About Coyotes
Habitat and Home Range
Coyotes make their home in a variety of habitats and will den in burrows, under downed trees, in thick brambles, and similar hidden places. Even in dense urban areas, coyotes are most commonly found in natural or undeveloped areas. Overall, coyotes tend to avoid areas frequented by humans.
We can only guess at coyote home ranges in Portland because our research looks at human-coyote interactions using community-provided data—not coyote ecology using tracking collar data. We can reference research in other places to guess at our coyotes' home range size. Much of the research on urban coyote ecology comes from top coyote ecologist Stanley Gehrt and his team at the Urban Coyote Research Project. There is also a study from Toronto that we can look to. Remember, when we apply these findings to Portland’s coyotes we have to do so with a grain of salt—our landscape, culture, and animals are different.
A coyote's home range includes the space a coyote uses regularly—where they hang out, hunt, and live. Urban coyote home ranges are generally much smaller than rural home ranges. Average urban resident coyote home ranges can be anywhere from around 2.5 to 12 square miles. Transient coyotes (solitary coyotes without a defined territory) have much larger ranges—ranging from around 15 to 70 square miles. For reference, the city of Milwaukie is about 5 square miles, Beaverton is about 20 square miles, and Portland is 145 square miles. Coyotes don't use their entire home range for hunting and living; populated areas in their home range are often avoided.
Read more about urban coyote ecology and home ranges in Chicago and Toronto.
We can only guess at coyote home ranges in Portland because our research looks at human-coyote interactions using community-provided data—not coyote ecology using tracking collar data. We can reference research in other places to guess at our coyotes' home range size. Much of the research on urban coyote ecology comes from top coyote ecologist Stanley Gehrt and his team at the Urban Coyote Research Project. There is also a study from Toronto that we can look to. Remember, when we apply these findings to Portland’s coyotes we have to do so with a grain of salt—our landscape, culture, and animals are different.
A coyote's home range includes the space a coyote uses regularly—where they hang out, hunt, and live. Urban coyote home ranges are generally much smaller than rural home ranges. Average urban resident coyote home ranges can be anywhere from around 2.5 to 12 square miles. Transient coyotes (solitary coyotes without a defined territory) have much larger ranges—ranging from around 15 to 70 square miles. For reference, the city of Milwaukie is about 5 square miles, Beaverton is about 20 square miles, and Portland is 145 square miles. Coyotes don't use their entire home range for hunting and living; populated areas in their home range are often avoided.
Read more about urban coyote ecology and home ranges in Chicago and Toronto.
Jean DuSablon
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Kellie O'Donnell
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Brenna Underwood
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