MAMMALS OF MARYLANOD 



133 



areas of the country vanished either through natural means such as 

 forest fires or through manmade means such as logging etc. With the 

 clearing of the land in the Northeastern United States, the coyote 

 probably found habitat there to its liking, and has extended its range 

 eastward. 



The habits of the coyote are thoroughly discussed by Young and 

 Jackson (pp. 47-105). The following is compiled primarily from their 

 findings. 



The home of the coyote is usually a den which it constructs on a bank 

 or hillside, in wheat or com fields, under houses, shacks, drainage 

 pipes, or in hollow logs in thickets. Often the animal makes use of a 

 fox or skunk den, enlarging it to suit its needs. 



As a rule, coyotes do not mate for life, but some pairs may remain 

 together for a number of years. There is evidence that the female may 

 breed when she is 1 year of age. The breeding season is from February 

 to March or April, being earlier apparently in northern than in south- 

 ern latitudes (Hamlett, 1938) . The gestation period is 60 to 63 days, and 

 females have been known to deliver as many as 17 to 19 young, although 

 5 to 7 is the usual number. 



Sperry (1941) examined the stomachs of 8,339 coyotes from western 

 and midwestern localities and found that the principal food of the 

 species is animal matter, of which more than 90% consists of mammals. 

 In addition to carrion (25.1%), the chief mammals consumed are rab- 

 bits (33.2%), rodents (17.5%), domestic livestock (13.5%), big game 

 mammals, principally deer (3.6%), and miscellaneous mammals such 

 as skunks, badgers, weasels, shrews, moles, foxes, raccoons, cats, etc. 

 (1%) . Birds comprise some 2.9% of the coyote's diet, and other verte- 

 brates 0.08%. Insects account for 1% of the diet, and vegetable matter, 

 principally wild fruit and cultivated fruit, some 1.7%. These percent- 

 ages vary according to seasonal availability. 



Specirrhens examined -Cecil County: Near Delaware line, west of 

 Middletown, Delaware, 1. Montgomery County: Poolesville, 5 miles 

 NW, 1. 



Remarks. — ^The coyote has been reported from nearly all of the 

 Eastern States. It is known that the species has been extending its 

 range eastward. Probably the coyotes of our Northeastern States are 

 a result of the natural expansion of the range of the species. On the 

 other hand, coyotes have been introduced accidentally, or on purpose, 

 into some of the Southeastern States, and present populations in those 

 States may derive from these artificial introductions. 



The first coyote discovered in Maryland was taken on 5 February 

 1921, on a farm 5 miles NW of Poolesville, Montgomery County. 

 J ackson (1922, p. 187) in a discussion of this animal says : 



