I have struggled in the past to tell the difference between a wolf and a coyote, and even today it’s difficult for me to tell the difference without a good look through binoculars or a long lens. A gray wolf and a coyote look very similar. So how can you tell the difference?
Take a guess based on the above photos, and we’ll see how you did by the end!
If the canine you’re looking at is black, the decision is easy – it’s a wolf. However, the coloration of a gray wolf and a coyote is very similar when viewing them in isolation. Even their tails have a similar look – bushy and thick, like a fox’s tail.
One major difference, which you won’t be able to see in the photos and will be hard-pressed to judge viewing at a distance, is size. Coyotes tend to be at most around 50 pounds. Wolves, on the other hand, tend to be between 80 and 130 pounds (based on data from wolves in Yellowstone). The largest recorded wolf, observed in Alaska, was around 175 pounds.
Coyotes tend to be just shy of about two feet tall at the shoulder. Wolves, on the other hand, are just under three feet tall.
What I find most useful for differentiation is the face. To me, a coyote’s face looks very fox-like. They have a longer, narrower snout and longer, pointier ears. A wolf, on the other hand, looks more dog-like (or perhaps we should say a dog is more wolf-like). They have a shorter, thicker snout and their ears are shorter and more rounded.
With these descriptions in hand, hopefully you can look back at the photos above and identify canine A (on the left) as a wolf and canine B as a coyote.