by: Angela Lim
At quick phase coyotes and wolves are twins you can’t tell apart. From their pointed arrowed ears, elongated body, the two animals are fierce beings no one wants to mess with. The reason behind their resemblance is their Canidae ancestry. However coyotes and wolves aren’t as identical as one might view. Throughout this whole composition we will take a deep dive through taxonomy, physical features, behaviours/personalities between wolves and coyotes. Keeping the similarities aside, coyotes and wolves don’t share the same species. Both animals share the same kingdom, Animalia. Including sharing the same phylum, Chordata. Afterwards having Mamalia for class, mentioning their order, Carnivora. This is the part when they go on their own separate ways once the species gets in the way, coyotes have the species of Canis Latrans, meanwhile, wolves are Canis Lupus. Although not obvious, coyotes and wolves can be tell apart from their physical appearance. Their similarities are easy to point out, fury blanket-like coat, knife-like teeth, however their differences aren’t easy to spot. As quoted from the website, North American Nature,“Coyotes are smaller than wolves, with a darker coat and a pointed muzzle. Coyotes make high-pitched howls, barks, and yelps, while wolves have a lower howl, whine, and bark. Coyotes can be seen in urban areas, whereas wolves will usually stay away from humans.’’ This proves one of the differences between coyotes and wolves, while coyotes are smaller than their counterparts, have a darker fur including a pointed muzzle,and live in urban areas wolves have a lower howl, whine and bark, and live away from humans. Another difference is seen in diets, while coyotes eat cactus fruit, mesquite beans, flowers, insects, rodents, lizards, rabbits, birds, and snakes, wolves eat large hoofed mammals such as deer, elk, bison, and moose. Lastly, the differences between coyotes and wolves can be easily spotted in the behaviour in them. Both coyotes and wolves have similar behaviours when it comes to howling. However, howling is the language amongst wolves involving location or confrontation over territory while coyotes howl for certain situations such as coordinate hunting and to locate pack members, when a pack of coyotes howl together is a sign or warning towards other packs of territorial boundaries. In terms of social skills, coyotes are like humans for they live in areas where us humans live, howl and whine louder, and tend to seek help and warn others. Coyotes engage in packs called Band, while wolves aren’t actively communicative, more to the solitary side. Unlike coyotes, wolves are solitary compared to them and doesn’t communicate regularly. And when they do howl it’s for location or confrontation over territory.
In conclusion despite coyotes and wolves being commonly mistaken and misunderstood for being the same animal at first glance, their taxonomy, physical features, and behaviour brings the case closed. Although coyotes and wolves share the same kingdom, phylum, class, and order, coyotes have Canis Latrans for their species and wolves Canis Lupus for species. Coyotes are smaller compared to wolves, have a darker shade for coat and a pointed muzzle while wolves are bigger, wide, broad, with a lighter shade for coat. Wolves are quiet and solitary when compared to coyotes, while coyotes are loud, communicative, and social. With all these being said, it’s best to remember that coyotes and wolves, are indeed, different animals.
Bibliography:
Harding, Bryan. “What Is the Difference between a Coyote and a Wolf?” North American Nature, North American Nature, 18 Dec. 2020, https://northamericannature.com/what-is-the-difference-between-a-coyote-and-a-wolf/.
“Gray Wolf.” National Wildlife Federation, https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Gray-Wolf.
Coyote Fact Sheet, https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/coyote.php?print=y.
Stephens, Christina. “Animals That Are a Part of the Wolf Family.” Pets on Mom.com, 19 Nov. 2020, https://animals.mom.com/animals-part-wolf-family-5278.html.
J.D., Randall Pierce. “What Are Some Similarites and Differences between Wolves and Coyotes?” Sciencing, 2 Mar. 2019, https://sciencing.com/similarites-differences-between-wolves-coyotes-10042368.html.
Biomes, Blue Planet. “Gray Wolf.” Blue Planet Biomes - Gray Wolf, https://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/gray_wolf.php.
“The Social Wolf.” Living with Wolves, 2 Aug. 2021, https://www.livingwithwolves.org/about-wolves/social-wolf/.
Resource Library, http://www.bigrunwolfranch.org/about_wolves.html.
A Fantastic Essay! I love how you described the parts of the animal in very detailed and with similes. Now I have a better vision of what coyotes and wolves look like!