The highly intelligent, scrappy Coyote lives by the ethos “Adapt or Die.” These amazing little creatures have proven exceptionally adaptable in the places they choose to live and sleep and, as such, have thrived in a time when many species are endangered and threatened with extinction.
Coyotes live in open plains, prairies, deserts, forests, woodlands, coastlines, and even cities. Coyotes can be found in Mexico, Canada, the USA, and Central America. Coyotes sleep outside in semi-protected shelters unless caring for pups. When caring for puppies, Coyotes live and sleep in dens.
Unlike the unlucky Wile E. Coyote of the Looney Tunes, Coyotes have shown remarkable resilience to changing landscapes and hostile environments. Where other animals have been driven out and forced into a fight for survival; Coyotes have moved in and not only survived but thrived in wildly diverse geographic locations and environments.
Table of Contents
- Wild Coyote Habitats
- Coyote Subspecies Live in Different Geographical Areas
- Where Do Coyotes Sleep in the Wild?
- Do Puppies Change Where Coyotes Live and Sleep?
- The Urban Migration of Coyotes
- Habitat Selection of Urban Coyotes
- Territory Size of Urban Coyotes
- The Sleeping Arrangements of City Living Coyotes
- Conclusion
Wild Coyote Habitats
Wild Coyotes prefer open or lightly wooded areas and are frequent occupants in grasslands (i.e., prairies and open plains) and deserts.
However, Coyotes have proven to be versatile and highly adaptable hunters. Thus, Coyotes have successfully extended their territories into forests, woodlands, and coastlines.
Coyotes living in mountainous regions tend to be slightly bigger, with heavier frames than the traditional desert-dwelling coyotes, characterized by their slim builds and ropey musculature.
(Source: Nature Works; Brittanica)
Coyote Subspecies Live in Different Geographical Areas
When asked to picture a Coyote, most people conjure up a picture of a lean, rangy dog-like animal skittering furtively along the desert plains in search of a meal. Although the Coyote’s original habitat was the wide-open plains of the desert, this is no longer the only place Coyotes live.
Today the nineteen Coyote subspecies can be found throughout Central America, Mexico, the United States of America, and Canada.
(Source: Live Science; Desert Museum)
Where Do Coyotes Sleep in the Wild?
Coyotes are primarily nocturnal but may show diurnal behavior in which they are active for a small portion of the day. However, regardless of whether the Coyote is exclusively nocturnal or exhibits diurnal behaviors, they will spend most of their day sleeping.
Coyotes are happy to make their beds wherever a convenient spot presents itself. They will happily settle down for their daily sleep in hollowed-out logs, under rocky overhangs, or in premade burrows.
Coyotes are notorious squatters and will often fall asleep in burrows made by other animals, particularly medium-sized carnivores like raccoons, badgers, skunks, and foxes. They prefer holes that provide adequate shelter from the elements while still being big enough to allow a speedy exit if necessary.
Coyote packs without pups tend to roam their territories, sleeping in a different place each night. The active roaming of Coyote packs allows them to defend their territories and find the best hunting grounds to feed the entire group.
(Source: Urban Coyote Research; Brittanica)
Do Puppies Change Where Coyotes Live and Sleep?
Having a family will always result in changes to parental behavior and sleeping habits; just ask your parents!
Females with pups may choose to dig a den or assume ownership of a burrow made by another animal. The entire pack is responsible for caring for the litter of puppies and defending the den site.
The pack will live and sleep in the den while the puppies are still young. The alpha female (the only breeding female in a pack) may choose to move her pups from den to den if she feels threatened.
(Source: Urban Coyote Management; Brittanica)
The Urban Migration of Coyotes
Like most wildlife, Coyotes were initially driven out of newly built cities and largely disappeared from human establishments during the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, over time Coyote populations began migrating eastward and moving into small towns and eventually large cities like Los Angeles and Chicago.
Humans played a pivotal role in the expansion of Coyote territory. Coyotes prefer living in wide-open spaces, which coincidentally is the landscape of human activity. As humans cleared land for agricultural and building purposes, they provided the perfect opportunity for wild living Coyotes to cohabit human settlements.
Additionally, humans began to indirectly and directly wipe out the natural predators of Coyotes, i.e., Golden eagles, wolves, and bears. The removal of these limiting factors facilitated a population explosion amongst the Coyotes with subsequent expansion and migration of Coyote packs.
(Source: Live Science)
Habitat Selection of Urban Coyotes
Up until the early 2000s, the habitats and behaviors of city-dwelling Coyotes was an urban mystery:
- Where did they live?
- How did they select their habitat?
- Did urban Coyotes exhibit similar territorial and social behavior as wild-living Coyotes?
The Urban Coyote Research Project conducted a 6-year study to answer these critical questions and, in doing so, reveal where urbanized Coyotes live and sleep.
Researchers discovered that Coyotes tend to avoid built-up areas, e.g., busy residential and industrial areas. Instead, Coyotes made their homes in the small slices of nature hidden in the metropolitan areas.
Coyotes picked fragmented islands of open nature contained within the city bounds. Golf courses, extensive gardens, and parks are popular choices for Coyote packs.
(Source: Urban Coyote Management)
Territory Size of Urban Coyotes
Wild living Coyotes have large territories (10 to 40 square kilometers, i.e., 4 to 15 square miles), which they vigorously defend. Like wild-living Coyotes, urban Coyotes also have territories and home ranges, but these are much smaller than their wild counterparts.
Urban Coyote packs will usually defend a territory of approximately 8 square kilometers (3 square miles), although they often adventure beyond their pack’s land in their nightly searches for food.
Loner Coyotes have large home ranges, which may be 64 square kilometers (25 square miles) or even more; however they do not actively defend their home ranges from interlopers.
Pack territories never overlap with other pack territories, unlike the home ranges of loner Coyotes may overlap with pack territories and home ranges of other loner Coyotes.
(Source: Urban Coyote Management; Urban Coyote Research; Britannica)
The Sleeping Arrangements of City Living Coyotes
Coyotes rarely sleep in dens unless raising pups.
Coyotes living in cities are almost exclusively nocturnal and, as such, will spend the majority of their day sleeping. These Coyotes know that their best bet for survival is to remain hidden and virtually invisible hence their nickname “Ghosts of the City.”
During the day, they will find a low-hanging bush or shrub, hollowed-out log, or hole in the ground to curl in and sleep the day away.
(Source: Live Science; Urban Coyote Research)
Conclusion
Coyotes living in the wild occupy woodlands, deserts, prairies, and coastlines. The nineteen different Coyote subspecies are found in most of America, including Central America, the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
The urbanization of rural lands has resulted in a thriving urban Coyote population.
Both urban and wild Coyotes prefer to sleep during the day in natural enclosures like old logs, low-growing bushes, rocky overhangs, and burrows made by other animals.
Packs caring for the Alpha’s litter of pups will live and sleep near or even in the den, chosen by the Alpha female.
Sources:
Live Science: Coyotes
Desert Museum: Coyotes
Urban Coyote research: General Information About Coyotes
Urban Coyote research: Urban Coyote Management
Britannica: Coyotes
- It’s Not Water: Pooph is totally fragrance free because it eliminates odor instead of covering it up! Pooph contains no harsh chemicals—it’s a proprietary mineral-based formula so clean and pure you could actually mistake it for pure natural spring water until you actually use it and see for yourself how miraculously it works!
- Risk-Free Guarantee: Try POOPH for 30 days and if you aren’t happy, simply return it for a 100% no-hassle refund. Just send us a message via your Amazon order page and we’ll take care of the rest!
- Instant & Safe: Instantly and safely freshens and dismantles puppy, dog, cat, pet, and litter urine and feces odors on a molecular basis – so they never return! Safe for people, pets, plants, and the planet!
- Eliminates: Safely eliminates (doesn’t just cover up) urine, feces, vomit, and other pet odors that may invite your pets to defecate in the same spot over and over
- No stains & Fragrance Free: Contains a clear, odorless, and non-staining formula that freshens and eliminates odors and will not stain carpets, clothing, toys, and more - use in every room in your house
- PREMIUM QUALITY: A combination of premium texture and granule size made with 100% bentonite clay for maximum clumping creates litter particles that are just the right size.
- LOW DUST: Ideal for cats and owners who suffer from allergies with a 99.9% dust-free and hypoallergenic litter formulation.
- HARD CLUMPING: Hard clumping medium grain clay helps prevent moisture from reaching the bottom of the tray and forms hard clumps that won't break down, making it easier to scoop.
- SUPERIOR ODOR CONTROL: Formulated for single or multi-cat households with natural ingredients to keep your home smelling clean and fresh between litter box cleanings.
- LOW TRACKING: A unique formulation of medium grain clay helps keep litter in the box where it belongs.
- FOUNDED IN 1987: Dr. Elsey’s is a veterinarian-owned cat product brand dedicated to creating products that solve the complex needs of pet owners. Founded in 1987 with the first all-natural clumping cat litter, Dr. Elsey’s line of products has since grown to include a variety of premium litters that address the health and behavioral needs of cats in every stage of life.
- Amazon.com Gift Cards never expire and carry no fees.
- Multiple gift card designs and denominations to choose from.
- Redeemable towards millions of items store-wide at Amazon.com or certain affiliated websites.
- Available for immediate delivery. Gift cards sent by email can be scheduled up to a year in advance.
- No returns and no refunds on Gift Cards.
- Amazon.com Gift Cards can only be used to purchase eligible goods and services on Amazon.com and certain related sites as provided in the Amazon.com Gift Card Terms and Conditions. To purchase a gift card for use on an Amazon website in another country, please visit: Amazon.ca, Amazon.cn, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, Amazon.in, Amazon.it, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.es, or Amazon.com.au.
- Open four-arm frame design protects the blade and does not trap dirt in the case
- Lightweight case for easy handling and transport
- Dual-material grip elevated above the reel prevents contact between reel and knuckles
- Versatile folding end hook for use in multiple applications
- Rewind reel tucks away for protection during storage
- ROLL ON: Our compact and convenient dog poop bag refill rolls help you keep poop bags where you need them–everywhere.
- DURABLE & LEAKPROOF: Extra long, extra strong and 100% leak-proof guaranteed to keep hands clean on the go.
- BETTER BAGS : A new generation of high quality & durable dog poop bags made from 65% certified post-consumer recycled plastic. Giving a second life to over 5 million pounds of landfill-bound plastic a year recycled plastic.
- OUR MISSION: At Earth Rated, We are on a mission to make life with dogs simpler and better. We are also proudly B Corp Certified.
- WHAT'S INCLUDED: This pack includes 270 lavender scented Earth Rated dog poop bags that measure 9"x13" on 18 refill rolls.
- Contains one (1) 15.8 oz. 60-count value pack of GREENIES PILL POCKETS Capsule Size Natural Dog Treats Chicken Flavor; MADE WITH NATURAL INGREDIENTS plus trace nutrients
- GREENIES Pill Pockets are the tasty, smarter way to help your dog’s medicine go down—without trying to hide pills in human food like messy peanut butter or cheese
- Your dog won’t be able to sniff out the medicine: Pill Pockets mask the smell and taste, and come in an irresistible chicken flavor for a stress- and mess-free experience for you both
- These Pill Pockets Dog Treats are a cinch to use: Drop the medicine tablet inside the pocket, pinch it closed, and give your best friend a tasty snack
- When it comes to meds, pets are smart—but you’re smarter: GREENIES Pill Pockets are a vet-recommended medicating treat hack you and your dog will love
- These easy-to-use medicating pouches make taking medicine a positive experience for your dog
- Contains one (1) 30 oz. tub of TEMPTATIONS Classic Cat Treats Tasty Chicken Flavor
- Your cat can’t wait to get their paws on these scrumptious cat food treats that are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside
- Under 2 calories per chicken flavor cat treat, so you can feel good about rewarding your cat every day
- TEMPTATIONS Cat Treats are 100% nutritionally complete and balanced for adult cat maintenance and can be used as a treat, meal, or cat food topper
- Treat ’em again and again with this super value-sized resealable tub: perfect for keeping cat paws off when you’re not watching
- America’s #1 Cat Treat Brand*… just shake the pack and they’ll come running
- *Based on 2019 Nielsen sales data
- Contains one (1) 40 ounce package of small dog treats with real bone marrow (packaging may vary)
- The dog biscuit shell encases a real bone marrow center, delicious treats that you can feel good about giving
- Crunchy on the outside and meaty on the inside, our MaroSnacks dog snacks are a satisfying combo of texture and mouthwatering flavor
- Savory treats with calcium, perfect for dogs of all sizes
- Baked with love in Buffalo, New York, USA, with colors from natural ingredients only
