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Fun Facts
Did You Know?
What happened to the red wolves when coyotes arrived? The remaining red wolves — already reduced to scattered, struggling populations by habitat loss and predator control programs, already functionally absent from most of their range — couldn't find enough mates of their own species. The population was too thin and too fragmented. So they bred with the incoming coyotes. The offspring were fertile. A fertile hybrid is a conservation nightmare, because every hybrid litter dilutes the gene pool of the rarer species while expanding the range of the more abundant one
If This Animal Could Talk...
"Watch closely, respect my space, and let my habitat explain the rest of the story."
The Invasive PredatorCoyotes in North Louisiana The Invasive Predator That Replaced a Wolf, Conquered a Continent, and Now Carries the Ghost DNA of the Species It Helped Destroy What are coyotes and why are they in North Louisiana? Canis latrans — the "barking dog" — showed up in Louisiana in the early 1950s and never left.
A Few More Facts
How they hunt and forage: What do coyotes eat? The short answer is everything, and the long answer is everything plus whatever you left outside. Small mammals make up the bulk of the diet — rabbits, rats, mice, nutria. Deer fawns during the first two weeks of life. Birds, reptiles, insects, fruit, watermelons, roadkill, garbage, and the contents of any pet food bowl you were foolish enough to leave on the porch. The deer fawn predation is the issue that starts arguments at deer camp every November. Coyotes are confirmed fawn predators, and their arrival in the eastern United States correlates with wild turkey population declines in some areas. Whether that correlation is causation — whether coyotes are the primary driver of those declines or just one factor in a more complicated picture — is actively debated, and the debate gets louder every deer season. The honest answer is that it's complicated, the data is mixed, and people who are certain about it in either direction are probably wrong.
Live birth or eggs? yes
When young are born: See the detailed species sections below.
Photo Gallery
What Is the Coyote Often Confused With?
How do you identify a coyote in North Louisiana? Grayish-brown coat, pointed ears, long slender muzzle, yellow eyes, and — this is the field mark that matters — a bushy tail with a black tip that hangs low when the animal runs. Wolves carry their tails straight out. Dogs carry their tails however they feel like it. Coyotes carry their tails down. If you see a canid running across a field or highway in North Louisiana and the tail is hanging below horizontal, it's a coyote. If the tail is up and wagging, it's somebody's dog. If the tail is straight out and the animal weighs 80 pounds, it doesn't officially exist in Louisiana anymore and you should call LDWF.
Drag the handle left and right to compare Coyote side by side with the species it gets mistaken for most.
Open the visual comparison tool
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Accessibility
Accessibility
Coyotes are more often heard than seen, which makes them one of the more accessible large mammals in North Louisiana for visitors who are blind or have low vision. Evening and pre-dawn howls carry across pine edges, Delta fields, drainage corridors, and suburban greenbelts, especially during winter breeding season and fall dispersal. For vehicle-based observation, dawn and dusk drives along WMA roads, agricultural field edges, and pine plantation roads offer the best chance of seeing a coyote crossing open ground without requiring trail access.
For visitors with mobility limitations, trail cameras, porch listening, and roadside observation are usually more productive than walking deep woods. The most useful signs are auditory howls, tracks in soft sand or mud, and scat placed prominently along roads, levees, and trail intersections. Keep pets supervised, do not approach den areas, and never attempt to feed or call coyotes closer for observation.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Coyotes live in North Louisiana?
Yes. The Invasive PredatorCoyotes in North Louisiana. What are coyotes and why are they in North Louisiana? How do you identify a coyote in North Louisiana?
How do you identify Coyotes?
How do you identify a coyote in North Louisiana? Grayish-brown coat, pointed ears, long slender muzzle, yellow eyes, and — this is the field mark that matters — a bushy tail with a black tip that hangs low when the animal runs. Wolves carry their tails straight out. Dogs carry their tails however they feel like it. Coyotes carry their tails down
What does Coyotes eat?
What do coyotes eat? The short answer is everything, and the long answer is everything plus whatever you left outside. Small mammals make up the bulk of the diet — rabbits, rats, mice, nutria. Deer fawns during the first two weeks of life. Birds, reptiles, insects, fruit, watermelons, roadkill, garbage, and the contents of any pet food bowl you were foolish enough to leave on the porch
Is Coyotes dangerous to people?
No. This species is not dangerous to people when it is observed without handling or disturbance
