Coyote: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Wolves and Foxes · day 6 of 7

Five facts

1. Coyotes may occasionally team up with American badgers, helping each other dig up rodent prey.
2. Some coyotes even rest their heads on their badger partners or lick their faces, and the badgers don't seem to mind.
3. Coyotes tackle porcupines in pairs, flipping them onto their backs with their paws. Only old, experienced coyotes succeed.
4. Adult coyotes make at least 11 different calls. Their scientific name, Canis latrans, means "barking dog".
5. When pack members meet up again, coyotes yip and howl together, maybe to finish off a long greeting ritual.

The quiz

1. Which animal do coyotes sometimes team up with to dig out rodents?

• Red foxes
• Porcupines
• American badgers (correct)
• Prairie dogs

Coyotes may team up with American badgers to dig up rodents.

2. What have some coyotes been seen doing with badger companions?

• Licking their faces (correct)
• Stealing their food
• Chasing them away
• Carrying them

Some coyotes have been seen licking their badger partners' faces.

3. How do coyotes reach a porcupine's soft underbelly?

• They roll it in mud
• They wait until it sleeps
• They knock it from a tree
• They flip it onto its back (correct)

Coyotes flip porcupines onto their backs with their paws.

4. How many different vocalizations are known in adult coyotes?

• Only 3
• At least 11 (correct)
• Exactly 5
• Just 2

Adult coyotes have at least 11 known calls.

5. When does a coyote give a group yip howl?

• When prey is spotted
• When it rains
• When pack members reunite (correct)
• When pups are born

It is emitted when pack members reunite.

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