Coyotes

Intelligent, adaptable, and numerous, the coyote (Canis latrans) can be found throughout North and Central America, even thriving in major urban hubs as well as remote wilderness areas. This wily adaptability helped western coyotes resist widespread efforts early in the 20th century to eliminate them from Yellowstone National Park, where other large and mid-sized carnivores such as wolves (Canis lupus) and cougars (Puma concolor) were eradicated. The coyote is a common predator in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, often seen traveling through open meadows and valleys, alone or in packs. Wolf extirpation in the early 1900s left coyotes with little competition, and the Yellowstone coyote population thrived in the absence of its larger cousins until 1995, when wolves were reintroduced to the park.

Updated 7/25/2008