Q 01/05

What does the coyote's scientific name, Canis latrans, mean?

A) Barking dog

B) Prairie wolf

C) Little wolf

D) Desert runner

Answer · why

A) Barking dog

It has been called 'the most vocal of all wild North American mammals', with at least 11 distinct calls.

Q 02/05

The word 'coyote' is a Spanish borrowing from which language?

A) Quechua

B) Navajo

C) Nahuatl

D) Apache

Answer · why

C) Nahuatl

The Aztec word was coyotl; the first published use came in Clavijero's Historia de México of 1780.

Q 03/05

How many coyote subspecies are recognised?

A) 19

B) 5

C) 9

D) 14

Answer · why

A) 19

Eastern ones are large and dark; the animals get paler and smaller westward and redder in Mexico and Central America.

Q 04/05

How much does an average male coyote weigh?

A) 8 to 20 kg

B) 20 to 30 kg

C) 30 to 40 kg

D) 40 to 60 kg

Answer · why

A) 8 to 20 kg

Northern coyotes average about 18 kg and Mexican ones about 11.5 kg; the record, shot in Wyoming in 1937, was 34 kg.

Q 05/05

How does the IUCN classify the coyote?

A) Least Concern

B) Near Threatened

C) Vulnerable

D) Endangered

Answer · why

A) Least Concern

It is abundant across North America and still expanding its range, including into cities.

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