10 Things I Love About Coyotes

Weave The Coyote opening Timmy’s beer. Credits to Timmy!

Today is Coyote Day in North America, and I’m celebrating by sharing this list.

1. They mate for life.
Coyotes form strong pair bonds and typically only find a new partner if one of them passes away.

2. They’re amazing parents.
There have been cases where the mother dies and the father continues raising the pups on his own—protecting, feeding, and teaching them everything they need to survive.

3. They’re very playful.
There are countless videos of coyotes playing—whether it’s in backyards, open fields, or even on golf courses. Their playful nature is such a beautiful reminder of their intelligence and spirit.

4. They’re truly wild.
Unlike their close cousins, wolves and dogs, coyotes have never been domesticated. They remain deeply wild and free.

5. They’re survivors.
Despite relentless persecution by humans, coyotes have endured and adapted again and again. Every attempt to eliminate them has failed.

6. They survived the Ice Age.
Coyotes made it through the Quaternary extinction event (the Late Pleistocene extinction), which wiped out many large species.

7. They’re unique.
Coyotes are native to North America. This is their home—they belong to this land.

8. They were here first.
Coyotes existed long before modern humans arrived on this continent. Their story is ancient and deeply rooted in the natural world.

9. They are sacred in Indigenous traditions.
Coyote is one of the most important figures in many Indigenous North American stories—often a creator, a teacher, and a powerful trickster who helped shape the world.

10. They’re beautiful.
There’s a rugged elegance to coyotes—their thick, multicolored fur, their alert eyes, the way they move through the landscape. But what makes them truly beautiful is their resilience. They didn’t just survive alongside human expansion—they adapted and endured.

Happy Coyote Day 🤍

If you enjoyed this list and love coyotes as much as I do, please consider signing and sharing petitions that help protect them. Every voice matters.

You can find a list of active petitions here:

https://coyotepretty.ca/2026/03/19/%f0%9f%90%ba-coyote-awareness-week-petitions-you-can-sign-to-help-protect-coyotes/

🐺 Coyote Awareness Week: Petitions You Can Sign to Help Protect Coyotes

A beautiful coyote eating, Ecomuseum, taken by me.

There are voices that are silenced every day.

Not because they don’t matter,
but because they are wild.

Coyotes continue to be misunderstood, persecuted, and killed across North America—often without reason, without science, and without compassion.

This Coyote Awareness Week, I’m asking you to do something simple, but powerful:

👉 Sign and share these petitions.

Each one is a chance to stand beside them.

🇨🇦 Stop the Alberta Coyote Hunting Contest

A cruel and outdated practice that turns killing into entertainment.
👉 https://www.change.org/p/stop-alberta-coyote-hunting-contest

🇨🇦 Stop the Coyote Cull in Nova Scotia

Lethal control is not coexistence. It’s time for humane solutions.
👉 https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-coyote-cull-in-nova-scotia

🇨🇦 Allow Wildlife Rehab for Coyotes (Nova Scotia)

Injured and orphaned coyotes deserve care—not a death sentence.
👉 https://www.change.org/p/allow-wildlife-rehab-for-coyotes-in-nova-scotia

🇨🇦 End Coyote Killing in Edmonton

Urban wildlife deserves coexistence, not extermination.
👉 https://www.change.org/p/end-coyote-killing-in-edmonton

🇨🇦 Justice for Liberty Village Coyotes (Toronto)

For the coyotes who were killed, and for the ones still trying to survive.
👉 https://www.change.org/p/justice-for-liberty-village-coyotes

🌎 Protect Floyd the Coyote (Alcatraz)

A wild coyote simply living his life should not be trapped or removed.
👉 https://www.change.org/p/protect-floyd-coyote-from-trapping-and-relocation

🐾 A Final Thought

Coyotes are not the villains they are made out to be.

They are:

intelligent
devoted to their families
essential to the ecosystems they live in

And most of all… they are just trying to survive in a world that keeps pushing them out.

If you’ve ever heard them howl,
if you’ve ever seen one in the distance,
if you’ve ever felt that quiet connection to something wild…

Please take a moment.

👉 Sign. Share. Speak for them.

If you’d like to learn more about these incredible animals, you can also read:
https://coyotepretty.ca/2025/08/05/10-unique-facts-about-coyotes/

Project Coyote

3 coyotes in Mississauga. Credits to my niece.

It’s still Coyote Awareness Week (March 16–22), leading us to Coyote Day on March 23—a time to stand for coexistence, understanding, and respect.

Despite their resilience and vital role in ecosystems, coyotes continue to face widespread persecution through trapping, poisoning, and killing contests.

This week, Project Coyote is sharing science, stories, and solutions to help communities live alongside coyotes peacefully—and to replace fear with knowledge.

If you feel called, you can take part here:
🐾 Take the Coyote Pledge + access the toolkit:
👉 Take the Coyote Pledge

And you can support their work:
💙 Donate: https://projectcoyote.org/donate
🛍️ Shop: https://projectcoyote.teemill.com/

Every small action helps protect one of North America’s most iconic and misunderstood wild canids.

Together, we can create a future where coyotes are not feared—but respected, protected, and allowed to simply be 🐺💙

🐾 Coyote Watch Canada

An Easter coyote, Valentine’s Day 2026. Picture taken by my neighbour.

During Coyote Awareness Week (March 16–22), leading up to Coyote Day on March 23, we take a moment to recognize one of North America’s most intelligent and misunderstood wild beings.

Coyotes are deeply family-oriented, devoted to their mates and pups, and play an essential role in maintaining healthy ecosystems by naturally balancing rodent populations.

This week is about celebrating peaceful coexistence—those quiet, meaningful moments where humans and coyotes share the same landscape.

Coyote Watch Canada is inviting you to be part of this celebration.
You can share your own coyote stories, photos, artwork, or poems here:
👉 https://form.jotform.com/260693777696075 

If you feel called, you can also support their work:
🛍️ Shop: https://www.coyotewatchcanada.com/site/shop
💙 Donate: https://www.coyotewatchcanada.com/site/donate

Let’s continue replacing fear with knowledge, and protecting the wild ones who walk beside us 🐾💙

💔 Justice for the Coyotes: Please Sign and Share This Petition 🐺

Recently, four coyotes near Lanigan, Saskatchewan were chased and run over by people on snowmobiles. This was not an accident. This was intentional cruelty. Two of the coyotes were still alive when conservation officers arrived, but instead of being given a chance at rehabilitation, they were shot because of their injuries.

I can’t stop thinking about how scared they must have been. Being hunted, struck, and left to suffer… it breaks my heart.

There is now a petition calling for justice for these coyotes, stronger penalties for wildlife cruelty, and better support for wildlife rehabilitation so injured animals are not automatically killed when they could possibly be helped.

👉 Please sign the petition here:
https://c.org/6YWzgVkK8Z
And please, share it everywhere you can. Every signature matters.

Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. I still remember the story of the wolf in Cody, Wyoming, who was run over and then tormented before dying. These acts are not “hunting.” They are not wildlife management. They are violence against living beings who feel fear and pain, just like our pets do.

Using snowmobiles to chase and run over wildlife is especially cruel. Animals have no chance. They are exhausted, terrified, and completely defenseless. This kind of behavior should never be tolerated or excused.

Coyotes already face so much persecution simply for existing. They are blamed, hunted, trapped, and killed — yet they are intelligent, devoted family animals who play an important role in keeping ecosystems healthy. They deserve protection, not torture.

Please, if you are reading this:
🤍 Sign the petition
📣 Share it with friends and family
🖤 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves

Let’s show that there are people who care, who are watching, and who will not stay silent when wildlife are treated with cruelty.

For the coyotes. For the wolf. For all the wild ones who deserve to live in peace. 🐺🌲✨

Celebrate Coyotes All Year Long 🐺📅

Nicole Wilde’s 2026 Coyote Calendar

For the second year in a row, I’ve purchased the 2026 Coyote Calendar by wildlife photographer Nicole Wilde—and I can honestly say it’s one of my favorite ways to honor coyotes throughout the year.

I bought the calendar for this year, lived with it month after month, and loved it so much that I didn’t hesitate to purchase the 2026 edition as well.

Each month features a breathtaking photograph of a coyote captured in their natural world—calm, intelligent, watchful, and deeply alive. These images aren’t just beautiful; they tell the truth about who coyotes really are.

What makes this calendar even more meaningful is that 50% of all proceeds are donated to Project Coyote, an organization dedicated to compassionate coexistence and the protection of coyotes across North America. This means that every calendar purchased directly supports advocacy, education, and non-lethal solutions for living alongside wildlife Celebrate America’s Song Dogs A….

Printed on premium cardstock, the calendar feels like a piece of art—something you want on your wall, not tucked away. It also makes a thoughtful gift for wildlife lovers, photographers, and anyone who believes coyotes deserve respect instead of fear.

If you’re looking for a simple, beautiful way to support coyotes all year long, I truly recommend this calendar.

🖤 You can find it here:
👉 https://www.nicolewildephotography.com/2026-calendars

🌿 African Painted Dogs Eat Fruit 🤓 A New Scientific Discovery

African painted dogs (Lycaon pictus) are often described as strictly carnivorous, highly specialized pack hunters that rely almost entirely on meat. But a recent field study from northern Botswana reveals something unexpected: African painted dogs have been observed eating fruit.

Researchers observed a denning pack in the Okavango Delta repeatedly foraging under jackalberry trees (Diospyros mespiliformis), carefully picking up fallen berries and swallowing them whole. This behavior was recorded over 20 out of 27 observation days, involving multiple pack members, often right before hunts.

This is the first documented case of frugivory (fruit-eating) in African painted dogs — a species long thought to be “hyper-carnivorous.”

Why this is very cool?

🍓 It shows dietary flexibility, even in highly specialized predators
🌱 It suggests painted dogs may play a small role in seed dispersal
🐾 It challenges rigid ideas about what wild carnivores “should” eat
🌍 It reminds us that animal behavior is shaped by opportunity, culture, and environment

Other canids like foxes, jackals, and maned wolves are known to eat fruit — and now African painted dogs join that list.

Nature is always more complex, adaptive, and surprising than we assume.

📖 Source

Claase, M.J. & McNutt, J.W. (2025). Frugivory in African wild dogs in northern Botswana. Canid Biology & Conservation, 28(4): 15–18. African_wild_dog_frugivory

Active Coyote Protection Petitions in Canada — Please Sign & Share

Coyotes continue to be targeted across Canada through hunting contests, culls, and policies that prevent injured animals from receiving care. Below is a list of current petitions supporting coyotes, each focused on coexistence, protection, and compassion.

Every signature matters. Please take a moment to sign and share.

🐾 Stop the Alberta Coyote Hunting Contest

This petition calls for an end to organized coyote-killing contests in Alberta, which promote cruelty and ignore science-based wildlife management.

🔗 https://www.change.org/p/stop-alberta-coyote-hunting-contest

🐾 Stop the Coyote Cull in Nova Scotia

Urges the province to stop lethal coyote control and instead adopt non-lethal, coexistence-based solutions.

🔗 https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-coyote-cull-in-nova-scotia

🐾 Allow Wildlife Rehabilitators to Help Coyotes in Nova Scotia

Asks the province to allow licensed wildlife rehabilitators, including Hope for Wildlife, to legally treat injured and orphaned coyotes.

🔗 https://www.change.org/p/ask-nova-scotia-to-allow-hope-for-wildlife-to-rehab-coyotes/u/33360323?utm_source=

🐾 End the Unnecessary Killing of Coyotes in Edmonton

Calls on the City of Edmonton to stop lethal coyote control and prioritize education, hazing, and coexistence strategies.

🔗 https://www.change.org/p/urge-edmonton-to-stop-the-unnecessary-killing-of-coyotes?utm_source=

🐾 Justice for the Liberty Village Coyotes (Toronto)

Demands accountability and policy change following the killing of coyotes in Toronto, and calls for humane wildlife management going forward.

🔗 https://www.change.org/p/protect-the-liberty-village-coyotes-in-toronto/u/33442313?utm_source=

🐾 End Wildlife Killing Contests (Coyotes Included)

Led by Project Coyote, this ongoing action works to ban wildlife killing contests across North America, where coyotes are the primary targets.

🔗 https://projectcoyote.org/protect/ending-wildlife-killing-contests/petition-ending-wildlife-killing-contest/

🐺 Why This Matters

Coyotes play a vital ecological role. Science consistently shows that killing them does not reduce conflicts and often makes things worse. Coexistence works. Education works. Compassion works.

Please sign, share, and help give coyotes the protection they deserve.

💙🐾

🌿 Learn More About Coyotes

If you’d like to better understand why coyotes deserve protection, you may also enjoy this post:
10 Unique Facts About Coyotes — a gentle look at their intelligence, family bonds, and vital role in the ecosystem.

🔗 https://coyotepretty.ca/2025/08/05/10-unique-facts-about-coyotes/

🐾🚫 Alberta: End the Coyote Hunting Contest Now

In Alberta, a hunting contest has been announced that rewards participants with cash prizes for killing the most coyotes—including a category for children. Change.org+1
This isn’t wildlife management—it’s a massacre promoted as “sport”.

⚠️ The science shows this kind of mass killing doesn’t work. Disrupting coyote family units often leads to more conflict, not less. TheRockies.Life+1

We must stand up for compassion, science, and coexistence.
👉 Please sign the petition and share this link so more voices demand that Alberta stop these contests once and for all.
Sign here: https://www.change.org/p/stop-alberta-coyote-hunting-contest/psf/promote_or_share?message=sign-success

🐺💔 Nova Scotia: Let Wildlife Rehabbers Help Coyotes in Need

Coyotes are intelligent, social, family-oriented animals — yet in Nova Scotia, licensed wildlife rehabbers are not allowed to care for injured, sick, or orphaned coyotes. This means countless animals who could be saved are instead left to suffer or die.

This petition asks the Nova Scotia government to change this outdated restriction and allow trained, experienced rehabbers to provide proper care — the same compassion offered to foxes, raccoons, owls, deer, and other wildlife.

✨ Coyotes deserve humane treatment.
✨ Injured animals deserve a chance.
✨ The public deserves a compassionate, science-based policy.

Please sign and share the petition to help protect vulnerable coyotes and support the rehabbers ready to help them. Every signature matters. 💙🐾
👉 Sign here: https://c.org/BTCtfjY6fn