Living in Colorado we are very familiar with coyotes! However, my husband just spent a month in Canada, so I asked if he knew that there are about 60,000 wolves in Canada. Pretty amazing. So naturally we had to figure out if he knew the common differences between these two animals.
First off coyotes are much smaller than wolves, but if they’re not hanging out playing poker side-by-side, it’s hard to measure a difference! Wolves are about 6ft long while coyotes usually average 4ft. If I haven’t mentioned before I’m pretty bad at math. It’s a big reason we don’t offer math printables! So 6ft vs 4ft when you’re hopefully 100 million ft away .. good luck!
Wolves have a block round face while coyotes have a pointy snout.
“What big ears you have ..” Little Red Riding Hood was a little off comparing The Big Bad Wolf’s ears to a coyote’s ears. Wolves have short round ears while coyotes have long pointy ears. But Grandma’s ears are still smaller!
They say wolves hunt in packs while coyotes are more alone, but here in Colorado – they howl and it’s a chorus of spine tingling yips of laughter. Very high pitched and uncomfortable than a howl of the wolf.
Both wolf & coyote are part of the dog family. And both mate during the later winter.
Wolves have better vision than coyotes. Wolves have better peripheral vision, night vision and can see up to 75ft farther than the average human.
Wolf or Coyote Animal Study
Print the Similar yet Different Science Worksheet as you study the differences between a wolf and a coyote, but also note the similarities! Genetic studies tell us that all dogs trace back to an extinct wolf species shared with the gray wolf, Canis lupus.
Wolf Reading
Looking for some wolf reads? Of course my boys loved reading about Sirius Black being a wolf in the Harry Potter series. You might also incorporate: White Fang, The Call of the Wild, Little Red Riding Hood, or read Roman Mythology about Romulus & Remus and Norse Mythology stories of Fenrir. Or take it down a notch with a three headed dog, Cerberus, from our Greek Mythology Worksheets.
Canada
And if by chance you’re learning about wolves in Canada, or just studying Canada like we are while Hubs is traveling there – be sure to print the Canada Country Pack!