The coyote is one of the East of America wild flying animals that look almost like a wolf. Today’s coyote population has a significant percentage of Wolfs and Domestic dogs’ DNA because of inbreeding. For this reason, several coyotes display different color diffusion on their bodies. Nevertheless there are some features which might help you to differentiate between a coyote and a wolf as well as a fox which is more familiar to most people. Among them the main difference is the presence of the tail.

Coyote Tails Look Like

The size of the coyote ranges from medium to large with the head-to-body length of a normal coyote measuring 39 to 63 inches and the tail 16 inches long. The coyotes go up to a size of a medium large breed, with the size of a German shepherd or collie type. The fur of river coyotes varies from silvery gray to black, with reddish hue on the ears and the face. However, there is one thing which is constant on the coyote and that is the black colored tip at the end of the tail.

Difference Coyote Tails vs Gray Fox Tails

The average size of the gray fox is head-to-body length varying between 21 and 29 inches and the tail is 11 to 16 inches long. It is interesting to learn that grey foxes belong to the canine family however they live up to 13 years only for a weight of 8 to 10 pounds only. What makes the gray fox well known is its special feature of climbing trees as well as its resemblance to a cat. This is because they blend in the forest and trees and spend most of their time up in the trees.

As you could gather, grey foxes are similar to red foxes and have long tails, which are approximately ¼ of the fox’s body size. Still, on the back, tail, and face, grey foxes have grey hair, while the end part of the tail is entirely black.

Although this is rather similar to the coyote tail, you ought to have little trouble distinguishing these two canines based on size. On the whole, grey fox is of comparatively shorter size and more muscular with much smaller size than coyote.

Difference Coyote Tails and Red Fox Tails

Red foxes stand 18 to 35 cm high at the shoulder and have a head-body length of between 50 and 75 cm and a tail that is 12 to 22 cm long.

With a weight of approximately 10-12 pounds, the red fox is considered to be the most omnipresent dog in the world. Red foxes exhibit long tails with white tips and orange-red colored hair. Still, because of a great variety of colors, red foxes can be described according to their build. Red foxes look like small greyhounds but owing to well developed fur they seem much larger than they actually are.

The foxes have white-tipped tails which hang down to the ground and therefore they are easily seen. The fox’s tail is even longer and ‘furrer’ than the coyote, and this is despite the fact that it is dwarfed by the coyote in size.

Difference Coyote Tails vs Wolf Tails

That kind of wolf measures, in head-to-body length, 39–63 inches long and it has a tail that measures 13–22 inches long. Did you know that wolves are the largest wild canids that can weigh between 80-100 pounds! They can be light gray to black in colour and grow up to 2. About 5 feet in height which is at the shoulder. It is bigger as compared to the coyotes and foxes and has wider snouts, the ears are shorter and round, and the tails are longer than both of them.

Since the tail of grey/grizzled animals is usually black-tipped I find the length of the tail a good discriminator. For instance, fox tails are bushy and long measuring half the length of the animal body while coyote tails are thin, dog-like and short as compared to the total body length of the animal. Well furred /bottel bristled tail is straight in the wolf. It is important to note that the Wolves tails are smaller in size compared to other dogs and their tails are cut just below or above their hocks.

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And maybe when you have observed coyotes with their upper tails rubbing on trees and on rocks leaving a message to other animals also you can actually see them applying violet gland oils for signaling and for scenting. What’s important to note here is that violet glands are not unique to coyotes alone. These are present in all the dogs and in some other species of animals not having any relationship with the dogs at all. Violet glands in foxes and wolves also secrete strong odour for marking.