Coyotes live in forests, grasslands and deserts, and even in cities. How far does a coyote roam in those places? Coyotes are most active at night. The average distance a coyote covers in a night of hunting is 4 kilometers.
A coyote can run up to 65 kilometers per hour. It can also jump distances of up to 4 meters.
Coyotes have a keen sense of hearing. A coyote hunting in snow can hear rodents moving beneath the snow and pounce to catch them. For small prey, a coyote springs up in the air and pounces.
Coyotes began spreading across North America around 1920. Over the last hundred years or so they have spread east. Coyotes were first reported in Connecticut in the mid-1950s.
In Minnesota, males may roam over territories as large as 36 square miles, though females usually stay within about six square miles.
So how far does a coyote roam? Coyotes normally move two to three miles per day. In Big Bend National Park a coyote's home range is 40 to 100 square miles. Coyote packs in Cook County, Illinois, average less than 2 square miles (4.95 square kilometers) and reach as much as 4.3 square miles (11.1 square kilometers).
Words to know
- roam: move around
- territories: areas animals use
- pounce: jump on
- prey: animals it hunts
