Eerie, attention-grabbing and unmistakable, the howling, yipping and yapping of coyotes are a staple of Vermont’s outdoor soundscape. A chorus of coyote howls is one we typically hear at night and not just in remote wilderness areas, but in towns, suburbs and city fringes. Howling is a basic communication behavior in coyotes that has several functions. One is to call the family group back together again after a period of individual hunting. A second reason is that coyotes howl to make their pres