Editing Coyote (section)

{{Short description|Species of canine native to North America}}
{{About|the North American canine species}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Coyote
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|0.85|0|[[Middle Pleistocene]] – present (0.74–0.85 [[Megaannum|Ma]])|ref={{sfn|Tedford|Wang|Taylor|2009|p=131}}}}
| image = 2009-Coyote-Yosemite.jpg
| image_caption = Mountain coyote (''C. l. lestes'') at [[Yosemite National Park]], California
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Kays, R. |date=2018 |title=''Canis latrans'' |errata=2020 |page=e.T3745A163508579 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T3745A163508579.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
| status2 = G5
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref = <ref name="NatureServe">{{cite web |title=Canis latrans |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102680/Canis_latrans |website=NatureServe Explorer |access-date=17 April 2024}}</ref>
| taxon = Canis latrans
| authority = [[Thomas Say|Say]], 1823<ref name="say1823"/>
| range_map = Cypron-Range Canis latrans.svg
| range_map_caption = Modern range of ''Canis latrans''
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|
*''Canis andersoni'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1910
*''Canis caneloensis'' Skinner, 1942
*''Canis clepticus'' Eliot, 1903
*''Canis estor'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1897
*''Canis frustror'' [[Samuel Washington Woodhouse|Woodhouse]], 1851
*''Canis goldmani'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1904
*''Canis hondurensis'' [[Edward Alphonso Goldman|Goldman]], 1936
*''Canis impavidus'' [[Joel Asaph Allen|Allen]], 1903
*''Canis irvingtonensis'' Savage, 1951
*''Canis jamesi'' Townsend, 1912
*''Canis lestes'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1897
*''Canis mearnsi'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1897
*''Canis microdon'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1897
*''Canis nebrascensis'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1898
*''Canis ochropus'' [[Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz|Eschscholtz]], 1829
*''Canis orcutti'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1910
*''Canis pallidus'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1897
*''Canis peninsulae'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1897
*''Canis riviveronis'' [[William Perry Hay|Hay]], 1917
*''Canis vigilis'' [[Clinton Hart Merriam|Merriam]], 1897
*''Lyciscus cagottis'' Hamilton-Smith, 1839
}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=44854|title=''Canis latrans''|publisher=Fossilworks.org|access-date=17 December 2021|archive-date=January 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128224506/http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=44854|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

The '''coyote''' ('''''Canis latrans'''''), also known as the '''American jackal''', '''prairie wolf''', or '''brush wolf''', is a [[species]] of [[canis|canine]] native to [[North America]]. It is smaller than its close relative, the [[Wolf|gray wolf]], and slightly smaller than the closely related [[eastern wolf]] and [[red wolf]]. It fills much of the same [[ecological niche]] as the [[golden jackal]] does in [[Eurasia]]; however, the coyote is generally larger.

The coyote is listed as [[Least Concern|least concern]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]], due to its wide distribution and abundance throughout North America. The species is versatile, able to adapt to and expand into environments modified by humans; [[urban coyote]]s are common in many cities. The coyote was sighted in eastern [[Panama]] (across the [[Panama Canal]] from their home range) for the first time in 2013.

The coyote has 19 recognized [[subspecies]]. The average male weighs {{convert|8|to|20|kg|lbs|abbr=on}} and the average female {{convert|7|to|18|kg|lbs|abbr=on}}. Their fur color is predominantly light gray and red or [[fulvous]] interspersed with black and white, though it varies somewhat with geography. It is highly flexible in social organization, living either in a family unit or in loosely knit packs of unrelated individuals. Primarily [[carnivorous]], its diet consists mainly of [[deer]], [[rabbit]]s, [[hare]]s, [[rodent]]s, [[bird]]s, [[reptile]]s, [[amphibian]]s, [[fish]], and [[invertebrate]]s, though it may also eat fruits and vegetables on occasion. Its characteristic vocalization is a [[howling|howl]] made by solitary individuals. [[Humans]] are the coyote's greatest threat, followed by [[North American cougar|cougar]]s and gray wolves. Despite predation by gray wolves, coyotes sometimes mate with them, and with eastern, or red wolves, producing "[[coywolf]]" hybrids. In the northeastern regions of North America, the [[eastern coyote]] (a larger subspecies, though still smaller than wolves) is the result of various historical and recent matings with various types of wolves. Genetic studies show that most North American wolves contain some level of coyote DNA.

The coyote is a prominent character in [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] folklore, mainly in [[Aridoamerica]], usually depicted as a [[trickster]] that alternately assumes the form of an actual coyote or a man. As with other trickster figures, the coyote uses deception and humor to rebel against social conventions. The animal was especially respected in [[Mesoamerica]]n [[cosmology]] as a symbol of military might. After the [[European colonization of the Americas]], it was seen in [[Anglo-America]]n culture as a cowardly and untrustworthy animal. Unlike wolves, which have seen their public image improve, attitudes towards the coyote remain largely negative.<ref name=conundrum/>