A gray North American wild canine (Canis latrans) closely related to but smaller than the wolf.

Also, the trickster god of many Native American cultures. Coyote gets into a lot of trouble, but he always has fun.

Also, a cartoon character, created by animation master Chuck Jones, who chases the Roadrunner. He makes great use of products from the Acme Corporation, but usually ends up squashed flat as a pancake by the end of the cartoon. His given name is Wile E. Coyote.

Coyote (Southwestern Native Americans, but known in other areas as well) A trickster, a clown. The creator and teacher of men. Like Loki, Coyote is always lurking about, causing trouble and playing pranks. To the Zunis, Coyote is a hero who set forth the laws by which men may live in peace. The Pomo Indians maintain that Coyote created the human race and stole the sun to keep them warm. The Montana Sioux say that Coyote created the horse.

The Chinook tell how Coyote and Eagle went to the land of the dead to bring back their dead wives. On reaching the land of the dead, they found a meeting lodge lit only by the moon which lay on the floor. Every night an old woman would swallow the moon and the dead would appear in the meeting lodge. Recognizing their wives among the spirits of the dead, the two gods devised a plan. The next day, after the old woman had vomited up the moon and the dead had disappeared, Coyote built a huge wooden box and placed in it leaves of every kind of plant. Coyote and Eagle then killed the old woman, and Coyote donned her clothes. When the time came, Coyote swallowed the moon. The dead appeared, but Eagle had placed the box outside the exit. When Coyote vomited up the moon, the dead filed out and were trapped in the box. Coyote pleaded to be allowed to carry the box, and Eagle gave it to him. But Coyote couldn't wait to see his wife and opened the box. The spirits of the dead rose up like a cloud and disappeared to the west. So it is that people must die forever, not like the plants which die in winter and are green again in a season.

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Ursula K. Le Guin has a great short story about Coyote called "Buffalo Gals Won't You Come Out Tonight?"

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In Mexico and the US if you are trying to get into the US illegally a coyote is a person you can hire to smuggle you across the US border. Not recommended, as they are crooks as often as not.

The song of coyotes is probably one of the most poignant and beautiful things about the deserts of North America. Their song includes a variety of highly vocal yips and howls which is pretty much undescribable if you haven't heard it. No one is really sure why they howl. Some theorize that it is a way to mark territory, but i don't believe this. I have seen groups of several coyotes howl together. Others believe it is just a location beacon, but I don't believe this either. Why create such intricate songs just to locate other coyotes? There are a few people who think the coyotes are just lonely. I think this is the least likely of all. Coyotes aren't lonely wanderers of the desert. They ARE the desert. They are everything that makes the desert amazing - their song reveals independence, hardiness, beauty, the amazing hugeness of the desert. I think the coyotes sing because they are overwhelmed with the mystery and beauty of the world.

The desert at night is an amazing thing, especially under a full moon. Everything glows silver, and hills 20 miles down the valley seem like a step away, while bushes a few feet away seem like towering trees on the horizon. Some dark nights there are so many stars you can see the dark swirls of 'dark matter' far out in space where they blot out the stars in the Milky Way. Other nights, there is so much lightning in the distance the desert flickers like it is under a golden fire. The plants do much of their metabolizing at night, using energy stored from the harsh desert sun, because in the daytime they would be scorched by the heat and shrivel and die. The result of this is a strong smell of living, growing plants at night. All these sensations are simply those witnessed by a human. People wonder why the coyotes choose to sing at night. But imagine looking at the nighttime world as a coyote. Sights, smells, and sounds would be many times more intense than those seen by a human. If i could see the world this way i would be singing too. As it is, there have been times when i had no means of expression of the desert other than to sit facing the mountains at night a little drunk, play guitar as best i can, and sing.

I've seen a lot of dead animals in my time, and I'm not that sensitive to it. I've seen animals cooked in wildfires, animals eaten by hawks, animals run over, animals died of old age. It is sad, but it is life. Life ends. But the other day i saw a coyote dead by the side of the road, curled up into a little fuzzy ball, and I almost cried. It was in the suburbs, a quickly growing place, where there was nothing left of the once beautiful hills. I don't even know how the coyote got this far from the mountains to the north or south it could have survived in. But i do know this: a coyote is far too smart to simply walk into a car. It is possible he was confused, or disoriented, or sick. But i think that is far underestimating the poor coyote. I personally believe he saw the world ending for him - the beauty gone, covered in houses and roads. I think this coyote WAS lonely, unbearably lonely, because he was without the beauty which once surrounded him; he had no reason to even sing. I think he knew exactly what the highway was, and he dragged himself in front of a car and let his life go, into the cold night air of Ventura Highway, alone.

The coyote (Canis latrans, trans. barking dog) is the smaller of the two North American wild dog species. The male coyote weighs between 20 and 50 lbs and stands 23 to 26 inches tall at the shoulder. Length from nose to tail-tip is generally between 45 and 60 inches, with around 1/4 of this being a large, bushy tail. Female coyotes are smaller, tending to be about 4/5 the size of the male.

Coyotes are slimmer and more delicate-looking than wolves. Their muzzle tapers directly into their forehead with almost no bulging of the cranium. They have long, sharp teeth designed for slashing attacks. Their ears are wide and erect. They have a thick fur ruff around their neck which helps to protect the throat during combat. Their eyes are yellow and set at a slant, with a more feline or fox-like expression than those of a wolf.

A coyote's paws are more elongated than those of a wolf or dog; if a wolf's paw print can be described as square, the coyote's is rectangular. Coyotes have four toes with nonretractable claws as well as a rudimentary fifth toe set high on the leg with a dewclaw. A coyote's fur is reddish-greyish-tawny, with distinct variation between back and belly. Each individual hair is shaded, going from light close to the skin to dark at the tip. Coyotes have a thick undercoat of downy fur in addition to the coarse overcoat visible.

Coyotes, like wolves, are pack animals. They communicate through scent, body language, and vocalizations. Their howl is a combination of barks, yips, and rising and falling ululations. Due to this, it is almost impossible to tell the number of coyotes in a pack by sound. Coyotes are extremely fast runners with great stamina. They are also very social and playful animals. Coyotes are mostly monogamous. Their breeding season is February through March, with a gestation period of 60 to 63 days. Litters can consist of three to seven pups.

Coyotes are primarily scavengers, although they can and do hunt when necessary. A coyote's diet is more eclectic than a wolf's, including mice, insects, berries and fruit. Since the decline of the wolf and the destruction of pristine wildlife habitat, the coyote has adapted and expanded incredibly. Coyotes are found throughout almost the entire United States, and have begun expanding into Canada. They are found in close proximity to humans, even on the outskirts of cities, and have become expert trash scavengers.

When a coyote attacks, it takes advantage of its speed and lightning reflexes. It dashes in and gives its opponent several slashing bites, then dashes back out of reach. Personally, I would rather be attacked by a wolf than a coyote, because a coyote can inflict serious damage before its opponent has time to react.

Coyotes are beautiful, engaging animals. I have had the opportunity to interact with several of them in captivity, and actually helped raise three coyote pups.

Unfortunately, a large percentage of the population still has a perception of the coyote as a pest, rather than one of the mechanisms with which Nature attempts to maintain balance. Hopefully, this will change someday, because there are few things as beautiful as the coyotes' song in the moonlight.

Coy"o*te (k?"?-t? ∨ k?"?t), n. [Spanish Amer., fr. Mexican coyotl.] Zool.

A carnivorous animal (Canis latrans), allied to the dog, found in the western part of North America; -- called also prairie wolf. Its voice is a snapping bark, followed by a prolonged, shrill howl.

 

© Webster 1913.