Coyote - meadow wolf, living in America

If we were the Aztecs, we would call this animal a "divine dog." The Latin name was transformed as "barking dog". And contemporaries call it differently - "meadow wolf", "red dog", "red wolf" or "coyote". What kind of animal is this, for which people have not regretted so many names?

External Description

Coyote is a mammal that belongs to predators. These animals belong to the dog family. Externally, red wolves are like ordinary wolves, but smaller ones. You can even say that the largest coyote is smaller than the most ordinary and small adult from ordinary wolves. The maximum body length of an adult coyote does not exceed 100 cm, the tail does not grow longer than 30 cm, at the withers the animal is about 50 cm. But the mass varies from 7 kg (minimum weight) to 21 kg (maximum). An adult common wolf, with whom we compared a meadow colleague, has a minimum weight of 32 kg, and large individuals can reach up to 60 kg.

A meadow wolf has standing ears, and its tail can be called fluffy. The fur is quite thick and long, brown in color, with black and gray impregnations. The color of the fur on the belly is much lighter. The form of the muzzle is elongated-pointed, more like a fox than a wolf. The tip of the tail is covered with black hairs.

Where Coyotes Live

Coyotes are typical inhabitants of the American plains. They are distributed throughout North America and are found in 49 states of the USA, Canada and Mexico. The North American meadow wolf was very bred during the Golden Rush. Together with the prospectors, this animal actively explored new territories, not abhorring any prey.

Red wolves are residents of open territories. They inhabit prairies and deserts, they are extremely rare in forest areas. Coyotes live not only in deserted places, but also on the outskirts of large megacities.

What feeds on

In food, the American meadow wolf is not cute. This animal is considered omnivorous, but the main diet is meat of rabbits, rabbits, dogs, ground squirrels and marmots. Any smaller animal, including birds, insects and various aquatic animals, can become the main dish of a hungry animal. And since coyotes often live near towns and villages, they can also hunt domestic animals, although they do it infrequently.

Coyotes rarely attack humans. But dumps, accompanying human settlements, for them are very attractive.

How the Coyote Hunts

A meadow wolf prefers solitary or pair hunting. But for hunting large game can be united in schools. In this case, the roles are distributed, as in wolves. There are several beaters who lead the game to the pack or exhaust it with a long pursuit.

Sometimes coyotes arrange a joint hunt with badgers. This is a very successful association, because the badger breaks the holes in which the potential prey lives or hides, and the coyote easily overtakes and kills it. Coyotes are very mobile, fast and jump well. They have a good flair and excellent vision.

Adult animals have their own hunting grounds. The center of this territory is the predator's den. The boundaries of the site are regularly marked with urine.

Coyotes often and loudly howl. In this way animals communicate with each other, call a flock for hunting, inform fellow tribesmen that they are on foreign territory, call the female. At night in American prairies, howling sounds almost constantly, frightening off intruders. Specialists try to decipher and systematize sound messages in order to better understand the animals they are watching.

Way of life

In the main these predators live in pairs. But there are singles and family groups. The meadow wolf of America forms flocks in places where a high number of animals and abundant food reserves. The flock is 5-6 individuals, two of which are parents, and the rest are their young.

Another reason for grouping is the lack of small game. In this case, the purpose of the flock is to hunt large animals, which alone can not cope with the coyote.

Family pairs of meadow wolves are constant. They live side by side for many years, without being distracted by other partners. Most often the couple keeps together all their life.

Mating occurs in winter, during the period from January to February. Female coyotes are very prolific. In the brood there can be from 5 to 19 puppies. The gestation period is approximately 3 months. Birth occurs in the main family lair, but each pair has several emergency shelters. These holes or crevices are used in case of danger. The male takes care of the female and the cubs, he extracts food and protects the dwelling. Meadow wolf is a caring parent. He is engaged in raising puppies on a par with mother. The grown-up males go into independent life, and the females can stay with their parents.

In the wild, coyotes can live more than ten years, and in captivity their life is even more significant. Some couples in zoos survived for 15-16 years.

Myths and legends

The red wolf, the photo and description of which was presented to your attention, is the character of the myths of many Indian tribes of North America. This is a naughty and mischievous character who builds small dirty tricks not to harm, but simply because it's fun. Such characters are called tricksters, that is, gods-deceivers, or anti-heroes, who can not bear responsibility for their pranks.

In some Indian tribes, the meadow wolf is a god who protects hunters, warriors and lovers. The Indians considered this deity a great sorcerer. And some tribes have myths that the "divine dog" accidentally created people from mud and blood during the game. Indians of North America did not hunt coyotes, because they considered them totemic animals.