Coyote

In the Foothills, coyotes can be heard nearly any night either howling or yipping and barking as they race through the open desert. It is not unusual to see them crossing   roads in the area or cutting through neighborhoods. Unfortunately, some are accidentally killed by motorists.

Not fussy

Coyotes prosper where other carnivores go hungry.  They  can exist quite well on the diet of lizards and rodents such as the spiny lizard  and pack rat.  If such prey is scarce, it will eat grasshoppers and crickets. When water is available, it will drink gallons each day.  If not, the swift running canine cousin can survive on the juices of freshly killed rodents and rabbits.

Running with the pack

They do not pare for life, preferring to mate many times each season with members of the pack. Mating takes place in January or February and six to ten pups are born around April. The dens are usually holes that other animals have dug, but a clever mother will dig her own tunnel. Sandy banks of washes are common den sites.  When the young are eight to ten weeks old, the den is abandoned and the family roves at will. Coyotes live 10 to 18 years.