The coyote (Canis latrans) is a highly adaptable mesopredator, thriving across North American landscapes from deserts to urban centers. As a successful hunter and scavenger, the coyote is firmly situated within the broader food web. Its success is balanced by a constant threat of predation, which helps regulate its population and distribution. This natural mortality comes from a diverse array of animals, ranging from large carnivores to smaller, opportunistic hunters that target vulnerable members of the coyote family.
Apex Predators That Target Adult Coyotes
The most significant natural threat to a healthy, adult coyote comes from larger, established apex predators that view the coyote as both competition and potential prey. Gray wolves (Canis lupus) are the primary natural enemy of the coyote where their ranges overlap, especially in areas like the northern Rockies. Wolves engage in interspecific competitive killing, eliminating coyotes to reduce competition for shared resources like elk and deer. This conflict is often a form of territorial defense rather than a hunt for food, though consumption does occur.
The reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park in the 1990s caused a significant decline in the local coyote population, demonstrating the wolf’s powerful top-down effect. Wolves often outnumber coyotes in these fatal encounters, actively seeking out the smaller canids to drive them from a territory. Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are also significant killers of adult coyotes through intraguild predation. Lions, which can weigh between 110 and 180 pounds, vastly overpower the average 20- to 50-pound coyote.
Studies show that cougars can be responsible for up to a quarter of coyote deaths in certain regions. Encounters frequently occur when coyotes attempt to scavenge on a mountain lion’s fresh kill. Bears, including American black bears and grizzly bears, also kill coyotes opportunistically. While these ursids do not actively hunt coyotes, they will eliminate them if a coyote poses a threat or is found too close to a carcass the bear is claiming.
Wildlife That Preys on Coyote Pups
Coyote pups and juveniles represent a much easier target for a wider variety of predators, as they are defenseless and concentrated in a den during their first weeks of life. Large birds of prey, specifically the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), are known to take young coyotes. A Golden Eagle’s impressive wingspan, which can reach over seven feet, allows it to overpower and carry off a pup. Raptors like the Great Horned Owl are also capable of preying on small pups, often swooping down to take them from the den area when the adult coyotes are away hunting.
Other mammals that compete with adult coyotes readily target their young to reduce future competition. Bobcats (Lynx rufus) and American badgers (Taxidea taxus) are terrestrial carnivores that occasionally raid coyote dens. A bobcat, though smaller than a coyote, can overcome a litter of pups, especially if the den is unguarded. Badgers, skilled excavators, may stumble upon or actively seek out a coyote den, though they usually prey on ground squirrels and prairie dogs.
Intraspecific Killing Among Coyotes
A large portion of coyote mortality is caused by other coyotes, a phenomenon known as intraspecific killing. This conflict is rooted in the species’ territorial nature, which organizes itself around an alpha breeding pair that defends its home range. Conflicts are most common between established, resident packs and transient, solitary coyotes, often called “floaters.” When a floater attempts to trespass or settle in an occupied area, the resident pack aggressively confronts them.
These territorial fights can be vicious, resulting in serious mauling or death, especially for the solitary individual. This violence serves to maintain the pack’s boundaries and limit the density of coyotes in a given area, preventing over-exploitation of local resources.