Here's a closer look at the coyote:
- Coyotes resemble a small, lean German shepherd with a bottle-shaped tail. Fur is long, coarse and heavy. Coyotes also have large, bushy tails and long, erect ears.
- Adult female coyotes average about 25 pounds and males about 30. The largest coyote on record weighed just 42 pounds.
- In autumn, coyotes are vocal. They howl or bark alone or in groups. Younger coyotes have higher-pitched voices than adults. A coyote's yipping sounds can be heard for miles.
- Mating season begins in January and lasts through February; five to seven pups are born in April.
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- Coyotes are roamers, and males may cover territories as large as 36 square miles, though females usually stay within an area of about six square miles.
- In Minnesota, about 4,000 coyotes are shot or trapped annually, and 65,000 in North Dakota.
