Species: Coyote (Canis latrans)

What to look for

  1. Size. Washington describes a normal track as about 2.5 inches long and 2 inches wide (6.4 by 5.1 cm). Mount Rainier's guide measures front tracks at 2.1 to 3.1 inches (5.4 to 7.8 cm) long and hind at 1.75 to 3 inches (4.4 to 7.6 cm).
  2. Front against hind. The hind foot is smaller than the front, so the two prints in a pair are not the same size.
  3. Shape. More oblong and compact than a dog's track of the same rough size.
  4. Claws. Toenails nearly always leave imprints, and the toes register deeper than the palm pad.
  5. Negative space. The gap between the toes and the pad prints as an H shape, where a red fox leaves an X.
  6. Trail. Coyote tracks overlap because the animal walks in its own footprints, with prints 18 to 22 inches (46 to 56 cm) apart. Medium-sized dog tracks do not overlap and fall 6 to 8 inches apart.

Easily confused with

Domestic dog tracks. The trail settles it more reliably than the print: a dog's tracks do not overlap, sit 6 to 8 inches apart, and wander rather than running a straight line.

Red fox tracks. Smaller, with front tracks 1.9 to 2.5 inches (4.7 to 6.4 cm) long, fur-lined pads that blur the outline, and X-shaped negative space.

Wolf tracks. Wolf front tracks run 3.5 to 5.1 inches (8.9 to 12.4 cm) long, roughly double a coyote's, with the front paws clearly larger than the hind.

Where and when

Coyotes live in semi-open brushy country, timber edges, farmland and suburbs across nearly all of North America. Look for tracks in mud, sand, dust or snow along draws, fence lines, game and livestock trails, the middle of dirt roads and ridge tops. They are most active between sunset and sunrise, so fresh prints are usually a morning find in overnight snow or damp ground.

Related signs

  • Coyote vs fox: A coyote outweighs a red fox two or three times over: 18 to 30 pounds against 7.5 to 15 pounds.
  • Coyote scat: Coyote scat is ropelike and twisted, averaging 3 to 4 inches long and about an inch across, usually packed with hair and bone.
  • Wolf tracks: A wolf track is about 5 inches long by 4 inches wide, with four symmetrical toes, claws that clearly register, and a single lobe at the front of the foot pad.

Sources