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			Trailing Coyotes We have been often asked "How do we know that it was a coyote in our neighborhood?". We hope that this page will help answer your questions regarding the presence of a coyote. Coyote Tracks The front paw track is larger (and often heavier imprinted) than the rear. The paw pads of the front paw appear to frown, while the rear paw pad leave a more rounded or lip shaped impression. The placement of the front a rear prints appear somewhat close together. Scat Happens! The most distinguishing characteristic of coyote scat is the presence of hair. Coyotes eat all of their prey, including hair. Since hair is essentially undigestible, then it will pass intact. Talk about roughage in your diet! Also, one would probably guess that the color of the scat will somewhat depend upon the color of the hair from the meal. (The six inch rule in the photos is shown for size comparison.) Trail Notes Evidence of a fierce encounter--leaves and white hair tuffs If you are looking for evidence of coyotes in your neighborhood, then you may want to look for tracks in soft ground or mud after a rain when the tracks will be more visible. Coyotes tend to traverse down well defined trails, such as dirt roads and open spaces. The more coyote prints you see, the more likely that the path is a favorite trail for a coyote to-and-from hunting their prey. I have read that coyotes will mark their territory (and trail) by often pooping along their way back to the den. The scat photos on this page were taken along a dirt road, all within a 75 foot proximity. One other note. I suspect that howling sounds of a coyote pack at night could be due to the excitement of the pack after a successful hunt, arriving back to the den to feed the young pups. This is just a guess. If you hear this howling, you can most probably assume that a den is nearby. Listen to a coyote pack howling. (48 kb) - Requires Macromedia Flash 6 plugin. Get free Flash plugin. Back to 'Coyotes & Kitty Cats' front page | Back to Coyote Tracks © Copyright 2000-2003 wcm Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved Austin, Texas email: Get our email contact