyote hunting voles or mice under the snow. Read how she described it underneath her photo. Coyotes can smell humans from 1.5 km away. So the coyote Karen was watching was obviously more concerned about his dinner!
Although coyotes are not as sociable as wolves, they do still have a social structure. They communicate via scent markings and calls. The calls are a way of marking their territory. Coyote populations regulate themselves. The more coyotes in an area means less food - so the litter size would then become smaller. There are about 11 different calls which have different meanings to the coyote.
Coyote pups basking in the sunlight, with big ears ever at the ready for the slight squeaking of a mouse (photo by Vishal Subramanian).
The coyote was named "God's Dog" by the Native Americans. They recognized its ability to survive, and its willingness to make the most of a situation. To have coyote-like abilities, such as cleverness, was held in high esteem. Many legends showed the coyote as the Creator, a Trickster, or a powerful teacher.
Coyotes eat just about anything. They are well known to control rodent populations. Their menu includes rabbits, hares, squirrels, beavers, muskrats, ground squirrels, voles, mice, birds and insects. Coyote pups love eating insects. Coyotes generally prey on smaller animals, but will prey on weak or sick larger animals and the unprotected offspring of deer or antelope. This is why it is important to keep pregnant livestock barned up whenever possible. If you have small dogs, jackets with spikes can be purchased to protect them from coyotes. It is always best to keep your cats indoors. Coyotes rarely attack humans unless cornered. Merely give them space, let them know you are there by making loud sounds, and let them continue on. One of the most inhumane hunting practices is the use of hunting dogs such as beagles. The coyote is baited, then chased until worn down. Once cornered, the dogs attack and bite the coyote until it is finally shot.
"I see you, hooman!" (photo by Delores Burkart).
Another inhumane (and illegal) method to control coyotes, which is sadly still done, is the use of leg hold traps. Vets have had dogs brought in with their paw mangled. When the traps are not checked daily, it is not uncommon for the coyote or fox to chew its paw off to attain freedom. Usually infection will set in and a long grueling death is in store. If the coyote is "lucky" enough to survive, it will likely die of starvation. If we could put up better barriers, understand that we have encroached upon the habitat of many species of wildlife, and develop more humane ways of dealing with the "brush wolf", we could live with the land as our ancestors did. Each species has a purpose, and there is a delicate balance that we should not interfere with.
About two decades ago, the government of Saskatchewan held a coyote derby. Kill as many coyotes as you want. No limits. Just bring in the 4 paws as proof of the kill. The following year, there was a spike in the gopher population. So, what did the government do? They "of course" held a gopher derby. Bring in the tails, in tight packages of 10. The hunters got some money, but the ecosystem was shattered. The coyotes always kept the gopher populations in balance. Whether you love them or despise them, without coyotes the rodent populations would boom. It took years to regain that balance after those two derbies. It should be a lesson to us all. Each species plays a part in the biodiversity of earth.
Mama coyote moving her pups to a new den. Coyotes usually dig three den sites, so they can move their young if they feel threatened by predation (photo by Tracy Miller).
Currently, of all the mammals on earth, 70 per cent are livestock. Of all the birds, 30 per cent are poultry species. Of all the animals on earth, only 4 per cent are wild. Five hundred years ago, there were 6.7 billion fewer people on earth than there are today. In thirty years, our human population will reach 9 billion. This should shock you. We worry so much about controlling wild populations, when our own is growing beyond capacity.
"Coyote at Big Lake. There were at least 3 healthy coyotes out across the river. They were hanging out together. One would 'freeze', then bend down his back legs getting ready to pounce. Then when the time was right, he would spring into the air and jump head first into the snow, burying half his body. I could see a tail giving a wag as he caught his prey. I saw a coyote catch a mouse this way. Didn't take long for him to eat it and off to the next meal."
(Text and photo by Karen Reyda-Mayer)
So, next time you go for a walk and see a cheery chickadee or have a Fox Squirrel cross your path, be thankful for them. If you drive down a country road, and happen to see a coyote walking in the snow, stop your car and observe this magnificent animal. As most coyotes are aware of vehicles, many photographers use them as blinds. Be thankful for this sighting. Our Saskatchewan wildlife are very interesting. You just have to get to know them!
On that note, stay tuned for next week's feature critter. It is brown, has a slender body, hunts under the ice, and is a member of the weasel family. Can you guess who this feature creature is?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Epp is an environmental educator and writer and is also the Past President and Field Trip and Workshop Director for the Moose Jaw Nature Society. She can be reached at kepp@shaw.ca or via the MJNS Facebook page. The group meets the 4th Friday of the month.
Details on our next speaker (Friday, February 28th) HOO will be visiting us from the Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre, will be provided next week...just one of my old stomping grounds. In the meantime, have you guessed yet HOO next week's feature animal is? Other upcoming species will include Great Horned Owls (now already mating), Mountain Bluebirds (and we have a bluebird house workshop coming up), Red Foxes, and Crows versus Ravens. Enjoy the beautiful weather, and try to give the misunderstood coyote room to roam and be free.
Editor’s Note - Hoo???