Talk:Coyote

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Contents 1 Good Article 2 Howling Seasons 3 Weight 4 Note format? 5 Interbreeding with gray wolves? 6 Well.. 7 coyotes as pets? 8 Life span? 9 Coyotes help humans? 10 Coyote in popular culture? 11 A Possible Mistake in Wording? 12 Sources Needed: 13 Re 14 Sources Needed:

[edit] Good Article

I'm just leaving this comment to compliment the editors and contributors of this article! I came here looking for info on coyotes for a school assignment, and the information here is very concise and summarized (which I find to be the most useful type of information as opposed to messy, unorganized, random information scattered amongst web pages people probably won't find). Additionally, I love the photos in this article! I can't really think of anything that may be missing in this article... Good job, Wikipedians! --Matt0401 23:26, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

I agree - an excellent article. (I read it because my wife just heard a coyote howling - in Westchester, a little north of NYC.) PaulLev 06:48, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes, I also agree. My only request is something more about the morphilogical adaptations. Superllama08

[edit] Howling Seasons

There definitely needs to be more info on the "howling seasons" -- right now it really contributes nothing to the article. TastemyHouse 04:30, 31 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Weight

how much does a coyote weigh?

Bizarre--the article lists the weight of the grey wolf as a point of comparison but never mentions the coyotes' weight. It's 20 - 50 pds, averaging thirty. I think I'll just add a section on anatomy as I just did the same for the red wolf Marskell 17:35, 7 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Note format?

What reference format should I be using for this article? I went ahead and added a section and a reference list at the bottom with superscript notes...I didn't know if there was a protocol for this or not.

--IRelayer 20:34, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Interbreeding with gray wolves?

It says here that coyotes can breed with gray wolves and produce fertile offspring. Why then are they considered seprate species? I thought the term species referred to critters that couldn't produce fertile offspring--horses and jackasses can spawn mules, which are sterile, ergo the two are different species. This is apparently in contrast with the situation between coyotes and gray wolves. Seems to this layman that coyotes would constitute a "race" of wolves, not a separate species. Please ellucidate--thanks.

That's a simplistic definition of species. It's far more complicated then that. If two animal populations, such as Coyote and Grey Wolf, have significant morphological differences and do not regularly interbreed in the wild they will be considered separate species despite the fact that they can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. One concept at work is that there is very little interchange of genetic information between those populations. It may be helpfull to review the Red Wolf page: "The upshot of the taxonomic debate is not simply a matter of accurate classification: although the actual patterns of evolution are complex and subtle, human classification schemes usually rely on relatively simple, hard-edged divisions, such as the concept of species, which is ill-adapted to describing the wolves of North America."

Also see the species article: "Without reproductive isolation, population differences cannot develop, and given reproductive isolation, gene flow between the populations cannot merge the differences. This is not to say that cross breeding does not take place at all, simply that it has become negligible. Generally, the hybrid individuals are less capable of successful breeding than pure-bred individuals of either species."Toiyabe 17:20, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

I live in Prince Edward Island Canada, and supposedly we have the biggest coyotes in the world. They interbred with wolves (gray wolves i think) as they moved from the west to here, and not only are they larger but they also hunt in packs. I saw this on a documentary by David Susuki or on a special put on by National Geographic. 142.176.114.182 03:49, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Well..

coyotes habitat goes as far as Costa Rica. that would include Central America as well as north america article is edited for update

Well ... Central America is in North America, so if it ranges In North America as far south as Costa Rica that's probly the best way to phrase it. WilyD 18:03, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] coyotes as pets?

I'd love to see info on the domestication of coyotes - even if it's to say it's impossible.

Also - should the movie "Coyote Ugly" be listed under the Fictional References?

youcantryreachingme 04:38, 23 March 2006 (UTC)youcantryreachingme

I don't think I would list that movie under Fictional References because there isn't a coyote in the movie. And I'm sure coyotes can be kept as pets. Coyote / dog crossbreeds are very trainable as well. --Ignignot 14:24, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

A slight clarification - there has been no domestication of the coyote, except insofar as some domestic dogs have some coyote ancestry. It's plauasible that coyotes have been occasionally kept as pets, but that is something different. A pet coyote is a tame coyote not a domestic coyote. It seems likely that the coyote could be domesticated through generations of selective breeding, although it would probably be more difficult then domesticating wolves was because coyotes don't have as much of a hierarchical social structure. And it would be probably pointless to domesticate because there isn't a role for them to fill that domestic dogs don't already fill or couldn't be bred to fill more easily. Toiyabe 15:56, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps someone simply thinks they are cute critters and spends generations breeding them for that sole purpose.

[edit] Life span?

The article says coyotes live an average of 6 years, but where is that information coming from? It seems a bit short to me, although I guess if you're including dead pups it would be low. I did a quick google search and other sites are saying 10-14 is a common life span, which makes for a pretty significant difference. Originalbigj 02:04, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Coyotes help humans?

In California coyotes regularly eat housepets and occasionally attack very young children (2-3 years old). Durova 07:29, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

This happens in Colorado, too. But the point is that they provide a balance against vermin that would otherwise have to be poisoned or trapped and otherwise destroyed. http://tchester.org/sgm/lists/coyote_attacks.html says "Since 3 million children are bitten by dogs every year, your small child is millions of times more likely to get hurt by the family pet than by a coyote." It also says the last human to be killed by a coyote in California was in 1980. --Mdwyer 20:11, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

When you see stories about children being attacked by coyotes, wonder where their watchers were, and whether a car would have got them if the coyote hadn't. Coyoty 01:35, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Coyote in popular culture?

There is a section on popular culture both here and in Coyote (mythology), and both are attracting edits. Would it make sense to create a separate Coyote in popular culture article (like many of the other articles in Category:Animals in popular culture), and use {{main}} to link to it from both Coyote articles? — Catherine\^talk 05:46, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] A Possible Mistake in Wording?

Right in the openning paragraph you can read, "Coyotes are native to North America and are only found in North America south to Costa Rica."

I don't understand. This tells me that coyotes are only found in Panama, which I know is wrong, but that's the only place/country in North America that is south of Costa Rica. — Dorvaq 15:20, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

So I see it's been fixed, but, Toiyabe, by "Canada south" do you mean "south Canada" or "southern Canada", and if so I believe the reference is still wrong.

Coyotes are found in northern Canada as well. In fact, according to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology and DesertUSA, coyotes' geographic range spreads as far north as Alaska.

Also, according again to the aforementioned sources they are found as far south as Panama — not Costa Rica. — Dorvaq (talk) 14:07, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

I changed it myself. — Dorvaq (talk) 20:40, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sources Needed:

• Coyotes are often captured and raised when young and forced to guard farmers' livestock. In the 1800s, at least 29,485 coyotes were captured, and the governors later offered $591,596 to those who brought the farmers to court. Drakcap 14:14, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

Cite? I especially question "are often" and "forced to guard farmers' livestock." It looks like this must have a source because it is so specific but I can't find one. In any case, this happening in the Nineteenth Century might justify "were often," not "are often." I don't think it happens at all now and I question that it was ever common. I have trained dogs to guard livestock. I think that the process would be tougher with coyotes but "forced to guard farmers' livestock" is plain wierd. And why anyone would do this with dogs available, easier to train and often bigger and faster, I don't understand. Will in New Haven

[edit] Re

Ciao, esiste un areale di distribuzione del Coyote? Su commons non l'ho trovato...:)) 87.17.129.16 16:45, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

just a note to those who care - I've added some facts with appropriate references...I have ready access to lots of coyote research papers, since my master's thesis is based on coyote reproductive behavior. However, I don't know how to link the footnotes to the bottom of the page, and if anyone feels like helping out the site, it would be great if they could do that. Also let me know how, via this page, so I can be more efficient in the future. CeciliaHennessy 21:35, 5 March 2007 (UTC)CeciliaHennessy

[edit] Sources Needed:

Re: The Chicago Quizno's incident, and of the wholly subjective assertion that Chicago-style pizza is an abomination.