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Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History, by Dan Flores
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With its uncanny night howls, unrivaled ingenuity, and amazing resilience, the coyote is the stuff of legends. In Indian folktales it often appears as a deceptive trickster or a sly genius. But legends don’t come close to capturing the incredible survival story of the coyote. As soon as Americans—especially white Americans—began ranching and herding in the West, they began working to destroy the coyote. Despite campaigns of annihilation employing poisons, gases, helicopters, and engineered epidemics, coyotes didn’t just survive, they thrived, expanding across the continent from Anchorage, Alaska, to New York’s Central Park. In the war between humans and coyotes, coyotes have won hands-down.
Coyote America is both an environmental and a deep natural history of the coyote. It traces both the five-million-year-long biological story of an animal that has become the “wolf” in our backyards, as well as its cultural evolution from a preeminent spot in Native American religions to the hapless foil of the Road Runner. A deeply American tale, the story of the coyote in the American West and beyond is a sort of Manifest Destiny in reverse, with a pioneering hero whose career holds up an uncanny mirror to the successes and failures of American expansionism.
An illuminating biography of this extraordinary animal, Coyote America isn’t just the story of an animal’s survival—it is one of the great epics of our time.
- Sales Rank: #6464 in Books
- Published on: 2016-06-07
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.25" h x 1.00" w x 6.13" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 288 pages
Review
“A masterly synthesis of scientific research and personal observation.... Much of the charm of Coyote America lies in the interludes in which the author sketches his own evolution from the teenager who thoughtlessly shot a coyote in his native Louisiana to the historian and naturalist whose fascination with the mammal that early travelers called ‘the prairie wolf’ knows no bounds.”
—Wall Street Journal
“[An] engaging study.”
—The New Yorker
“Coyotes have a legendary appeal in North America, from the folklore tales of indigenous tribes to everyone's favorite ‘Super Genius,’ Wile E. Coyote. In Coyote America, Flores does more than just shed light on the legend; he explores 5 million years of biological history that lead up to the evolution of the modern coyote (Canis latrans) and details the unique versatility of an animal that has continued to thrive despite human campaigns of annihilation.”
—Chicago Tribune
“A wonderful read ... chock full of detailed information and stories about this most adaptable mammal.”
—Psychology Today
“It is often impossible to separate how animals behave ‘wild’ from how they behave around humans. Coyotes are a startling example.... Historian Dan Flores has fun describing how coyotes make a mockery of our attempts to put nature in order: ‘It turns out, the coyote really is The Dude, and The Dude absolutely abides.’”
—New Scientist
“Historian Flores has written about the American West for decades, so it’s no surprise his gaze should turn to the region’s scrappy mascot. Over the past 500 years, the original desert-dweller has expanded its territory as far north as Alaska, south into the tropics and deep into many cities. That ubiquity has created a host of problems for both the animal and its neighbors, human and otherwise. Flores captures all sides of the situation in this detailed portrait of an American icon.”
—Discover
“[An] absorbing book.... The coyote stories in this book are among the best, and Flores is a master storyteller.”
—Natural History
“Compassionate and captivating… [Flores] warns us, ‘coexistence with coyotes is an essential lesson.’ His exuberant book is the lesson plan.”
—Christian Science Monitor
“[A] fascinating scientific and cultural history.... Deft prose and wide-ranging research do their part to carry Flores through the grimmer chapters of his narrative.... Whatever the coyote may still be wanting, that list no longer includes a book to do it justice.”
—New Mexico Magazine
"The most compelling part of Flores’ story — and what makes Coyote America an important book — is what it says about the U.S. government’s misguided and continuing battle against the coyote.”
—Santa Fe New Mexican
“Flores stares long and deeply into the coyote’s eyes, returning to us with cultural treasures both sparkling and lyrical.”
—Open Letters Monthly
“A must read for all Americans, whether you are a farmer or rancher, a suburban or city folk.”
—Mother Earth News
“The most compelling part of Flores’ story — and what makes Coyote America an important book — is what it says about the U.S. government’s misguided and continuing battle against the coyote.”
—Pasatiempo
“Coyote America possesses an extraordinary sweep and is an intriguing read.”
—Albuquerque Journal
“Wide-ranging, engaging, informative… Flores is both a fine scholar and a most engaging writer. He argues most persuasively that we need to learn to live with coyote and the other beings with which we share this earth.”
—National Parks Traveler
“In a straightforward style, the author unpacks the myths and urban legends surrounding the coyote and conveys his admiration and respect for this incredibly intelligent predator.... Highly recommended for natural history enthusiasts interested in moving beyond the conventional wisdom about coyotes to gain a deeper understanding of their presence in our midst.”
—Library Journal
“[A] spirited blend of history, anthropology, folklore, and biology that is capable of surprises.... Well written throughout and just the right length, Flores’ book makes a welcome primer for living in a land in which coyotes roam freely–in, that is to say, the Coyote America of his title.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Flores’s mix of edification and entertainment is a welcome antidote to a creature so often viewed with fear.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Nature lovers, students of U.S. natural resource policy and those charmed by the native American ‘song-dog’ will be engrossed.”
—Shelf Awareness
“As I was reading Coyote America, a coyote walked through our backyard. Magic occurs in these pages.”
—Terry Tempest Williams, author of The Hour of Land
“A biologist once told me, 'When the last man dies, a coyote will be howling over his grave.' This splendid book makes it clear why that's true, and why the persistent, enduring wildness of this remarkable neighbor should give us great delight.”
—Bill McKibben, author of Wandering Home
“With a deft blend of science and history, Dan Flores shows us the coyote as trickster, survivor, and, ultimately, a reflection of ourselves. Coyote America paints a vivid and long overdue portrait of an iconic animal. It’s a terrific book.”
—Thor Hanson, author of The Triumph of Seeds and Feathers
“In this brilliant book, Flores traces the wane and wax of the coyote. Their story is interwoven with our story, but it is also like our story, that of a species that has faced challenges and overcome them. Read this book if you want to understand the wild canids among us and also, perhaps, a little bit more about yourself.”
—Rob Dunn, author of The Man Who Touched His Own Heart
“A wily writer meets his natural subject. With erudition, pathos, and seductive humor, Dan Flores tells coyote stories that expose the animalism of Americans, and humans everywhere. The pleasure of his book is the feeling of being alive.”
—Jared Farmer, author of Trees in Paradise: A California History
“Dan Flores’s Coyote America is an utterly fascinating look at the life and range of Canis latrans. It brilliantly blends environmental history with old-fashioned storytelling. Flores is a master of the American West and a personal hero. A must read!”
—Douglas Brinkley, Professor of History at Rice University and author of Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America
“Think of Coyote America as a biography of our continent's most enigmatic and successful predator, but don't stop there. It is also a meditation, eloquent and insightful, on our relationship to wildlife, to nature, and even to our national culture. When you've read it, you won't sing the book's praises, you'll howl them.”
—William deBuys, author of The Last Unicorn and A Great Aridness
From the Inside Flap
The howl of a coyote at dusk is one of the chief symbols of the American West, but in recent years, we’ve been hearing it farther and farther east. Even New York City—about as far from the Southwest as one can get, both geographically and figuratively—has been the site of a rash of coyote sightings for more than a decade. From Central Park to the Aleutian Islands, Los Angeles to Bangor, Maine, coyotes have been found in places they’ve never been seen before: one was even discovered riding a commuter train in Oregon.
The coyote, it turns out, loves the American people. This is ironic, given that since the nineteenth century, Americans have been at war with the coyote. Nevertheless, the coyote has not only survived our onslaught, it has thrived, using the streets of our cities as springboards for a takeover of the continent. Dan Flores, acclaimed historian of the American West, charts the species’ explosive growth not just as a natural phenomenon but a cultural one, with roots in the Native American stories of a trickster god and Warner Brothers’ depiction of the hapless Wile E. Coyote. The result is an American avatar: the coyote isn’t just some very successful dog—it is us.
About the Author
Dan Flores is the A. B. Hammond Professor Emeritus of Western History at the University of Montana and the author of ten books on aspects of western US history. Flores lives just outside Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Most helpful customer reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful.
We've been trying to wipe out coyotes for a century (at taxpayer expense). Coyotes now are in every state but Hawai'i.
By lyndonbrecht
Any book by Dan Flores is worth a read. There are a number of books on coyotes, but this one is the best overall I've read. It covers several broad themes: coyote resilience, coyote individualism, coyote biology (including a little evolution, but all the science is easily understood), coyotes and people (in the broad sense--native American tales, coyotes in the city and more), and much of the book deals with the persecution of coyotes, This last is important, and Flores discusses a century of shooting, poisoning and cruelty--still going on--that must have killed several tens of millions of them. A sorry tale it is, mostly a taxpayer subsidy of agricultural hatred of predators.
Flores says that the coyote resilience is because they can function well as individuals or in groups, and can quickly adjust to the ecological possibilities of an area. This resilience evolved in part because of another kind of persecution: wolves kill coyotes and coyotes had to evolve ways to cope with that. Human eradication of wolves in most of the USA opened up opportunity for coyotes. Flores thinks coyotes are a lot like humans in being flexible and coping with stress.
There's an amusing but serious point in American attitudes. People who like the animal say "ki-YOH-tee" and people who dislike the animal (and rural Westerners) say "ki-yote." There's a bit of a cultural war over coyotes, although not as severe and militant as over wolves.
Flores discusses coyotes in cities, primarily Los Angeles and Chicago, although they've made it to New York and even Staten Island. They're in all states but Hawai'i. Flores discusses coyote mixing with wolf and dog populations. Perhaps the coyote is developing subspecies better able to cope with the human environment of cities and suburbs. The elimination of feral dogs from cities (violently done in the 19th century and domestic dogs gone feral do not last long) did the same thing elimination of wolves did, opening up areas for coyote opportunism. Coyotes can be dangerous, killing a toddler in California in 1981 and an adult woman in 2009 (in Nova Scotia). Some do eat cats, but coyotes cleaning up outdoor cats is something of an urban myth; they eat mice and rats and insects, and don't raid dumpsters.
One almost side discussion is whether there really is something called a Red Wolf. Some research has shown they have 80% coyote genes and if they are not a real species, we're spending a lot of money on them. Flores looks at the evidence and finds it rather more complicated.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
Informative History of a Misunderstood Creature
By Cathy
America’s history with the coyote is long and detailed, ranging from Native American legend and American species cleansing to the modern urban coyote populations. Dan Flores records that history here with a deliberate hand, full of respect and awe for the coyote without deifying them. This book is full of detail, and while far from comprehensive, it provides a digestible overview.
Dan Flores writes in a vivid, evocative style without veering into self-indulgent purple prose. His book’s arc follows the coyote more or less chronologically, explaining the ins and outs of America’s complex relationship with them. Occasionally his own experiences are peppered in for a personal touch and connection to the animal.
This book is recommended not just for animal enthusiasts or history buffs, but to anyone interested in the intriguing mythology and history of a remarkable creature. The legend of the coyote extends far beyond America’s attempted genocide, revealing a complex interspecies relation.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Learning from the coyote
By Philip Aaron
COYOTE AMERICA, A Natural and Supernatural History by Dan Flores addresses the evolutionary and spiritual influence of the oldest predator of the North American continent during its more than 1500 year saga of survival to avoid extinction by humans. In a very thorough study, Flores traces the mythical history of the American icon from its spiritual image for Native Americans to its present day embodiment in the Coywolf, a coyote-wolf hybrid now found in large numbers in the north eastern provinces of Canada.
Despite large scale and expensive national programs to eliminate the coyote it has survived and is presently found all over North America including a city or suburb near you. According to Flores it is these massive efforts to eradicate the coyote that triggered evolutionary forces of adaption which have allowed it to flourish and invade all parts of the continent.
Coyote America is a veritable encyclopedia of all things coyote from its image as a god for Native Americans, to efforts of the federal government to eradicate the species, to the iconic image of Disney’s Wile Coyote. The work includes a bibliography of about 100 books which Flores used to compile just about everything one would want to know about North America’s oldest predator.
Considering the present ecological consciousness, it is hard to imagine the costly efforts that humans have expended in recent history to eradicate a whole species of animals by poisoning, gunning down from airplanes or trapping. With the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973 and the influence of books such as Silent Spring we humans now realize the importance of all creatures to achieve a balance in nature between prey and predators.
Flores credits Walt Disney for popularizing the cult of the coyote and telling the coyote’s side of the story which Mark Twain and other disparaged by writing about what a “varmint” it was and the need to eradicate it from the earth. Disney popularized it cunning and attractive characteristics in films like The Coyote’s Lament and cartoons featuring the Road Runner to gain support for saving coyotes, the original trickster, from extinction.
The story of the survival and flourishing of the coyote can be a source of hope for the humans as we face enormous ecological challenges to the continuation of our own species. The basic evolutionary force appears to be for life and the coyote has shown us a way to overcome massive efforts to destroy its future. These four footed canines have continually adapted so that now they are stronger, more resilient and genetically more diverse than ever before. Can we learn from them?
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