Of all our wildlife, the most interesting, and most vocal, are Canis latrans, or as we less- than-scientific beings know them, coyotes.
Yes, our eastern coyotes, although close cousins, are a bit different than the western species but in all ways coyotes are coyotes and they are arguably the most vocal of all North American mammals.
Understanding sounds
We’ve all heard them but for the most part, very few of us have any idea what the sounds mean.
After all, the complete arsenal of coyote sounds can range from simple barks to wailing howls given by individual animals or even more amazing and primal, the choir like arrangements produced by groups or packs of coyotes.
Ohio Division of Wildlife Jamey Emmert, communications specialist, recently released her findings of a very detailed explanation of coyote vocalizations include some insight into the meanings of each.
For the full article, go to The Natural History of the Urban Coyote. Several researchers contributed to the project published as The Natural History of the Urban Coyote and their names and credits can be seen on the website.
After that, search for more internet sites that delve into the behaviors of coyotes. These primary predators are here to stay and try as one might to eliminate them it isn’t going to happen.
Detailed sounds
Below is a very brief version of their more detailed report. Make it a “must read”.
Types of Coyote Vocalizations:
1. Growl. This vocalization holds no mystery. A growl is used as a threat, specifically for something within close range.
2. Huff. This is the expulsion of air through the nose and mouth, and is also used as a high-intensity threat in close proximity. Huffs are used when there’s bickering over carrion.
3. Woof. This vocalization is made as both a low-intensity threat and as an alarm. It’s a sound made when a coyote is startled and unsure of exactly what is happening.
4. Bark. The bark is a long-distance threat or alert of low to medium intensity.
5. Bark-howl. This is when the coyote gets serious about a threat. The bark-howl is used as a long-distance high-intensity threat or alarm. It starts with a bark and blends into a howl.
What is interesting about the bark and the bark-howl is that research suggests that the varying intensity and frequency of barks could contain different information.
Howls stably convey information for distances of at least one kilometer. Barks, on the other hand, rapidly attenuated and did not appear suitable for transmitting information.
6. Whine. This sound is used to express submission and is usually given by a subordinate coyote to a more dominant coyote.
7. Yelp. The yelp takes the whine up a notch and represents high-intensity submission. However, it can also be a response to being startled. As is the case with several other of these vocalizations, this categorization shows that coyote communication is more of a gradient.
8. Woo-oo-wow. This is the greeting song of coyotes, and is used during high-intensity greeting displays. The vocalization modulates in frequency and amplitude as a coyote’s motivation shifts.
9. Lone Howl. The lone howl is just what you probably already know it to be: a howl by a single coyote, which is often started with a series of barks and can distinguish individuals.
10. Group Howl. A group howl is sent up when two or more coyotes come together after being apart, or it could be given as a response to the howls of distant coyotes as a way of giving out location information to any listeners.
