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A coyote (Canis latrans) is a member of the Canidae (the dog family) and a relative of the domestic dog. Coyotes are only found in North America. Coyotes may occasionally assemble in small packs, but normally hunt alone. Coyotes live an average of about 6 years. The word "coyote" is of Nahuatl origin.

This coyote stands less than two feet (0.6 m) tall and varies in color from gray to tan with sometimes a reddish tint to its coat. A coyote's ears and nose appear long and pointed, especially in relation to the size of its head. It can generally be distinguished from its much larger relative, the Grey Wolf, by its overall slight appearance compared to the massive 75 to 125-pound (34 to 57 kg) stockiness of the bigger canid.

Despite being extensively hunted, the coyote is one of the few medium-to-large-sized animals that has enlarged its territory since human encroachment began (another is the raccoon). Coyotes have moved into most of the areas of North America formerly occupied by wolves, and the " dog" you see scrounging from a suburban trashcan may in fact be a coyote.

Coyotes are considered to be highly intelligent and adaptive animals.

1 Character in mythology

There are many stories from North American indignenous peoples (mistakenly called "Indians") where a Coyote character plays a role, the trickster, and represents something like evil. The trickster is roughly comparable to the "Devil" in the Christian and other Abrahamic traditions, but is not the same concept, as he is often more about foolhardiness and other flaws, rather than the dark, uncompromising evil represented by the Devil.

2 Fictional Coyotes

The cartoon character Wile E. Coyote has comically exaggerated nose and ears, inspired by the appearance of the real thing, as seen below.