Coyotes are highly adaptable canids found across diverse North American landscapes. They thrive in environments from remote wilderness to urban areas. Understanding their daily travel patterns provides insight into their ecological role and how they navigate their surroundings, including locating food, finding shelter, and interacting within their social structures.
Average Daily Distances
Coyotes exhibit varying daily travel distances, influenced by individual and environmental factors. On average, a coyote travels between 20 to 26 kilometers (approximately 12 to 16 miles) in a 24-hour period. This distance reflects their activity, including foraging for food, patrolling territory boundaries, and moving between resting locations.
Specific studies reveal nuances in coyote movements. Male coyotes often cover greater distances than females, with average daily travel for males around 16.47 kilometers (10.2 miles) compared to females at 12.51 kilometers (7.8 miles). Coyotes also travel more at night, with average nocturnal distances sometimes exceeding diurnal travel, such as 8.24 kilometers at night versus 6.51 kilometers during the day for both sexes. These movements support their roles as opportunistic hunters and scavengers.
Factors Shaping Daily Journeys
Several factors influence how far a coyote travels each day. Food availability is a key factor; when prey is scarce, coyotes extend their search areas, leading to longer daily journeys. Abundant food sources within their territory can reduce the need for extensive travel.
Seasonal changes also affect coyote movement patterns. Breeding males travel their greatest distances, averaging 24.9 kilometers, during the pup-rearing season due to increased foraging demands for their young. During winter, travel distances are shorter, averaging around 14.3 kilometers. Habitat type further dictates movement, with urban and suburban coyotes frequently using human-altered landscapes like power lines, dirt roads, and railroad tracks for travel.
The presence of dens and young pups can limit adult coyote movements. During pup-rearing, parental movements are more focused around den sites. Human disturbance also impacts travel behavior. Coyotes adjust their activity patterns to avoid human interaction, becoming more active during crepuscular (dawn and dusk) and nocturnal periods.
Specialized Movements
In addition to daily travels, coyotes engage in specialized movements involving greater distances, primarily dispersal. This occurs when young coyotes, between six months and two years of age, leave their birth territory to establish their own. These dispersal events are distinct from daily foraging, representing a one-time, long-distance journey for an individual.
Dispersing coyotes are the primary travelers within the population. Documented dispersal distances can exceed 100 miles, with cases showing individuals traveling over 300 or even 544 miles across different states or regions. These extensive, often solitary, journeys are important for population spread and genetic diversity, allowing coyotes to colonize new areas and find mates outside their natal groups.
Understanding Coyote Territories
A coyote’s daily travel occurs within its home range or territory. The home range represents the area an individual or family group regularly uses for activities like hunting, resting, and raising young. While daily travel measures the distance covered on a specific day, the home range describes the overall spatial extent of their movements.
Coyote territories vary in size, ranging from 10 to 40 square kilometers (4 to 15 square miles). Solitary coyotes or those searching for new territories can occupy larger home ranges, sometimes up to 60 square miles. In urban environments, home ranges can be smaller, averaging 4.95 square kilometers in metropolitan areas. Daily travel occurs within these home ranges, with coyotes patrolling routes and adapting movements to immediate needs.