Animal sign
Coyote tracks: how to tell them from dog and fox prints
Coyotes live in every state but Hawaii, including cities and suburbs, and their prints turn up in mud, sand and snow almost everywhere. The trick is telling them from the family dog.
How to tell it
- Four toes and an oval shape, about 2.5 inches long, longer than wide.
- Small claw marks in front of the two middle toes.
- The two outer toes tuck in behind the front two, leaving room for an X between the pads.
- Trail in a neat, nearly straight line, each hind foot landing in the front print.
Where you find it
Every state but Hawaii, in deserts, prairies, farmland, forests, suburbs and city parks. Look along trails, field edges, stream banks and dirt roads.
Scientific name: Canis latrans
Look-alikes
Rounder and splayed, with bigger claw marks on all toes, and a wandering, messy trail.
Smaller, about 2 inches, and in winter blurred by fur on the feet.
Round, with no claw marks and a heel pad with three lobes at the back.
What it tells you
Coyote tracks show where coyotes travel and hunt. They are rarely a danger to people, but they will take small pets and are drawn to food left out, so fresh tracks near camp or a yard mean it is time to put food and trash away.
What to do
- Take a photo with something for size, then follow the line of tracks to read where it went.
- Keep small pets close and leashed, and do not leave pet food or trash out.
- If a coyote comes close, stand tall, wave your arms and shout. Never feed one.
The free app reads your photo, names the likely match, shows its look-alikes, and tells you what has been seen near your ZIP code.
Sources
Written in our own words from these public sources.