# Coyote (*Canis latrans*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/coyote  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

It is a medium-sized, terrestrial and nocturnal carnivore with a representative adult body mass of 13.4 kg. Its main foods include carrion, fish, insect, fruit, mule deer, lepus californicus, raccoon, beaver and food waste. The coyote is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category, and has one litter per year of up to 6 young.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 10.6 kg – 13.4 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 21.8 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | antelope jackrabbit, arvicolinae, beaver, bighorn sheep, canada goose, carrion and 36 more |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 60 days – 64 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 5.61 – 6 |
| Age at maturity | 9 months – 10.3 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Canidae
- genus: Canis
- species: *Canis latrans* Say, 1823

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is a coyote?

The coyote is a mammal in the family Canidae and the order Carnivora. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial and nocturnal carnivore.

### How heavy is a coyote?

A representative adult body mass for the coyote is 13.4 kg, placing it in the medium size class (1 to 25 kg).

### What does a coyote eat?

The coyote is a carnivore. Its main foods include carrion, fish, insect, frog, fruit, mushroom, mule deer, pronghorn, lepus californicus, beaver, wild turkey and food waste.

### Is the coyote endangered?

No. The coyote is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a coyote live?

Sources give the coyote a lifespan of 21.8 years.

### How many young does a coyote have?

A coyote has 5.6 young per litter, up to 6, and one litter per year.

### How long is a coyote's gestation period?

Gestation lasts from 60 to 64 days, with a representative value of 62.4 days. Sexual maturity is reached at 274 to 313 days of age.

### Who named the coyote?

The coyote, Canis latrans, was named by Say, 1823.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Coyote (Canis latrans). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/coyote