Episode 94: Coyotes

Both a local pest and an evening orchestra, the coyote is one of the many charismatic animals that roam the Oklahoma plains. Being intelligent little scavengers with territorial tendencies, many people see them more as pests than anything else. With a estimated population of only around one thousand in the state, they are surprisingly common to spot all around Oklahoma . Their low numbers could be due to a number of different things like the popularity of coyote hunting, habitat loss, or the fact that wild coyotes only live about six to eight years. Despite their low population, they continue to loom large in people’s imagining of Oklahoma.

Today, we’re highlighting stories, both the good and the bad, about the mischievous coyote and how they have been perceived in the Oklahoma landscape as symbols of sustenance, beauty, and place. We’ll also hear from Jerrod Davis, a federal biologist at Oklahoma’s Department of Wildlife Conservation about coyote behaviors and how leaving them alone can sometimes offer the least conflict.