The Wiley Coyote
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The Wiley Coyote
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Coyote Puzzle
Coyote Coloring
Where are the Coyotes?
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| GLOSSARY |
| Den |
A series of tunnels and chambers under ground. |
| Habitat |
The place containing natural features an animal prefers. |
| Mammal |
Animals that nourish their young with milk, and that have hair on their skin. |
| Nocturnal |
Active at night. |
| Omnivore |
Eats both meats and vegetables/fruits. |
Wiley Coyotes began to move into Ohio about 100 years ago. As settlers began to clear forests for farms, the coyote moved into the newly opened habitat.
The coyote is a very adaptable mammal and can now be found in open farmland as well as forestland. They even live in cities, but we seldom see them, as the coyote is nocturnal and roams around hunting its prey at night.
Coyotes commonly will modify the abandoned dens of other animals, such as ground hogs, for their use. They require little shelter most of the year and usually just curl up in a protected spot such as the base of a tree that has hollowed.
Meat makes up most of the coyotes diet. They hunt for small mammals such as rabbit, ground squirrels and mice, but they will also eat carrion (dead animals). However, the coyote is omnivorous and does enjoy eating vegetables and fruits like strawberries, apples, persimmon and watermelon, when it can find them.
Coyotes are typically gray in color with a bushy tail with a black tip. They can also be brown to tan in color. With yellow eyes, and large ears, coyote are about the size of medium sized dog being 20 to 50 pounds and 3 ? to 4 ? feet long from nose to tail.
Known for their howling, coyotes also use barking and yelping, to communicate with others. Their sight is not very well developed, so coyotes rely heavily on their sense of smell and hearing.
The Coyote surely is Wiley, isn’t he?
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