Do Coyotes Go After Wolf Pups?

Discuss other canids (coyotes, foxes, dholes, etc.).

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CanisLatransCoyote
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Do Coyotes Go After Wolf Pups?

Post by CanisLatransCoyote » Thu Jan 18, 2018 12:31 pm

Do coyotes go after wolf pups?

We all know that those sneaky little coyotes seek to kill and eat our pups during the Slough Creek mission of WolfQuest, but I've been very curious for a while now as to whether they actually do this in the real world.

I'm completely aware that coyotes are opportunists, and will eat almost anything to survive, but wouldn't attempting to snatch a wolf pup from the den when there would most likely be a pupsitter standing guard be all too risky for a coyote? It's just a curious question I've been questioning for quite a while, and was wondering if anyone might know the answer.

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Re: Do Coyotes Go After Wolf Pups?

Post by lacey15 » Sat Jan 20, 2018 2:12 pm

Well in my opinion Coyotes don't go after the wolf pups when a pupsitter is there but they will if there is no pupsitter there but if they get caught in the act by a another pupsitter, It would probably chase it away.

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Re: Do Coyotes Go After Wolf Pups?

Post by 2wolf22 » Wed Jul 11, 2018 6:17 am

I believe they do not often target wolf pups. Maybe if the pups are alone. In a recent video, wolfquest said it wouldn't have the new coyote dynamics on the pups raising or something. I don't exactly remember. :? I'd think there would be a difference in the coyote amount with pups either way.

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Re: Do Coyotes Go After Wolf Pups?

Post by LamarWolf » Fri Feb 01, 2019 6:36 pm

I research this and couldn't find anything about a coyote trying or killing wolf pups while the pups were at the den. A coyote knowing wolves are larger and more powerful predator probably avoid the den site so they don't get killed because a wolves will no tolerate predators near the den. Based on a coyote's opportunistic behavior they might try to kill a wolf pup to get rid of the competition but most likely they wouldn't be near the den.
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Re: Do Coyotes Go After Wolf Pups?

Post by x1103 » Sun Feb 03, 2019 12:52 am

Just a thought, I think it would be very weird for a coyote to actually go towards the scent of the wolves, the scent of their territory and den. Trying to snatch a pup under adult wolves' noses and not to give up seems just suicidal too. Following wolves to steal their food is a different matter of course.

Anyway this reminds me of big cats of Africa that ruthlessly get rid of competition in form of killing each other's young if left unattended when the adults are hunting. Still I don't think that a smaller cat, say a leopard would boldly walk up to a pride of lions and try to steal a cub.

I actually asked everyone on a pup server if coyotes really do this and they all said yes but yeah did not discuss it further. Imo the way coyotes behave in the game does not seem to make much sense from a natural point of view but I do get it from the view of gameplay - they make good enemies.

So what is the truth does anyone know?
Nevermind me I just like to blah blah.

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Re: Do Coyotes Go After Wolf Pups?

Post by Koa » Wed Feb 06, 2019 9:45 am

From Wolves: Behavior, Ecology and Conservation, page 267
Three times in May 2001 coyotes were observed approaching [the den of a subordinate female wolf who had mated with the dominant male in the pack and who had separated from the pack and denned alone]. Once, when she was inside the den, a lone coyote carefully approached and raised-leg urinated at the entrance. The coyote left, and the wolf did not exit the den. On two other occasions, one and two coyotes approached her den, and both times she chased them away. In July 2001, when the lone female was not at her den, a coyote encountered one of her pups, chased it, and tackled it twice; however, it did not pursue the pup as it ran off. The pup did not appear injured.
Wolf pup mortality is notoriously difficult to document, especially when the pups are younger than 4 to 8 months old as they are not large enough to be caught and radio-collared. Young pup mortality is figured out by observing and comparing the number of pups that appear between the fall and the summer. Before pups emerge from the den, though, it's almost impossible. (See pages 183-84 of the book above.) I'm assuming that, because of the size difference between coyotes and wolves (though this might depend on the area, i.e., midwestern U.S. versus northern Canada, where coyotes can grow larger), pups are probably most vulnerable to coyote predation in the period before they reach twelve weeks of age, where they already weigh 22-30 lbs (https://www.wolf.org/wolf-info/basic-wo ... velopment/).

I wouldn't go so far as to say that coyote predation on wolf pups doesn't happen at all. I would instead say that these encounters (whether the pup in question is uninjured, injured, or killed) happen, but aren't well-documented because of the existing challenges examining wolf pup mortality.

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Re: Do Coyotes Go After Wolf Pups?

Post by elkhunter123456 » Fri May 31, 2019 4:57 am

Maybe if the wolf pup was alone then the coyote might kill it. But I doubt it would eat it.
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Re: Do Coyotes Go After Wolf Pups?

Post by Koa » Fri May 31, 2019 8:20 am

elkhunter123456 wrote:
Fri May 31, 2019 4:57 am
Maybe if the wolf pup was alone then the coyote might kill it. But I doubt it would eat it.
FYI, in this forum, it is best if you include additional research in your post, particularly if someone before you has posted with some kind of research. Otherwise, there is not much point in posting-- we don't want people to get confused.

I'll be locking this since (1 the original author of this post has not followed up and (2 the information previously shared seems to be what is available at this time (i.e., there is no new relevant research or information to add).

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