Coyote vs mountain lion are both meat eating animals of the mammal kind that lives in North and Central America but the mountain lion is distributed throughout Americas. Senior etiquette is usually to let the other guy be unless attacked first despite the fact that they are both predators at the top of their food chain.
Coyotes and cougars, however, occasionally engage in territorial and resource competition. Who has a better chance of winning in these situations?
Mountain lions will prevail in nearly every situation.
They bite much more forcefully and have longer teeth. In addition to having larger paws, these giant cats can jump quite well. Only when a pack engaged in combat with a weaker or smaller catamount did coyotes prevail.
A brief summary of information and a strength comparison between coyote vs mountain lion may be found in the table below:
| Characteristic | Coyote | Mountain Lion |
|---|---|---|
| Body size | 3 to 4 feet | 3.3 to 5.3 feet |
| Paw size | 2 x 2.5 inch | 4 x 4.25 inch |
| Weight | 20 to 50 pounds | 90 to 175 pounds |
| Speed | 43 mph | 50 mph |
| Jumping abilities (vertically) | 3 feet | 18 feet |
| Teeth length | 1.45 inches | 1.2 to 2 inches |
| Bite force | 727 PSI | 890 PSI |
| Strike force | Up to 2,150 lb.-ft./s | Up to 8,750 lb.-ft./s |
| Behavior | Social | Solitary |
| Diet | Omnivore | Strict carnivore |
| Habitat | North and Central America | North, Central and South America |
For Canis latrans and Felis concolor species, the data of coyote vs mountain lion in the table corresponds to ranges and averages supplied by researchers and scientists. The actual strength of each coyote may differ from one another.
According to the table, the peak speed multiplied by the heaviest weight for each species is how strike forces are determined.
Coyote Vs Mountain Lion(Comparison of Strengths and Differences)
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1. Body Size
In Central and South America, where jaguars are also found, pumas are the second-biggest big cat and the largest in North America. In spite of this, mountain lions are not very large.
In terms of size, they are actually comparable to coyotes, or only marginally bigger.
Adult male cougars can grow up to 5.25 feet in length. On the other hand, females are smaller, with a maximum length of 3.25 feet. The shoulder height of a cat can range from roughly 23 to 28 inches, depending on its size.
In contrast, coyotes typically range in length from 3.3 to 4.3 feet. While smaller males and the majority of females are roughly the same length as the canids, some of the largest male cougars are larger than coyotes.
Coyotes reach a shoulder height of almost 24 inches. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that these two species do not differ much in size.
2. Paw Size
The size of the paws is the first noticeable difference between coyote vs mountain lion.
The bodies of these two predators may be comparable in size, but cougars are larger and much stockier. The dimensions of their paws, which are roughly 4 by 4.25 inches, reflect this.
Pumas of this size are ideal for walking and jogging on snow, and they can reach remarkable speeds on any type of terrain. Mountain lions are also like other cats and use retractable claws which can remain permanent and considering as handy tools when it comes to fighting.
Coyotes’ paws are about two inches wide and a quarter of a foot in length, or approximately equal to the size of a shoebox; and, unlike their wolves’ counterparts, the coyotes’ claws do not fold back in. Coyote claws grow dull and unusable in combat as it ages.
Coyotes are also slower and have a harder time moving in deep snow because of their smaller paws.
3. Weight
The weight difference between coyote vs mountain lion is another important distinction.
As earlier mentioned, Cougar is known to be big compared to normal sized Tigers. The build of adult mountain lions is to chase and ambush bigger prey and therefore their body resembles that of a lionesses. Therefore, it is quite noticeable that a mountain lion may range from 90 – 175 pounds of weight.
Despite being comparable in size, coyotes are smaller. Some coyotes may weigh less than fifty pounds, although they typically weigh between twenty and fifty pounds. Therefore, even the heaviest coyote would weigh less than the lightest mountain lion in adulthood.
4. Speed
Another point is awarded to mountain lions for speed. They can run as fast as fifty miles per hour. Coyotes can only travel up to 43 miles per hour, hence they are unable to achieve that level of performance.
Only little distances may be covered by any species at those maximum speeds. Nevertheless, pumas are still quicker than coyotes, even if they sprint more slowly over long distances.
Cougars’ predilection for prey explains their high speed.
Mountain lions, like its larger cousins, lions, hunt ungulates. These animals are capable of 40 miles per hour of travel. Therefore, the 50 mph sprint speed that cougars may achieve aids in their ability to capture their prey.
5. Jumping Abilities
We need to remember that mountain lions are from the cat family, while the coyote is from the dog family. Mountain lions, like other cats, are fairly athletic and significantly more so than coyotes.
Cougars can jump up to eighteen feet vertically in addition to running quickly. Coyotes, on the other hand, can only jump about three feet high.
The leap of a cougar is equally amazing; these creatures can cover up to 40 feet in the air. Additionally, cougars’ keen claws and flexible spines make climbing trees a breeze.
Coyotes can apparently climb as well. They only ascend trees to hunt prey, though, and they are hardly the most nimble climbers.
However, mountain lions typically scale trees to scout their area and pursue prey. They may therefore readily surprise a coyote.
6. Teeth Length
There are other areas in which cougars are superior than paw size. Not unexpectedly, their teeth are longer than coyotes’ canine teeth, but they are also robust and sharp.
Coyotes do, in fact, have canines that are sharp and up to 1.45 inches long. On the other hand, mountain lions boast of having two-inch canines.
7. Bite Force
The bite force is a different topic in which mountain lions beat coyotes.
Large cats that are suited to pursuing larger prey are cougars. In addition to having long teeth, they can bite with great force because of the structure of their jaw, which includes strong muscles and a short but big muzzle.
Coyotes’ muzzles are long and thin. They have relatively long teeth and strong facial muscles. But it’s difficult to apply the same amount of force as mountain lions because of the structure of the jaw.
Researchers proved these statements in a study comparing the bite power of large biting species. Coyotes have a biting force quotient (BFQ) of 88, or roughly 727 PSI, according to this study.
The approximate BFQ of a cougar is 108, or 890 PSI. The biting force quotient is correlated with an animal’s size, hence coyote vs mountain lion, cougars have a stronger bite than lions, in addition to the fact that mountain lions bite more forcefully than coyotes.
8. Strike Force
On the other hand, scientists are more interested in attack forces than biting forces in carnivore species like coyote vs mountain lion. This is due to the fact that carnivorous mammals employ their speed and bite, not their paw swipe, to kill.
However, the speed multiplied by body mass can be used to determine the strike force (momentum) at the point of impact.
We multiplied the maximum weight stated above by the maximum speed that each species is capable of achieving for the purposes of this comparison.
Based on these estimations, coyotes can exert up to 66–67 pounds of force (2,150 lb.-ft./s) during an attack.
Mountain lions have a naturally higher strike force since they are heavier and faster. Their top speed is 8,750 lb.-ft./s, or around 272 pounds of force.
9. Behavior
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Coyotes may have an advantage due to their social behavior, provided that they do not encounter mountain lions when hunting.
This is due to the fact that although coyotes are gregarious animals (much like wolves and other canids), they actually live a semi-solitary lifestyle, usually hunting and foraging by themselves.
However, coyote groups usually sleep in shared dens and are normally made up of a mated pair and their young.
The mountain lion is a lonely creature. The only social groupings they create are those formed by mothers and their dependent cubs, and they only congregate together for a few days during the mating season.
Young mountain lions set up shop in a new area after becoming adults and going their separate ways.
Coyote vs mountain lion may encounter each other because they share similar geographic ranges and habitats. These mammals may struggle for resources since their areas frequently overlap.
If a lone mountain lion faces the entire coyote pack, this is where the coyotes can have the upper hand and prevail in a battle. But if the mountain lion is a big, powerful adult, coyotes will probably still lose.
10. Diet
Although coyote vs mountain lion both consume meat, coyotes are regarded as omnivores, whereas cougars are strict carnivores.
Mountain lions hunt covertly, and their preferred prey is deer. These predators typically attack from behind and stalk their prey.
Mountain lions may also hunt rodents, rabbits, and even coyotes during times when there is a lack of available prey.
Since coyote vs mountain lion, coyotes are weaker than mountain lions, they typically choose smaller prey. Their primary food sources include rodents, rabbits, and various small mammals, amphibians, lizards, and birds.
They may also target pets, cattle, and poultry when they are close to human areas. They also eat rubbish and add fruits and other plant items to their diets because they are opportunistic omnivores.
One similarity between coyotes and pumas is that they are both opportunistic scavengers in addition to predators.
11. Habitat
North and Central America include the coyote, which is mainly a wild dog. They [adult males] are not native to South American but are residing in North America from Canada to Mexico and other places.
They are widespread in different habitats such as forests, grasslands, mountains, deserts, marshes and even suburban parks, and do not have degrees of specificity where to live.
Mountain lions are mostly a mountain dwelling species as their name suggests , though they have been know to live in lower elevations in some regions. These large cats, however, inhabit various areas – South America, up to Canada. They are also located in coast or nearby woodland and desert regions.
Due to the modality of the two species occupying different zones, there is potential that the two species may cross paths.
Neither is a threatened species, and none of them are even considered vulnerable; both species are abundant in the wild. However, for some reasons, hunting pumas is restricted in a number of countries, as well as in some states of America since pumas belong to the list of protected species.
Who Would Win A Fight?
Even though the bodies of both the coyotes and pumas may be quite similar, mountain lions are considerably larger, heavier and are stronger than the coyotes are. During the periods when there is hunger they kill and eat them too.
Anything other than a mountain lion cub or a very old/sick person or person in generally poor health can seriously whip a coyote in a fight.
A male mountain lion may yet prevail against a band of coyotes. However, a smaller female or baby cougar might be killed by the pack. In general, however, the mountain lions would win the gold medal.