Coyote (Canis latrans)

A distant howl rolls across a pasture just after sunset. Another answers from somewhere beyond the tree line. Then several yips and barks erupt at once, making it sound as though an entire pack has suddenly surrounded the field.

Welcome to the world of the coyote (Canis latrans).

Few North American predators are as adaptable—or as misunderstood. Coyotes live in deserts, forests, grasslands, wetlands, agricultural areas, suburbs, and even cities. In Texas, they are common throughout the state and have learned to survive remarkably well alongside people.

Along the Texas Gulf Coast, coyotes wander through coastal prairie, marsh edges, pastures, wooded corridors, farms, and neighborhoods. You may never see one, but there is a good chance you have heard them.

Their eerie nighttime chorus is only one piece of a much more interesting story.

Coyote Quick Facts

Common name	Coyote
Scientific name	Canis latrans
Family	Canidae
Type	Mammal
Average weight	About 25–40 pounds in Texas
Length	Roughly 3–4 feet
Diet	Opportunistic omnivore
Activity	Primarily nocturnal and crepuscular
Habitat	Prairies, forests, wetlands, brush, farmland and urban areas
Social structure	Solitary, pairs or family groups
Gestation	About 60–65 days
Typical litter	About 5–7 pups
Conservation	Common and widespread

Texas coyotes average about 25–40 pounds and have long legs, erect ears, a narrow muzzle, and a bushy black-tipped tail.

How to Identify a Coyote

At first glance, a coyote may resemble a lean domestic dog.

Look closer and several features stand out.

Coyotes have a narrow face, pointed muzzle, large triangular ears, long slender legs, and a relatively narrow chest. Their coat varies from gray and buff to reddish brown, often with darker hairs along the back.

Their bushy tail usually ends in a dark or black tip.

One of the easiest field clues appears when the animal begins moving.

Watch the Tail

Coyotes characteristically run with their tail hanging downward, rather than carrying it high like many domestic dogs.

Key Identification Features

• Large, erect triangular ears
• Long, narrow muzzle
• Yellowish eyes
• Gray, tan or reddish coat
• Long, slender legs
• Bushy black-tipped tail
• Tail usually carried low while running
• Leaner build than most similarly sized dogs

A healthy wild coyote often looks much slimmer than people expect.

That does not necessarily mean it is starving. It is simply built for traveling.

Coyotes in Texas

Coyotes are common throughout Texas. They have successfully adapted to enormous changes in the landscape, including agriculture, roads, suburban development, and expanding cities.

They can use almost any habitat that provides food and enough cover to move through the landscape.

Coyotes occur in:

• Coastal prairie
• Brushland
• Forest
• Wetlands
• Agricultural fields
• Ranchland
• River corridors
• Suburban neighborhoods
• Urban greenbelts

Across Brazoria County and the upper Texas Gulf Coast, a coyote may move from prairie to marsh edge, through cattle pasture, along a drainage corridor, and behind a subdivision during a single night’s travels.

That flexibility is one of the secrets to its success.

What Do Coyotes Eat?

The better question might be: What won’t a coyote eat?

Coyotes are opportunistic omnivores. Their diet changes according to season, habitat, and whatever food happens to be available. Texas Parks and Wildlife lists rabbits, rodents, and insects among important foods, along with carrion, reptiles, fruit, vegetation, and fish.

A coyote’s menu can include:

• Mice
• Rats
• Rabbits
• Squirrels
• Insects
• Birds
• Eggs
• Lizards
• Snakes
• Frogs
• Fish
• Carrion
• Fruits
• Berries
• Other plant material

They may also consume larger prey under the right circumstances.

Coyotes generally hunt small prey alone, but pairs or family groups can cooperate when pursuing something larger.

This ability to switch foods is incredibly important.

A predator that depends on one prey species can struggle when that prey becomes scarce. A coyote simply changes the menu.

The Famous Coyote Pounce

Watching a coyote hunt rodents can be surprisingly entertaining.

The animal may walk slowly through tall grass with its ears pointed forward, listening intently.

Then it stops.

Its head tilts.

A moment later, the coyote launches itself into the air and comes down front feet first.

This dramatic pounce helps coyotes capture mice and other small mammals hidden beneath grass or vegetation.

It is a hunting technique that combines exceptional hearing with excellent timing.

And occasionally a little optimism.

Not every pounce ends with dinner.

Coyotes Are Excellent Listeners

A coyote’s oversized ears are not merely decorative.

Hearing is extremely important for detecting small animals moving through grass, leaves, and underground burrows. Coyotes also have a highly developed sense of smell and good vision.

These senses allow them to hunt when light is limited.

They are especially active during the evening, overnight, and around dawn. However, seeing a coyote during daylight is not automatically unusual or a sign that something is wrong. Texas Parks and Wildlife notes that coyotes can hunt at any hour.

Why Do Coyotes Howl?

Few wildlife sounds are as unmistakable as a coyote chorus.

Coyotes communicate through a surprisingly varied collection of:

• Howls
• Yips
• Barks
• Whines
• Growls
• Short high-pitched calls

Howling helps coyotes communicate their location and can also advertise occupied territory to neighboring animals.

Why Does One Coyote Sound Like Ten?

This is one of the best parts.

A small number of coyotes can create an astonishing amount of noise.

Different animals yip and howl at different pitches while the sound echoes across the landscape. To human ears, two or three coyotes may sound like a much larger group.

So when the backyard suddenly sounds as though fifty coyotes are holding a convention beyond the fence, the actual attendance may be considerably lower.

Are Coyotes Pack Animals?

Yes—but not quite like wolves.

Coyotes have a flexible social system.

They may live:

• Alone
• As a bonded pair
• In a family group
• Occasionally in a larger temporary group

Texas Parks and Wildlife notes that Texas coyotes may occur alone or in small groups of up to about six animals.

Many of these “packs” are actually families rather than unrelated animals joining together to hunt.

A typical group may consist of a breeding male and female along with some of their young.

Coyotes also frequently hunt alone even when they belong to a family group.

Do Coyotes Mate for Life?

Coyotes form strong pair bonds.

They are generally considered monogamous, and breeding pairs may remain together for several years, although not necessarily for life.

In Texas, breeding typically occurs from winter into early spring. Texas Parks and Wildlife reports a breeding period extending roughly from mid-January through early March.

After mating, both parents participate in raising the pups.

That family cooperation is one reason coyotes are such successful parents.

Life History and Coyote Pups

After a gestation period of roughly 60–65 days, the female gives birth inside a protected den. Texas litters often contain around five to seven pups, although litter size can vary considerably.

Newborn pups are helpless and remain inside or near the den during their earliest weeks.

Both parents provide food as the pups grow. Eventually, the youngsters begin venturing outside and exploring the area around the den.

Family life becomes increasingly active as spring moves toward summer.

Young coyotes wrestle, chase each other, investigate their surroundings, and begin learning the skills they will eventually need to survive.

Where Do Coyotes Den?

Coyotes may dig their own dens, but they often take advantage of existing shelters.

Possible den sites include:

• Enlarged animal burrows
• Natural cavities
• Hollow logs
• Brush-covered banks
• Protected areas beneath vegetation
• Excavated dens in soft soil

Texas Parks and Wildlife notes that coyotes often modify abandoned burrows or natural cavities and may create multiple entrances or escape routes.

The den is especially important while pups are young.

Outside the breeding season, adults do not need to spend their lives living inside a burrow.

Coyote Family Life

The idea of the coyote as a permanently solitary wanderer is only partly correct.

Family relationships can be surprisingly strong.

A breeding pair may remain together for several seasons. Both adults contribute to raising young, and some female offspring may remain with their parents and help form the family group.

This flexible social structure allows coyotes to adjust to changing circumstances.

Small prey are often hunted alone, while larger food sources may encourage cooperation. Family members can also work together to protect and feed pups, showing just how flexible coyote social behavior can be.

Adaptability shows up in almost every part of coyote life.

How Fast Can a Coyote Run?

Faster than you probably want to race one.

Texas Parks and Wildlife reports that coyotes can reach speeds of around 40 miles per hour.

They are also capable of traveling considerable distances while searching for food and maintaining territories.

Their long legs and lean bodies are designed for efficient movement.

This matters because a coyote’s world can be surprisingly large. A single animal may move through several different habitat types during its normal activities.

That coyote spotted crossing a neighborhood street may spend most of its time miles away.

Coyotes in Coastal Texas

The Texas Gulf Coast provides coyotes with an unusually diverse landscape.

Within a relatively small area, they may encounter:

• Coastal prairie
• Freshwater wetlands
• Salt marsh
• Brush
• Wooded bayous
• Cattle pasture
• Agricultural fields
• Suburban development

Coyotes are capable of using forests, grasslands, swamps, agricultural areas, and human-developed landscapes.

That makes Brazoria County very suitable coyote habitat.

They may hunt rodents in pastures, search marsh edges, cross wooded drainage corridors, or travel along the boundaries between developed areas and natural habitat.

Yet because they are secretive, many residents hear coyotes far more often than they see them.

Coyotes and Their Ecological Role

Coyotes are important mid-sized predators.

Rodents and rabbits make up an important part of their natural diet, which means coyotes participate in regulating populations of smaller mammals.

They also consume carrion.

In turn, coyotes interact with other predators and scavengers throughout the ecosystem.

A Gulf Coast coyote occupies a food web that may also include:

• Bobcats
• Raccoons
• Opossums
• Hawks
• Owls
• Vultures
• Snakes
• Alligators

Competition, predation, scavenging, and prey availability tie all of these species together.

The coyote is not simply wandering around looking sinister at dusk.

It is doing predator things.

Coyotes Around Neighborhoods

Coyotes have become increasingly comfortable using landscapes altered by people because towns and suburbs can still contain many of the things they need.

Greenbelts, drainage channels, parks, undeveloped lots, golf courses, and patches of woodland can act as travel corridors. Coyotes may routinely move between fragmented natural areas and developed neighborhoods.

Problems are more likely when coyotes begin associating people with food.

Texas Parks and Wildlife specifically warns against feeding coyotes because animals that become accustomed to people may lose their natural wariness.

Help Keep Coyotes Wild

• Never intentionally feed coyotes.
• Feed pets indoors.
• Do not leave pet food outside overnight.
• Secure trash cans.
• Pick up fallen fruit.
• Protect poultry and small livestock.
• Keep small pets supervised outdoors.
• Keep dogs leashed when coyotes are nearby.
• Never approach a coyote pup or den.

Removing easy food sources helps maintain the healthy distance that should exist between wild predators and people.

Are Coyotes Dangerous to People?

Coyotes are wild predators and should always be treated with appropriate respect.

However, their normal behavior is generally wary of humans. Problems can develop when animals become habituated or learn that people provide food.

A coyote simply walking across a field or appearing during daylight does not automatically indicate aggression.

More concerning behavior includes repeatedly approaching people, refusing to retreat, or becoming increasingly comfortable around homes.

If a Coyote Approaches You

Do not run.

Instead:

• Face the animal.
• Make yourself appear large.
• Yell firmly.
• Wave your arms.
• Make noise.
• Give the coyote a clear escape route.
• Continue until it moves away.

The National Park Service recommends this type of hazing in developed areas to reinforce a coyote’s natural avoidance of people.

Never corner a wild animal.

Coyotes and Pets

Small pets can potentially be viewed as prey, while dogs may sometimes be treated as competitors.

For that reason, small pets should not be left unattended outdoors in areas where coyotes are active. Texas Parks and Wildlife recommends keeping small pets indoors unless supervised and avoiding outdoor pet food that could attract wildlife.

Nighttime and the hours around sunrise and sunset deserve particular attention because coyotes are often active then.

A fenced yard also should not automatically be considered coyote-proof.

They are athletic animals.

Coyote Tracks

Tracks are sometimes the easiest evidence that a coyote has passed through an area.

Coyote tracks typically show:

• Four toes
• Visible claw marks
• A relatively narrow, oval shape
• Two middle toes positioned slightly forward

Their trails also tend to look purposeful.

Wild canids often move in relatively straight lines compared with domestic dogs, which may wander from one interesting smell to the next.

Finding tracks along a muddy trail, bayou bank, pasture road, or sandy shoreline can reveal an animal you never actually saw.

Coyote vs. Domestic Dog

A distant coyote can sometimes be mistaken for a stray dog.

Look for the overall combination of features.

A coyote usually has:

• Narrower chest
• Longer-looking legs
• Large pointed ears
• Narrow muzzle
• Bushy tail
• Tail carried low
• Consistent gray, tan, or reddish wild-type coloration

Domestic dogs are enormously variable, so no single feature works every time.

Behavior often provides another clue.

A wild coyote usually moves with purpose and watches people carefully rather than approaching casually.

In Brazoria County, the gray fox is probably the most useful wild comparison.

Conservation Status

Coyotes remain abundant and widespread throughout North America. Their extraordinary ability to adjust to changing habitats has allowed them to persist even as landscapes have been dramatically altered by people.

In Texas, they are common statewide.

Few large North American mammals have responded to human modification of the landscape as successfully.

Attempts to eliminate coyotes across large areas have repeatedly demonstrated just how difficult these animals are to remove permanently.

The coyote has essentially turned adaptability into a superpower.

Fun Facts About Coyotes

• The scientific name Canis latrans roughly translates to “barking dog.”
• Texas coyotes commonly weigh about 25–40 pounds.
• They can reach speeds of approximately 40 mph.
• Coyotes are strong swimmers.
• They can live alone, in pairs, or in family groups.
• Coyotes commonly hunt small prey individually.
• A pair may remain together for several years.
• Both parents help care for pups.
• Coyotes communicate using howls, yips, barks, and other sounds.
• A few vocal coyotes can sound like a much larger group.
• They eat both animals and plant material.
• Coyotes live successfully in wilderness, farmland, suburbs, and cities.
• Seeing a coyote during daylight does not automatically mean it is sick.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are coyotes native to Texas?

Yes. Coyotes are native North American canids and are common throughout Texas.

Are coyotes found in Brazoria County?

Yes. The mixture of coastal prairie, wetlands, farmland, wooded corridors, and developed areas found in Brazoria County provides the types of habitats coyotes readily use. Coyotes occur statewide in Texas and are highly adaptable.

What do coyotes eat?

Their diet commonly includes rabbits, rodents, insects, carrion, reptiles, fruit, and other available foods.

Do coyotes hunt in packs?

Sometimes, but many coyote hunts occur alone or in pairs. Family groups may cooperate when larger prey or circumstances make teamwork useful.

Do coyotes mate for life?

Coyotes are generally monogamous and pairs may remain together for several years, although the partnership is not necessarily lifelong.

Why do coyotes howl?

Howling helps coyotes communicate location, reunite with family members, and advertise territories.

Why do coyotes howl at night?

Coyotes are often more active after dark, particularly near people. Their increased nighttime movement makes vocal communication especially noticeable then.

Does seeing a coyote during the day mean it has rabies?

No. Coyotes can naturally be active during daylight. Daytime activity by itself does not indicate disease.

Will coyotes attack pets?

Small pets can potentially be viewed as prey, and coyotes may treat dogs as competitors. Keeping small pets supervised and removing outdoor food sources reduces risk.

What should I do if I see a coyote in my yard?

Give it an escape route and discourage it from remaining. Make yourself large, yell, clap, or use other loud noises until the animal leaves. Never feed or approach it.

Naturalist’s Note

There is something different about hearing coyotes after dark.

You may never see them. The pasture can look completely empty. The marsh edge is quiet, and the tree line has disappeared into darkness.

Then one coyote howls.

Another answers.

Suddenly the night feels wild again.

That may be what makes coyotes so fascinating along the Texas Gulf Coast.Coyotes live remarkably close to us, yet often remain hidden from view. They move quietly behind subdivisions, across cattle pastures, along bayous, and through stretches of prairie while much of the human world sleeps.

Far from the villains of old stories, coyotes are intelligent and highly adaptable native predators. They hunt, defend territories, raise families, and continually adjust to changing landscapes—skills that have made them some of North America’s most successful survivors.

And coyotes are exceptionally good at that last part.

The next time a chorus erupts somewhere beyond the tree line, listen for a minute.

One of North America’s great survivors is announcing that the wild is still out there.

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Similar Species

Several mammals found in Texas can be confused with coyotes under poor viewing conditions.

• Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) — Smaller and shorter-legged, with a grizzled coat and dark stripe along the upper surface of the tail. Gray foxes are also excellent climbers.
• Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) — Usually smaller and more delicately built, often reddish with black lower legs and a white-tipped tail.
• Domestic Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) — Extremely variable. Coyotes typically have narrower bodies, larger-looking ears, and carry the tail low while moving.
• Bobcat (Lynx rufus) — Occasionally mistaken for a coyote at a distance, but the bobcat has a short tail, rounder face, and distinctly feline movement.