Spring has almost arrived in the northern hemisphere and with the new season comes warm temperatures, blooming flowers, and adorable baby animals. Right under our noses, coyotes (Canis latrans) may be building dens and having litters of pups. However, you probably won’t see them. These flexible wild canines will do everything they can to keep us out of their dens, according to new research published in the journal Ecology and Evolution.
Where the dens are located
Researchers followed 48 urban coyotes fitted with GPS tracking collars and located 20 dens throughout Atlanta, Georgia. More than half of the dens were located in natural structures such as burrows and fallen tree trunks.
“Basically, we saw that the coyotes were trying to avoid people,” said Summer Fink, lead author of the study and a University of Georgia doctoral candidate, said in a statement. “The animals didn’t want to den in areas where there was a lot of human activity and development.”
Coyote dens
Some of the dens did incorporate human-related items: discarded piles of concrete, an overturned boat, and even a large, half-buried tractor tire. The researchers believe that the coyotes’ willingness to incorporate these human-made items into their dens shows the canines’ adaptability. That doesn’t mean they want to interact with people, though.
“Most people don’t even know coyotes live in our cities. This paper demonstrates that these animals are living and reproducing in the same spaces as us without people even realizing it,” added study co-author and ecologist Michel Kohl. “To me, this highlights how well coyotes are able to avoid us, which suggests that people’s fear of coyotes is often greater than the actual risk.”
Some dens were built near homes and buildings, but those houses were most often vacant and the buildings were abandoned. “It seemed like coyotes were perceiving that risk, realizing there weren’t people there and deciding to den in those locations,” Fink said.
The coyotes appear to be more concerned with their dens’ structural integrity. “As long as it was strong and it had visual cover around it to hide the coyotes from people seeing them, they were happy,” Kohl added.
Leaping litters
Coyote packs typically include two to seven dogs. They live in every state except Hawaii and in every major city from Los Angeles to Chicago to Atlanta. This study found that in Georgia, coyotes give birth from mid-March through mid-April. In other parts of the country, coyote pupping season can last through mid-May. Litters generally range from two to nine pups.
According to the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York, only the breeding pair in a coyote pack is allowed to reproduce. The other pack members help with hunting, babysitting duties, and defending their territory. Bringing food back for the new litter is essential to their survival, but coyotes are opportunistic eaters. They will consume what is easily available to them, typically small mammals such as mice and squirrels and anything seasonally abundant like berries.
However, most pups in the den will not survive to adulthood, partially due to vehicle collisions, lack of food, and other human impacts.
“They’re an incredibly adaptive species, and they’re very intelligent,” Kohl said. “But there is likely a limit. As urbanization increases and denning locations become more limited, it is going to put further pressure on the ability of these coyote populations to sustain themselves in these urban landscapes.”
While coyotes may have a bad reputation for spreading disease and eating cats and dogs, they fill important ecological roles, particularly in cities and more urban areas. In these ecosystems, they can be the top predator, keeping rodents and other small mammal populations in check. They will also eat native plants and disperse the seeds in their feces. Coyotes are also scavengers and will feast on roadkill and clean up the environment.
“Without an apex predator, ecosystems can get all out of whack,” Fink said.
How to protect coyotes and their pups
While coyotes pose little danger to humans and pets, they are wild animals and will be protective of their young.
To keep coyotes and their pups safe, keep dogs on leashes during walks and don’t investigate holes that could potentially be coyote dens. Coyotes will often attempt to lead humans away from their dens if they believe they’ve been spotted rather than becoming aggressive. If you do see a coyote, avoid interacting with them.
“If you are close to a den, the parents may make themselves more visible, more noticeable,” Kohl said. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s something wrong with that coyote. It actually may be a behavioral ploy, so to speak, to try and get you to go somewhere else.”
Additionally, do not feed coyotes or run away from them. If you see one that appears sick or injured, report it to your local animal control office.
