Although coyotes can kill their own game, they also take advantage of carrion.
In this video by Allie Ladd, a frequent contributor to Bangor Daily News, a coyote is protecting the food he found from other scavengers. Coyotes are very territorial.
Coyotes naturally eat small animals, including snowshoe hare, mice, rats, woodchucks, beavers, squirrels, snakes, frogs, fish, birds, plus grass, fruits and berries, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
They also hunt in pairs or groups to kill deer, especially during the winter when snow hampers the bigger animal’s ability to escape.
They are opportunistic and may eat pet food, garbage, garden crops, livestock and poultry if given the chance, the department says.
The eastern coyote can weigh 30-35 pounds and in the wild can live an average of six years. Biologists think there are approximately 12,000 of them in the state.
Coyotes can be hunted and trapped in Maine and are managed as fur-bearers.
