Coyote (Canis latrans) with a vole in its mouth after catching it in the snow. The coyote, also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. Coyotes eat small mammals such as rabbits and rodents. They also eat fish, frogs, insects, snakes, deer, and will even eat fruit and grass. Photographed the Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA.