You've seen it. Maybe it was on a late-night Reddit scroll or a "nature is metal" Instagram feed. A picture of a fox and a coyote standing just a few feet apart, staring at each other in some snowy meadow or a dusty backyard. It looks like a Disney movie. You're waiting for them to start talking or go on an adventure to find a lost kite.
But honestly? That photo is usually a snapshot of a very high-stakes negotiation.
Most people see these two and think "cousins." They're both canids, sure. They both have pointy ears and bushy tails. But in the actual woods, they aren't buddies. They're competitors. Sometimes, they're much worse than that. If you've ever tried to snap your own picture of a fox and a coyote together, you probably realized how rare—and tense—that moment actually is.
Coyotes are the big brothers who never learned how to share.
The Brutal Reality Behind the Lens
When a photographer captures a picture of a fox and a coyote in the same frame, they are usually documenting a "displacement event." That’s the fancy scientific term for a coyote being a jerk.
See, coyotes (Canis latrans) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) share a lot of the same menu items. They both love voles. They both go crazy for mice. Because they eat the same stuff, they don't get along. Biologists call this "interference competition." It’s not just that they don't like each other; it's that the coyote actively tries to push the fox out of the neighborhood to keep all the snacks for himself.
I remember talking to a field researcher in Yellowstone who mentioned that foxes have actually learned to live closer to humans just to stay away from coyotes. It's called the "human shield" effect. Coyotes are skittish around our houses, so the foxes take the risk of hanging out in our gardens because they know the "big bad wolf-lite" won't follow them there.
How to Tell Who is Who (Fast)
If you’re looking at a grainy picture of a fox and a coyote and trying to settle a bet, look at the legs.
Coyotes have long, lanky legs—kinda like they’re wearing high-waisted pants. Their fur is usually a muddled mix of gray, tan, and peppered black. They look like a scruffy German Shepherd that's been living in a dumpster.
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Foxes? They're smaller. Way smaller. A big red fox might hit 15 pounds. A coyote can easily double or triple that. If the animal has black "stockings" on its legs and a white tip on its tail, it’s a fox. If it looks like it’s judging your soul with a narrow, pinched face, it’s a coyote.
Why Do We Keep Seeing Them Together?
Social media loves a weird duo.
There was a famous picture of a fox and a coyote taken by a trail camera in the Santa Cruz Mountains a few years back. They were traveling through a culvert together. People lost their minds. "They're friends!" "It's real-life Fox and the Hound!"
Kinda.
Wildlife experts like those at the Post-it City Wildlife Project noted that while it looked cute, it was likely a case of "mutualism" or just plain convenience. They were using the same tunnel to avoid crossing a dangerous highway. It wasn't a friendship; it was a shared commute. Think of it like being stuck in an elevator with a coworker you don't really like. You aren't going to fight in the elevator, but you aren't getting drinks afterward either.
The Kill Zone
Here is the dark part that National Geographic won't always put in the captions.
Coyotes kill foxes.
They don't always eat them, which is the weirdest part. It’s purely tactical. If a coyote finds a fox den, it will often kill the kits. By removing the competition, the coyote ensures more food for its own pups. So, when you see a picture of a fox and a coyote where the fox is looking over its shoulder with its ears pinned back? That fox is terrified. It’s calculating the exact distance it needs to reach the nearest thicket or burrow where the bigger coyote can't fit.
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Capturing the Perfect Shot Without Dying (or Being Mean)
If you're a photographer trying to get your own picture of a fox and a coyote, you need patience and a very long lens. Like, 600mm long.
- Don't Bait: Seriously. Putting out dog food to get them in the same spot is how you get "problem animals." A fed coyote is a dead coyote because they lose their fear of humans and eventually get euthanized.
- Edge Habitats: Look for places where the forest meets a field. This is where the drama happens.
- Dawn and Dusk: They’re both crepuscular. That’s just a $10 word for "active at twilight."
- Watch the Crows: Crows are the snitches of the woods. If they are diving and screaming at something in a field, there’s a predator there.
Why the Colors Look Different in Photos
Ever notice how a fox looks neon orange in some photos and dull brown in others? Lighting.
Digital cameras often struggle with the "saturated red" of a fox’s coat in the golden hour. If you're looking at a picture of a fox and a coyote and the fox looks like a Cheeto, the photographer probably cranked the saturation. Real red foxes are more of a rusty, burnt orange. Coyotes, meanwhile, are masters of camouflage. In a black-and-white or high-contrast photo, the coyote almost disappears into the dead grass while the fox stands out like a sore thumb.
Modern Myths and Urban Legends
There's this weird idea floating around the internet that foxes and coyotes can interbreed.
Nope.
Biologically, it’s a non-starter. They are in the same family (Canidae), but different genera. It’s like a cat and a mountain lion. They’re both cats, but you aren't getting a "mountain-kitty." Coyotes can breed with dogs and wolves (hello, Coywolves!), but foxes are on their own evolutionary branch. They have a different number of chromosomes. So any picture of a fox and a coyote "mating" is either a very confused coyote or a hoax.
The "Badger" Variable
If you want to see something truly wild, look for a photo of a coyote and a badger.
That is the only "friendship" that actually holds water in the wild. Coyotes and badgers have been documented hunting together. The badger digs up the squirrels, and the coyote catches the ones that run away. They actually seem to enjoy each other's company—or at least, they tolerate it for the sake of a steak dinner.
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Foxes don't get that deal. They are the loners of the dog world.
What Your Backyard Camera is Actually Showing You
Most people get a Ring doorbell notification and see a picture of a fox and a coyote on their lawn at 3:00 AM.
If this is happening, you have a "resource-rich" environment. That’s polite talk for "you have a lot of rats or you're leaving your cat food out." Seeing both animals in the same space usually means there’s enough food to temporarily override their instinct to fight.
But watch the body language in those photos.
A fox will usually yield. It will make itself small. It might even "yell"—that terrifying, woman-screaming sound foxes make—to alert other foxes or try to startle the coyote. If the coyote has its tail up and ears forward, it's dominant. If the fox is slinking away, it’s surviving.
Actionable Tips for Identifying and Photographing These Animals
If you want to be the person who actually knows what they're looking at when a picture of a fox and a coyote pops up on your feed, keep these specific markers in mind.
- Check the Tail: A fox tail is almost as long as its body and very thick (the brush). A coyote tail is shorter, bushier at the base, and usually held low or between the legs when running.
- Look at the Ears: Fox ears are huge relative to their head size. It makes them look like they're trying to pick up satellite signals. Coyote ears are more proportional and rugged.
- Analyze the Gait: Foxes trot like cats. They are light on their feet and almost delicate. Coyotes have a "loping" gait. They look like they're on a mission, covering ground with a steady, mechanical rhythm.
- The Nose knows: Foxes have very dainty, pointed snouts. Coyotes have a broader, more "dog-like" muzzle.
When you finally see a picture of a fox and a coyote that looks peaceful, appreciate it for the rarity it is. It’s a glitch in the matrix of the natural world. It’s a moment where the constant pressure of survival took a five-minute break, allowing two of nature's most clever competitors to stand in the same patch of dirt without a fight.
To get the best results for your own wildlife photography, start by scouting local "green belts" or power-line easements. These are the highways of the animal kingdom. Set up a trail camera (I'm a fan of the Browning Strike Force series for clarity) and leave it for two weeks. Don't check it every day; you'll leave too much scent. When you finally pull that SD card, you might just find that one-in-a-million picture of a fox and a coyote that everyone else is trying to fake.
Stop looking for "friendships" and start looking for "interactions." The real story of how these two overlap in our suburbs and forests is way more interesting than a cartoon. It's a story of adaptation, stealth, and knowing exactly when to run away.