MV Coyote Cache

This is a beautiful spot in one of the best parks in Arvada, but it's also home to a pack of coyotes. You may spot them on the hill across the pond taking a nap in the sun during the day. Some fun facts about coyotes are below.

BYOP and some small swag for the cache if you take anything out. Let's keep this one fun for the kids!

Congratulations to TooBears and TwoPonds for FTF!

Habits

Coyotes are solitary creatures and mark their territory with urine. When hunting deer, however, they use teamwork and form packs. They take turns pursuing the deer until it tires, or they may drive the prey toward a hidden member of the pack, according to the University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web (ADW).

These hunters are nocturnal, meaning they sleep during the day and hunt at night. This is why people usually only hear coyotes howling at night. Coyotes also use other noises to communicate. They use three distinct calls — a squeak, a distress call and a howl, according to the ADW.

Diet

Coyotes are not picky eaters. They eat small game such as rodents, rabbits, fish and frogs, and larger game like deer. Their diet is 90 percent mammalian.

They are typically thought to be only meat eaters, but they are actually omnivores — they eat meat and vegetation. When they aren't snacking on bigger prey, they will eat snakes, insects, fruit and grass. Coyotes have been known to kill livestock and pets, but they usually help control agricultural pests, such as rodents. In cities, coyotes will eat pet food or garbage.

Offspring

Breeding season is in February and March. In the spring, females build dens in preparation for their young. Females have a gestation period of 63 days and give birth to groups of three to 12 young at once. The groups of babies are called litters and each coyote baby is called a pup. The size of the litter depends on where the coyotes live. In areas where there are a lot of coyotes, there will be smaller litters. In areas with fewer coyotes, more pups will be born.

Both the male and female participate in taking care of the pups. The male will bring food to the female and the pups and help protect them from predators.

A female coyote will stay in her den with her pups until their eyes open. This can take 11 or 12 days. By fall, the pups are old enough to hunt for themselves. Coyotes are usually ready to mate at 20 to 22 months old. In the wild, coyotes live around 10 years, according to the ADW.

Coyotes can also mate with dogs. The offspring are called "coydogs." Coydogs don't have a very big population because they tend to mate and have babies during the winter, making it harder for the pups to survive. Also, males do not help the females take care of the pups, which also lead to poor survival rates.