The difficult fate of coyotes
In winter, among the various predators in Yellowstone, coyotes are definitely the easiest to spot. I'm not sure if it's because of their numbers, daytime activity, or the fact that their fur doesn't camouflage them well enough in the white snow. However, it's worth noting that since wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995, the coyote population has been consistently decreasing. Is this a bad thing? Certainly for coyotes, but from a biological balance perspective, it's quite the opposite. Limiting the number of coyotes leads to an increase in the population of small rodents, benefiting foxes, weasels, and many birds of prey. This is just one of the many positive effects of bringing wolves back to Yellowstone's ecosystem...