Editing Coyote (section)

===Social and reproductive behaviors===
[[File:Gpa bill coyote pups 3.jpg|thumb|Mearns' coyote (''C. l. mearnsi'') pups playing]]
[[File:Pair of Coyotes Playing in Santa Teresa County Park (45917548654).jpg|thumb|The "hip-slam"<ref name="fox136"/> is a common play behavior]]
[[File:Pack of coyotes on snow.jpg|thumb|A pack of coyotes in [[Yellowstone National Park]]]]
Like the Eurasian golden jackal, the coyote is gregarious, but not as dependent on [[Biological specificity|conspecifics]] as more social canid species like wolves are. This is likely because the coyote is not a specialized hunter of large prey as the latter species is.<ref name="fox1974">{{cite book|last=Fox|first=M. W. |year=1974|chapter=Evolution of Social Behavior in Canids|pages=429–60|title=The Wild Canids: Their Systematics, Behavioral Ecology, and Evolution|location=New York|publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold|isbn=978-0-442-22430-1|oclc=1093505}}</ref> The basic social unit of a coyote pack is a family containing a reproductive female. However, unrelated coyotes may join forces for companionship, or to bring down prey too large to attack on their own. Such "nonfamily" packs are only temporary, and may consist of bachelor males, nonreproductive females and subadult young. Families are formed in midwinter, when females enter [[estrus]].<ref name="gier1974"/> Pair bonding can occur 2–3 months before actual [[Copulation (zoology)|copulation]] takes place.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bekoff|first1=Marc|first2=Judy|last2=Diamond |year=1976| title=Precopulatory and copulatory behavior in coyotes|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=57|issue=2|pages=372–375|doi=10.2307/1379696|issn=0022-2372|oclc=1800234|jstor=1379696}}</ref> 

The [[copulatory tie]] can last 5–45 minutes.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Carlson | first1 = Debra A. | last2 = Gese | first2 = Eric M. | year = 2008 | title = Reproductive biology of the coyote (Canis latrans): integration of mating behavior, reproductive hormones, and vaginal cytology | journal = Journal of Mammalogy | volume = 89 | issue = 3| pages = 654–664 | doi=10.1644/06-mamm-a-436r1.1| pmid = 32287378 | pmc = 7108653 | doi-access = free }}</ref> A female entering estrus attracts males by scent marking<ref name="Gese1997">{{cite journal | last1 = Gese | first1 = Eric M. | last2 = Ruff | first2 = Robert L. | year = 1997 | title = Scent-marking by coyotes, Canis latrans: the influence of social and ecological factors | journal = Animal Behaviour | volume = 54 | issue = 5| pages = 1155–1166 | doi=10.1006/anbe.1997.0561| pmid = 9398369 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.540.1024 | s2cid = 33603362 }}</ref> and howling with increasing frequency.<ref name=bekoff2003/> A single female in heat can attract up to seven reproductive males, which can follow her for as long as a month. Although some squabbling may occur among the males, once the female has selected a mate and copulates, the rejected males do not intervene, and move on once they detect other estrous females.<ref name="gier1974"/> Unlike the wolf, which has been known to practice both [[Monogamy in animals|monogamous]] and bigamous matings,<ref>{{cite book|last=Mech| first=D. L. |year=2003|title=The Wolves of Minnesota: Howl in the Heartland|publisher=Voyageur Press|page=75|isbn=978-0-89658-509-6|oclc=43694482}}</ref> the coyote is strictly monogamous, even in areas with high coyote densities and abundant food.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1644/11-MAMM-A-184.1|url=http://www.mammalsociety.org/articles/long-term-pair-bonding-and-genetic-evidence-monogamy-among-urban-coyotes-canis-latrans| title = Long-term pair bonding and genetic evidence for monogamy among urban coyotes (''Canis latrans'')| journal = Journal of Mammalogy| volume = 93| issue = 3| pages = 732–742| year = 2012| last1 = Hennessy | first1 = C. A. | last2 = Dubach | first2 = J. | last3 = Gehrt | first3 = S. D. |issn=1545-1542|oclc=39098574| doi-access = free}}</ref> 

Females that fail to mate sometimes assist their sisters or mothers in raising their pups, or join their siblings until the next time they can mate. The newly mated pair then establishes a territory and either constructs their own den or cleans out abandoned [[American badger|badger]], [[marmot]], or [[skunk]] earths. During the pregnancy, the male frequently hunts alone and brings back food for the female. The female may line the den with dried grass or with fur pulled from her belly.<ref name="gier1974"/> The [[gestation period]] is 63 days, with an average litter size of six, though the number fluctuates depending on coyote population density and the abundance of food.<ref name="bekoff2003"/>

Coyote pups are born in dens, hollow trees, or under ledges, and weigh {{convert|200|to|500|g|lb|abbr=on}} at birth. They are [[altricial]], and are completely dependent on [[milk]] for their first 10 days. The [[incisor]]s erupt at about 12 days, the [[canine teeth|canine]]s at 16, and the second [[premolar]]s at 21. Their eyes open after 10 days, by which point the pups become increasingly more mobile, walking by 20 days, and running at the age of six weeks. The parents begin supplementing the pup's diet with regurgitated solid food after 12–15 days. By the age of four to six weeks, when their [[milk teeth]] are fully functional, the pups are given small food items such as mice, rabbits, or pieces of [[ungulate]] carcasses, with [[lactation]] steadily decreasing after two months.<ref name="gier1974"/> 

Unlike wolf pups, coyote pups begin seriously fighting (as opposed to play fighting) prior to engaging in play behavior. A common play behavior includes the coyote "hip-slam".<ref name="fox136"/> By three weeks of age, coyote pups bite each other with less inhibition than wolf pups. By the age of four to five weeks, pups have established dominance hierarchies, and are by then more likely to play rather than fight.<ref name="fox33">{{Harvnb|Fox|1978|p=33}}</ref> The male plays an active role in feeding, [[social grooming|grooming]], and guarding the pups, but abandons them if the female goes missing before the pups are completely [[Weaning|weaned]]. The den is abandoned by June to July, and the pups follow their parents in patrolling their territory and hunting. Pups may leave their families in August, though can remain for much longer. The pups attain adult dimensions at eight months and gain adult weight a month later.<ref name="gier1974"/>