Coyote (Canis latrans) food habits in three urban habitat types of western Washington

The coyote (Canis latrans) is a common resident in urban areas throughout the United States, yet little is known about coyote diets in these environments. I characterized the annual diet of coyotes in an urban environment of western Washington by analyzing their scat from three areas representing typical patterns of human occupation and density: residential (1413 humans/km super(2)), mixed agricultural-residential (348 humans/km super(2)), and mixed forest-residential (126 humans/kin super(2)). Coyote scats were collected twice a month for 1 year (Nov. 1989-Oct. 1990) in each habitat type. Fruits and mammals were the largest classes of food items in all habitat types and their seasonal use was similar among habitats. Apple (Malus spp.) and cherry (Prunus spp.) were the most abundant fruits in the scats, and ranged from 22-41% and 9-13% of the annual diet, respectively. Vole (Microtus spp.) was the most abundant mammalian food item (41.7%) of coyotes in mixed agricultural-residential habitat while house cat (Felis catus) and squirrel (Sciurus spp. and Tamiasciurus spp.) were the two most abundant mammalian food items (13.1 and 7.8%, respectively) of coyotes in residential habitat. No single mammalian species made up >6.0% of the coyote diet in mixed forest-residential habitat. Coyotes in my western Washington study area rely on foods that result from human activity but those foods, particularly mammals, may change as land use patterns change.