The coyote (Canis latrans) is a highly adaptable canid native to North America, successfully colonizing diverse environments from deserts to urban centers. Its success is due in part to its flexible social organization and hunting strategies. Observers often confuse the coyote’s social structure, mistakenly comparing it to that of its larger relative, the wolf. The question of whether coyotes hunt in packs is best answered by understanding the reality of their behavior, which shifts based on necessity and circumstance.
Defining the Coyote Social Unit
Coyotes do not form the large, multi-generational, highly structured packs characteristic of gray wolves. The fundamental social unit for coyotes is the mated pair, consisting of a monogamous male and female. This pair maintains a territory year-round and raises a single litter of pups annually.
This family unit temporarily includes their offspring, who remain with the parents through the fall. Unlike wolf packs, which involve multiple non-breeding adults, the coyote family group is small, usually consisting of the two parents and their current-year pups. The young coyotes typically disperse when they are between six months and two years old to establish their own territories, making the group structure temporary.
The groups observed are better described as family units rather than formal packs. In areas with high density or abundant resources, a small number of non-breeding offspring may remain with the parents longer. This flexible social approach allows the species to thrive in a wider range of habitats compared to the rigid social requirements of a wolf pack.
Solitary Versus Cooperative Hunting
The decision a coyote makes on how to hunt is largely economic, driven by the size and availability of its preferred prey. Coyotes primarily hunt alone, as their diet consists mostly of small, abundant prey like rodents, rabbits, and insects. Capturing these resources does not require coordinated effort, making solitary hunting energy-efficient and highly successful.
However, coyotes readily shift to cooperative hunting when it provides a greater benefit, which answers the question of whether they hunt in groups. This behavior is observed when they target larger prey, such as adult deer, elk calves, or livestock. Studies show that a coyote’s average group size increases in winter, when small prey is scarce and large ungulates become the dominant food source, sometimes accounting for over 60% of the diet.
The percentage of mule deer successfully killed varies directly with the size of the hunting group. Pairs and small groups are more effective at taking down these larger, riskier animals than a lone coyote. This demonstrates that cooperative hunting is a flexible strategy employed out of necessity to secure a substantial meal, rather than a constant social mandate.
Mechanics of Group Hunting
When coyotes hunt together, their techniques leverage the strengths of multiple animals. For large, fast-moving prey like deer, they may employ a system of coordinated pursuit, often involving a relay chase. In this method, one or two coyotes initiate the pursuit to tire the prey, while others follow and take turns in the chase to maintain speed and exhaust the target.
A unique cooperative strategy involves interspecies cooperation, most famously with the American badger. This temporary hunting association relies on the complementary skills of both species to catch burrowing prey like ground squirrels and prairie dogs. The badger is an expert excavator, able to dig prey out of tunnels, while the swift coyote stands guard above ground.
The coyote’s role is to capture any rodent that attempts to escape the badger’s digging by flushing out of a different burrow entrance. Research shows that coyotes hunting alongside a badger are more successful, consuming prey at a higher rate than when hunting alone. This strategy highlights the coyote’s opportunistic and intelligent approach to maximizing hunting efficiency.