sunlight, the Creator fashioned a mischievous four-legged animal
out of clay and called it coyote. As the Creator loved beautiful
things, had a keen sense of humor and a desire for sonorous music,
the coyote was given the alluring shape of the dog, a keen mind to
trick his enemies and a voice to fill the night with rapturous
song.
” This is one Native American explanation of the origin of the
coyote. Unfortunately, like the late Rodney Dangerfield, today
coyotes don’t get much respect.
‘In the beginning, before there was earth or sky, darkness or sunlight, the Creator fashioned a mischievous four-legged animal out of clay and called it coyote. As the Creator loved beautiful things, had a keen sense of humor and a desire for sonorous music, the coyote was given the alluring shape of the dog, a keen mind to trick his enemies and a voice to fill the night with rapturous song.” This is one Native American explanation of the origin of the coyote.
Unfortunately, like the late Rodney Dangerfield, today coyotes don’t get much respect.
They are often portrayed as sneaky varmints who should be eradicated and banished from any proximity to humans. Yet for hundreds of years coyotes lived in harmony with man and in many Native American cultures were admired and even revered. In 2000, I became a uniformed volunteer at Henry W. Coe State Park in Morgan Hill. As part of the extensive training program I learned a bit about the animals of Coe, including the coyote, a frequent evening serenader in the park. Uniformed volunteers are encouraged, if they have an interest in doing so, to develop evening programs about Coe to present to campers and others in the spring and summer months. I chose to learn more about the coyote. I want to share some of what I have learned about this uniquely American animal.
The coyote or canis latrans (barking dog) is, like wolves and foxes, a wild dog. Originally coyotes lived only in the open country and grasslands of the western part of North America. They could be found from Mexico to the south to the northern Mississippi Valley, and from eastern Wisconsin to California. Today coyotes have increased their original range and can be found in the northernmost part of Alaska, the jungles of Costa Rica, throughout Canada and from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Seaboard. They are in fact now found and are prospering in every state of the Union except Hawaii.
The coyote fits into the wild dog family between wolves and foxes. The coyote is about one-third smaller than a wolf and one-third larger than a fox. The coyote has erect pointed ears, slender legs and a bushy tail. The coyote is highly adaptable – much more so than a wolf or a fox. Although most active at dusk and early morning his eyesight is so good that he can hunt as necessary in day or night. He can survive on fresh meat, carrion, fish or fruit, in short, on whatever is available. Wolves cannot survive without meat but coyotes can and will change their eating habits to survive.
Here in California and the Southwest coyotes prefer ground squirrels and other rodents but lizards and prickly pear cactus will do in a pinch. In the Pacific Northwest coyotes enjoy eating fallen apples in the orchards while in the Southeastern part of the U.S. they are known to be partial to watermelon.
The coyote meets change by learning new responses, many of which are reactions to attempts to eradicate him. Coyotes were content to survive on carrion until they were confronted with poisoned meat. They quickly learned to avoid it although other animals did not. Coyotes have also learned about traps and men with guns.
For well over 100 years ranchers have tried to wipe them out. But a strange phenomenon has occurred. Whenever coyotes are seriously hunted with an intent to exterminate, more of them appear than ever. The coyote has consistently gone beyond other wild dogs in its motivation and ability to learn. Many biologists believe there is no wild animal better at using its brain. The coyote seems to have learned that the ultimate key to survival is to keep trying.
The coyote is a master of hiding, camouflaged by a tawny coat with tones of gray or rust. Yet although the coyote is often invisible, it misses nothing, having excellent hearing, sight and sense of smell. “Wile E. Coyote” is a well-deserved name. And the truth is that the coyote is most definitely faster than the roadrunner and infinitely brighter.
The coyote has a long history in North America. DNA and fossil evidence show that coyotes originated in North America – unlike wolves and foxes, who crossed the Bering Strait by means of the land bridge that once connected Alaska to Asia.
Coyote’s ancestors did not emigrate and there are no coyotes in Europe, Africa or Asia. He is truly North America’s dog.
A fossil of an ancestor of today’s coyote has been found in the Rancho La Brea tar pits of Los Angeles at the same level as the fossils of the sabre-tooth tiger and the wooly mammal. Only the coyote survives today.
The coyote’s very name is indigenous to North America. Centuries ago in Mexico, the coyote was worshiped by the Aztecs. In the Nauatl/Axtec language the animal we call coyote was “coyotl.” In the Aztec civilization Coyotlinauatl was an Aztec god whose devotees dressed in coyote skins. Tezcatilipoca, another Aztec god, could transform himself into a coyote at will. And Coyolxauhqui was the moon goddess, who as J. Frank Dobie points out in his book, “The Song of the Coyote,” was appropriately named for the animal so well known for baying at the moon.
No other animal has been as memorialized in Native American oral tradition as the coyote. Given the richness of the sources it is evident that the coyote lived in peace and harmony with the Native American peoples. Petroglyphs dating back at least 10,000 years ago depict coyote as a close neighbor of man. In the Crow tribe, coyote, or “old man coyote,” held the position of “first worker,” the creator of the earth and all living creatures.
In California, a Miwok legend recognizes coyote as the creator of man. The many Native American tales often focus on coyote as being both crafty and foolish. Many of the stories show him as having great adaptability, resiliency and intelligence . Coyote’s tenacity, curiosity and survival skills are also a frequent theme. The Sioux tribe called coyote “Iktone” or “singing trickster” and freely allowed him to follow the buffalo hunters and feast on the remains.
In 1633 Spanish Jesuits began to chronicle Native American coyote tales. When Lewis and Clark explored the West from 1804 to 1806 they at first wrongly identified the coyote as a fox. But in their journals they describe “the small wolf or burrowing dog of the prairies.” Later they comment on the inquisitiveness of the coyote and refer to him as “barking wolf” and “prairie wolf.”
Coyote is a traveler. A natural wanderer, he can roam 50 miles in a single night in search of food. Coyote’s appetite accounts for much of his astonishing range. In the 1870’s when Texas longhorns were driven northward, any calves born were killed so as not to slow up the herd. Coyotes followed the drives to feast on the remains. Cowhands on the early drives were inspired by the song of the coyote – the yipee ti yi and yodel calls are modeled on its voice.
I continue to read and learn about this special American animal. In February of 2004 I was able to attend a four-day seminar and field observation of coyotes in Yellowstone National Park. After the extermination of the wolf population, coyotes were top dogs there for almost 60 years. Now that wolves have been reintroduced, coyote is having to change his lifestyle one more time. But that’s an article in itself.
Priscilla Campbell lives in Gilroy and is a uniformed volunteer at Henry W. Coe State Park.
