What is the different between a wolf and coyote ?

Answer 1

For starters, wolves are much larger than coyotes.

Answer 2

Coyotes are much smaller than wolves. They can run faster and their howls can be heard for over three miles. The typical howl that people usually equate to a wolf is actually a coyote howl. Coyotes are more adaptive then wolves. The same measures that wiped out the wolves were used on the coyotes but it had little effect. This is due to the fact that coyotes are solitary animals whereas wolves are pack animals. When a wolf runs, its tail is held high, while a coyote's is held between its legs. Coyotes are often a more rusty color than wolves but there are times when coloration is mistakable. Coyotes have larger ears than wolves.

Wolves are afraid of humans and coyotes are not. There has never been a record of a wolf attack on a person. But coyotes have been known to attack people.

Answer 3

It is quite difficut to differentiate between the two, because they can interbreed. That means that they can have viable offspring with each other (and with dogs, by the way). There are some differences, but they may not be greater than those between a dog and a wolf or two breeds of dog. The thing is that they all have a common ancestor (or so it is thought) and that they although they have split up into what is considered to be different species, still aren't very far removed from each other. Coyotes are smaller and live in different habitats than wolves do. They also have slightly different social behaviours and hierarchies. Bottom line is that they are very similar, but due to geographical separation, they have developed differently for a while (we're talking tens of thousands of years).

Answer 4

The coyote is related to wolves. It differs in several ways..as for the wolf he is almost extinct but the coyote has survived.
coyote is smaller so they do not eat much.
The coyote has excellent hearing and sense of smell.
They can detect hunters coming a mile or more away.
Also they can hear their prey scurrying beneath the snow.
They ea big animals like moose.

Answer 5

The difference between a coyote and a wolf, is that a coyote carries its tail below the level of its back when it runs, whereas a wolf will hold its tail up while running

Answer 6

Coyotes are usually no more than two feet high, whereas wolves are at least that tall. Another big difference is that while coyotes usually hunt alone, wolves have a very important pack life.

Answer 7

coyotes and wolves are quite different. A coyote is lighter (20-35 pounds) than a wolf (70-130 pounds) and smaller: Coyotes are less than 2 feet high and approx. 4 feet long, wolves are as much as 6.5 feet long and stand up to three feet tall at the shoulder. Coyotes have a long, pointed muzzle, thin legs and a gray, tan or rust-colored coat. Wolves have a broad, large muzzle and long, thick legs. Their coats can be reddish, white, black, tawny or gray.

Answer 8

First I would like to state that jesraptora gave an excellent answer!!

Now to answer your question, it really depends on which species of wolf you are comparing a coyote to.... If you compare coyotes to Grey wolves(Canis lupus) there is a huge difference in appearance and behaviour. Grey wolves are much larger and more powerful than a coyote... height varies from 0.6–0.8 meters (26–32 inches) at the shoulder, and weight can range anywhere from 23–59 kilograms (50–130 pounds), making wolves the largest among all wild canids. A Coyote... weighs between 9 - 22 kilograms (20 - 50 lb), averaging 14 kg (31 lb). The coyote stands less than 0.6 meters (2 feet) tall.
The coyote varies in color from white-gray to tan with sometimes a reddish tint to its coat. A coyote's ears and nose appear long and pointed, especially in relation to the size of its head. The coyote can be identified by its thick bushy tail, which it often holds low to the ground. It can be distinguished from its much larger relative, the Gray Wolf, by its overall slight appearance compared to the massive size and stockiness of the bigger canid. The coyote is an extremely lean animal and may appear underfed even if healthy.

Wolves have stout, blocky muzzles that help distinguish them from coyotes and dogs. Larger paw size, yellow eyes, longer legs, and bigger teeth further distinguish adult wolves from other canids, particularly dogs. Wolves have distinct winter and summer pelages that alternate in spring and autumn. Females tend to keep their winter coats further into the spring than males.
Coloration varies greatly, and runs from gray to gray-brown, all the way through the canine spectrum of white, red, brown, and black. These colors tend to mix in many populations to form predominantly blended individuals, though it is certainly not uncommon for an individual or an entire population to be entirely one color (usually all black or all white). A multicolor coat characteristically lacks any clear pattern other than it tends to be lighter on the animal's underside. Fur color sometimes corresponds with a given wolf population's environment; for example, all-white wolves are much more common in areas with perennial snow cover. Aging wolves acquire a grayish tint in their coats.

Besides the physical differences there are major differences in behaviour... coyotes and grey wolves have very different sounding vocal communication and body language, this is what coyotes sound like and they are usually alone only sometimes howling in chorus... http://www.junglewalk.com/Asounds/coyote1.wav
http://www.southwestwildlife.org/sounds/coyote1.wav

This is what grey wolves sound like and they usually howl in chorus.. http://www.thewildones.org/Audio/wolf.au
http://www.fws.gov/video/sounds/11wolfhowls.mp3

They also have different social habits, wolves live in packs with an established social hierarchy.. Packs can contain 2–20 wolves, though an average pack consists of 6 or 7. They are not very adaptable, and have difficulty dealing with any kind of changes in thier environment and food sources. Wolves are mostly carnivorous and prey on large herbivores for the most part like elk, deer, moose and caribou.

Coyotes may occasionally assemble in small packs, but naturally hunt alone. Coyotes are extremely adaptable, and in the absence of wolves they will form packs and begin to hunt larger prey, where civilisation has encroached on thier habitat they easily adapted to the new environment and have become city scavengers much like raccoons. Coyotes are omnivores, and adapt thier diet to the available food sources.. their prey usually consists mostly of small mammals like rabbits, mice, voles etc they also eat fruits, nuts and vegetation. In Yellowstone National Park, before the reintroduction of the wolf, coyotes began to fill the wolf's ecological niche, and hunted in packs to bring down large prey.

Answer 9

wolves are a bit stockier and hunt in packs
coyotes are more slender and usually hunt alone. Despite what you have heard neither attack people.

Answer 10

coyotes probably wont attack you even if they get the chance
My brother raised wolves, and I wouldnt turn my back on them. Not that they would attack you, but they would like to. If given the chance.