CritterTrack

Category: Explorations

  • What are the limiting factors for coyote populations?

    What potential dangers to the coyotes are present in each territory? Do coyotes have predators? What keeps their population under control? What role does the Illinois Department of Natural Resources play in population management? What specific hunting and trapping rules protect coyotes from over-harvest?

    Within each territory in the Visualizer, where would coyote–vehicle collisions occur? How have urban coyotes adapted to navigating along and across streets? What design solutions could reduce coyote–vehicle collisions?

  • Describe a day in the life of a coyote

    What do you think a coyote is doing at different locations or at different times of the day? Select a coyote and a day within the tracking period. Write a narrative that describes that day in the life of the coyote.

  • Within each territory, are there areas coyotes use more frequently than others?

    Look at the characteristics of the land the coyotes utilize. Are there areas they tend to avoid or use more frequently? Why do you think that is? Can you identify “travel corridors” through which the coyotes frequently move?  For a given week, what percentage of coyote locations are in the open as comparied to those in wooded or sheltered areas?

  • What can you learn from the charts on the Critter Track Visualizer?

    What can you learn from each of the charts on the Visualization Tool? Write a summary based on the data represented in the charts. Create your own chart of something you observe about coyotes on the Visualization Tool or gather from the available data download. How are charts helpful to scientists and non-scientists?

  • When are coyotes most active?

    What times of the day or night are coyotes most active?

    Why do you think this is?

  • Analyze coyote travel patterns between individuals, seasonally and more

    Study the travel patterns of the coyotes in the Visualizer. Do travel patterns and distances traveled differ:

    • Between males and females?
    • During day or night? When there is a full or new moon?
    • Seasonally?
    • In different territories?
    • In different parts of the country?
    • In different weather conditions?

    What can be inferred from these differences or similarities? What other travel patterns can you explore or compare?