Editing Coyote (section)

===Hunting and feeding behaviors===
While the popular consensus is that [[olfaction]] is very important for hunting,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Asa|first1=C. S.|last2=Mech|first2=D.|year=1995|chapter=A review of the sensory organs in wolves and their importance to life history |title=Ecology and Conservation of Wolves in a Changing World|editor1-last=Carbyn|editor1-first=L. D.|editor2-last=Fritts|editor2-first=S. H.|editor3-last=Seip|editor3-first=D. R.|location=Edmonton, Alberta|publisher= University of Alberta|pages=287–291|isbn=978-0-919058-92-7|oclc=35162905}}</ref> two studies that experimentally investigated the role of olfactory, auditory, and visual cues found that visual cues are the most important ones for hunting in red foxes<ref>{{cite journal|last=Österholm|first=H.|year=1964|title=The significance of distance reception in the feeding behaviour of fox (''Vulpes vulpes L.'')|journal=Acta Zoologica Fennica|volume=106|pages=1–31}}</ref> and coyotes.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wells|first=M. C.|year=1978|title=Coyote senses in predation – environmental influences on their relative use|journal=Behavioural Processes|volume=3|issue=2|pages=149–158 |doi=10.1016/0376-6357(78)90041-4|pmid=24924653|s2cid=22692213}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wells|first1=M. C.|last2=Lehner|first2=P. N.|year=1978|title=Relative importance of distance senses in coyote predatory behavior |journal= Animal Behaviour|volume=26|pages=251–258|doi=10.1016/0003-3472(78)90025-8|s2cid=53204333}}</ref>

{{image frame|border=no|content={{photo montage|size=220
|photo1a=Coyote Pouncing.jpg
|photo1b=Leaping Coyote Seedskadee NWR (16117597568).jpg
|photo2a=Coyote Hunting Rodents in Santa Teresa County Park (30035278974).jpg
|photo2b=Coyote (Canis latrans) (7147080735).jpg
|border=0
|color=transparent
|text=Coyotes pouncing on prey
}}
{{photo montage|size=220
|photo1a=Coyote - Dead Elk (4634125254).jpg
|photo1b=Coyote eating bison YNP.jpg
|border=0
|color=transparent
|text=Coyotes with elk and bison carcasses
}}}}
When hunting large prey, the coyote often works in pairs or small groups.<ref name="bekoff1977"/> Success in killing large [[ungulate]]s depends on factors such as snow depth and crust density. Younger animals usually avoid participating in such hunts, with the breeding pair typically doing most of the work.<ref name="bekoff2003"/> The coyote pursues large prey, typically [[hamstringing]] the animal, and subsequently then harassing it until the prey falls. Like other canids, the coyote [[Hoarding (animal behavior)|cache]]s excess food.<ref name="young91">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|pp=91–92}}</ref> Coyotes catch mouse-sized rodents by pouncing, whereas [[ground squirrel]]s are chased. Although coyotes can live in large groups, small prey is typically caught singly.<ref name="bekoff2003"/> 

Coyotes have been observed to kill [[North American porcupine|porcupine]]s in pairs, using their paws to flip the rodents on their backs, then attacking the soft underbelly. Only old and experienced coyotes can successfully prey on porcupines, with many predation attempts by young coyotes resulting in them being injured by their prey's quills.<ref name="young97">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|p=97}}</ref> Coyotes sometimes [[urination|urinate]] on their food, possibly to claim ownership over it.<ref name="WellsBekoff1981">Wells, Michael C., and Marc Bekoff. "[http://animalstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1035&context=acwp_ena An observational study of scent-marking in coyotes, Canis latrans]." (1981).</ref><ref name="young98">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|p=98}}</ref> Recent evidence demonstrates that at least some coyotes have become more nocturnal in hunting, presumably to avoid humans.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/science/animals-human-nocturnal-study.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/science/animals-human-nocturnal-study.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited |title=Mammals Go Nocturnal in Bid to Avoid Humans|newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 15, 2018 |access-date=2018-06-21|last1=Jacobs |first1=Julia }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gaynor |date=2021-06-15 |title=The influence of human disturbance on wildlife nocturnality |journal=Science |volume=360 |issue=6394 |pages=1232–1235 |doi=10.1126/science.aar7121 |pmid=29903973 |s2cid=49212187 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Coyotes may occasionally form [[mutualism (biology)|mutualistic]] hunting relationships with [[American badger]]s, assisting each other in digging up rodent prey.<ref>{{cite web|author=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|title=Spotted! A Coyote and Badger Hunting Together|year=2016|url=https://www.fws.gov/news/blog/index.cfm/2016/11/2/Spotted-A-Coyote-and-Badger}}</ref> The relationship between the two species may occasionally border on apparent "friendship", as some coyotes have been observed laying their heads on their badger companions or licking their faces without protest. The amicable interactions between coyotes and badgers were known to pre-Columbian civilizations, as shown on a jar found in Mexico dated to 1250–1300 [[Current era|CE]] depicting the relationship between the two.<ref name="young93"/>

Food scraps, pet food, and animal feces may attract a coyote to a trash can.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Why is there a coyote in my yard? Food lures and other answers|url=https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/why-there-coyote-my-yard-food-lures-and-other-answers|website=The Humane Society of the United States|access-date=2020-05-07}}</ref>