The two that responded had been close-by. I’ve heard a dad start yipping, apparently calling to his family, and then two of his pups respond but not the others. Why do coyotes yip, bark, or howl? What are the types of things they communicate verbally (remember that most coyote communication is quiet and through body language)? Warnings, hellos, happiness, joy, anger, distress disapproval, dislike, pain, their whereabouts are some of the things they express out-loud. Context is important - it determines the meaning of any vocalizations. However, there is much more that is relevant for them, and the examples below dip into this a little. The same might be said of coyote noises: barks, growls, howls and yips are the terms most of us apply to coyotes. Further south on the continent, our terms for snow are limited to what is relevant to us: powder, icy, slush, new, wet, dry. Eskimos have 50 or so terms for snow to differentiate very relevant differences that they need to know. We don’t have terms for all of the sounds they emit as far as I know, and since they run in a continuum, and mostly meld together, it might be hard to break them down into exact discrete descriptive terms. Among the coyotes I know, I can distinguish who is howling in the distance because I’ve learned their individual howl patterns. They can be identified this way by other family members - just as we can identify voices over the telephone. In addition, their voices are probably as individually different as our own. The unique pattern combinations, lengths and use of these various articulations, can form signature howls for individual coyotes. They use their mouths, lips (at the sides) and tongues in addition to their vocal chords. Within their sing-songy yips and howls, they are able to produce a variety of tones, pitches, modulations, inflections - sometimes with warbles, lilts, crescendos and trills. Coyote “songs” can last for 20 minutes or longer. By the way, I have not encountered coyotes howling for no reason at all, and I have not encountered coyotes howling before or after a kill - yips and howling appear not to be an indication of an eminent attack on prey nor a celebration thereof. How far off do you think you can hear a howl? I investigated this question in the post by that name - just click on it to read it. Yipping, howling, and any other vocalizations may be heard at any time of day or night - this is because coyotes themselves are diurnal animals, meaning they can be active at any time during a 24-hour day. And each coyote - and by extension each coyote family - has its own unique variation on the general themes. Family internal affairs are much more all-consuming than anything else going on in the ‘outside world’ for them: family life is what they live for. Coyotes have intense family lives, so it’s the interpersonal communication/vocalizations which predominate. Their sounds do not constitute “a definite language” per-se, but consist more of emotional output - emotings - which can be easily read by other coyotes and by those of us who spend time listening to them in situ as they go about their social activities. By carefully observing the contexts in which any vocalization occurs and knowing different coyote positions and relationships in the family, we can figure out why they were emitted and what meaning they have for other coyotes. I’m including a number of vocalization videos for you to hear. Coyotes are not forever vocal as humans are they tend to be on the quiet side - except when they aren’t! Coyote communication occurs mostly via eye contact, facial expressions and body language and it can be very subtle. What I write here is based entirely on my own twelve years - now 15 years! - of hearing and documenting coyotes in their natural settings and in context. COMMUNICATION by coyotes is one of my passionate interests, just as is their family life and social interactions.
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