Coyote Country

Question

A coyote walks through a playground in the autumn

Credit: Trevor Clark/Shutterstock

On the first day of school, it's not surprising to see some new faces on campus. But no one expected the visitor that showed up at one Los Angeles school in August of 2021. According to ABC News, around 7:20 a.m., a coyote padded into an 8th-grade classroom and sat down in a corner.

The animal was escorted out before classes started, but its morning visit highlights a startling fact. Coyotes inhabit most of North America, and cities are no exception.

Coyotes once lived only in parts of western and central North America, but their range began expanding in the early 1900s. That's partly because other predators like wolves and cougars were driven out of many places, making room for coyotes, which can thrive in diverse environments, from prairies and deserts to woods and wetlands. According to National Geographic, coyotes' North American habitat has increased by about 40 percent since the 1950s.

Today, most of the continent is coyote country. They live in every U.S. state except Hawaii, and they don't stick to wild places. "We have coyotes everywhere—every neighborhood, every suburban city, and downtown," said Dr. Stan Gehrt, a wildlife ecologist at Ohio State University. In addition to Los Angeles, they're found in cities like Chicago, Miami, and Washington, D.C. In 2015, CNN reported that one especially agile individual was spotted on a New York City rooftop.

Why are coyotes so at home in cities? They're adaptable. Unlike animals with specialized diets, these omnivores eat wild prey, like rabbits and squirrels, as well as fruits and vegetables, all of which tend to be abundant in urban areas. They can also live alone, in pairs, or in packs, adopting whichever strategy offers the best chance at survival where they live.

To survive in the city, it helps to be cagey. Writing for The Conversation, scientists explained that research shows coyotes "are good at adapting to human-built environments and navigating urban areas without being seen by humans."

Dr. Gehrt agrees. "They have this amazing balance between being bold enough to hunt…and being shy or savvy enough to avoid being killed themselves," he said. In other words, coyotes are smart…even though they're not allowed to hang around in classrooms.

Question 2


2 / 4

Which passage from the article best supports the idea that coyotes are adaptable?

[Coyotes] can also live alone, in pairs, or in packs, adopting whichever strategy offers the best chance at survival where they live.
[Coyotes] are smart…even though they're not allowed to hang around in classrooms.
According to National Geographic, coyotes' North American habitat has increased by about 40 percent since the 1950s.
In 2015, CNN reported that one especially agile individual was spotted on a New York City rooftop.

Answer 1

The passage that best supports the idea that coyotes are adaptable is:

"[Coyotes] can also live alone, in pairs, or in packs, adopting whichever strategy offers the best chance at survival where they live."

This statement highlights their ability to adjust their social structure based on their environment, which is a key aspect of adaptability.