Howling by coyotes ( Canis latrans): variation among social classes, seasons, and pack sizes

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Gese, Eric M, Ruff, Robert L
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1998
• Subjects: Canis lupus
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z98-038; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z98-038

From January 1991 to June 1993 we observed 54 coyotes (Canis latrans) for 2507 h in Yellowstone National Park,Wyoming, during which we observed 517 howling events. Among coyotes of different types of social organization (residentversus transient), members of resident packs initiated or participated in howling events, while transient individuals were neverobserved howling (n = 51 h of observation). For members of resident packs, alpha coyotes spent more time howling and had ahigher rate of howling events than beta coyotes and pups; beta coyotes and pups howled similarly. The percentage of time andthe rate of howling events typically peaked in the dispersal and breeding seasons, with the lowest rate of howling during puprearing. Social rank and season did not influence the length of howling events. Pack size did not affect howling rates amongindividuals in a pack or the alpha pair. With respect to space-use patterns, coyotes in resident packs howled more frequentlythan expected along the periphery of the territory than in the core area. We concluded that, like wolves (Canis lupus), allcoyotes in the resident pack did not contribute equally to howling duties; alpha coyotes howled more than all coyotes. Howlingby coyotes appears to serve a territorial spacing function that is mainly performed by the alpha pair of the resident pack.