Coyotes:
Sally, a coyote, is the first animal admitted to
the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic (WRC) at its new location in High
Ridge, Missouri. Her situation is one of many that keep the WRC
volunteers motivated and dedicated to always give their best effort
to care for wildlife.
The WRC received a call that a coyote was tangled and hanging
upside-down in a barbed-wire fence. Stacey and Karen took the call
and did not hesitate to go rescue this animal. Upon arrival at the
rescue site four distraught women met Stacey and Karen. Tearful and
shaken the rescue party began the task of freeing the coyote. As
snips were made to the barbed-wire, you could see recognition in
Sally's eyes of cautious trust that help had arrived. Her legs were
wounded from the barbs but she was on her way to the clinic for
treatment. As the days passed and each volunteer shift took its turn
to care for Sally, everyone was hopeful that recovery was
approaching. However, soon it was apparent that Sally's wounds were
deep and significant nerve damage had occurred. One foot's wound, in
particular, was going to cripple this dear animal. The difficult
decision was made to put Sally to sleep. Even as this story has a
sad ending, the little coyote knew she was in loving hands.
The WRC moves forward to make a difference, whether to rehabilitate
and release or to offer comfort and a tear, because of the eyes of
cautious trust.
Coyotes are mostly nocturnal mammals but occasionally are about in
the daytime. They can run as fast as 45 MPH for short distances, and
they seem to enjoy outwitting other animals and are even playful on
occasion. Coyotes also have a rich vocabulary, made up of various
short sounds, barks, yips, growls and whimpers. In addition to sound
they communicate with other coyotes through variations of stance,
ear position, tail position, gaze, and teeth exposure.
Social Organization in coyotes varies from those living singly, in
pairs of male and female or in a family. They exhibit complex facial
expressions and body postures to define their social role.
Geographical Range:
Coyotes prefer to live in brushy country along the edge of timber or
in open farmlands. They occur throughout North America, stretching
from Mexico to Alaska. In Missouri they can be found in the abundant
prairie region of northern and western Missouri. The home range of a
coyote can be fairly small, 3 to 4 mile diameter when the young are
being fed and as great as 9 to 27 square miles during the rest of
the year. Coyote dens are usually located in unused fields, in a
bank under a hollowed log, in a rock cavity or even under a deserted
building.
Reproduction:
The height of mating season is late February, individual females can
only breed on average of 2 to 5 days per year. Courtship between
males and females can begin several months before mating season.
Gestation period is roughly 58 to 63 days and litters usually are
comprised of 5 to 7 babies but can range from 2 to 19 babies, born
in late April. Some males and females will stay mated for a year and
others remain mated for life. The young are blind and helpless at
birth, and are covered with a brownish grey fur. Their eyes open
within 8 and 14 days of age and head outside of their den for their
first peek at the world at 3 weeks. Both parents care for the young,
when they are very tiny the father will bring the mother food, and
when the babies are a little older the father will still hunt and
bring back food for them as well. The babies are taught to hunt for
themselves at 8 to 12 weeks old and will leave the den and adventure
out on their own in late summer early fall. The babies usually do
not start breeding, themselves, until the second year of life.
Food Preferences:
Coyotes eat animal foods primarily relying upon rabbits, mice and
other rodents; this makes up two-thirds of their diet. They will
also dine on livestock, poultry, insects and plants. Vegetation is
very important seasonally as well as some fruits and seeds.
