I recently finished this piece, titled “The Trickster,” which depicts a coyote from the Akron Zoo. Of course, if you want to consider it a wolf, that’s fine too. The Akron Zoo has both coyotes and red wolves. Their habitats are right next to each other and they look Very similar. I even overheard one of the zoo workers telling someone that she Still can’t tell them apart!

Coyotes are actually quite interesting creatures, though they’ve got a bad reputation these days since they’ve started to migrate into suburbs and more urban areas due to territory loss. They live in family groups but frequently hunt alone. The coyote is a common character in many Native American cultures and his nature varies from a helpful teacher and creator to a greedy, reckless and arrogant villain to a clever trickster.

What does a coyote mean to you? Is he a nuisance or a harmless trickster? Have you ever encountered one? Tell me below!