Table 13—Food Present in 114 Coyote Scats Collected at Mesa Verde National Park each Month from September 1963 through August 1964.
| Food Item | Number of occurrences | Percentage of total items |
| Sylvilagus sp. | 32 | 12.65 |
| Spermophilus variegatus | 5 | 1.97 |
| Eutamias sp. | 12 | 4.74 |
| Reithrodontomys megalotis | 4 | 1.58 |
| Peromyscus boylei | 2 | 0.79 |
| Peromyscus maniculatus | 3 | 1.18 |
| Peromyscus truei | 7 | 2.76 |
| Neotoma cinerea | 2 | 0.79 |
| Neotoma mexicana | 9 | 3.56 |
| Neotoma albigula | 5 | 1.97 |
| Neotoma sp. | 3 | 1.18 |
| Microtus longicaudus | 1 | 0.39 |
| Microtus mexicanus | 11 | 4.34 |
| Microtus montanus | 1 | 0.39 |
| Microtus sp. | 1 | 0.39 |
| Odocoileus hemionus | 59 | 23.32 |
| Grass | 34 | 13.44 |
| Juniper berries | 23 | 9.09 |
| Pinyon needles | 14 | 5.53 |
| Pinyon nuts | 1 | 0.39 |
| Arthropods | 7 | 2.76 |
| Juniper needles | 3 | 1.18 |
| Rodent or Lagomorph bones | 5 | 1.97 |
| Sceloporus sp. | 1 | 0.39 |
| Unidentified fruit | 2 | 0.79 |
| Rocks | 3 | 1.18 |
| Paper | 4 | 1.58 |
| Soil | 3 | 1.18 |
| Feathers | 5 | 1.97 |
| Total | 253 |
Hawks, owls and eagles live in the park. Red-tailed hawks were seen frequently in the burned area on the northern end of Wetherill Mesa. Both hawks and owls probably prey upon Peromyscus in Mesa Verde, for they are well-known predators upon mice and small rodents in other areas. I tried to find owl and hawk nests that were occupied, but located only nests that were abandoned or impossible to reach.
Captive gopher snakes, Pituophis melanoleucus, ate adults of both species of Peromyscus. Gopher snakes probably are the most abundant snake in the park; they feed mostly on mice and other rodents. Fur of Peromyscus was found in the stomach of a striped whipsnake, Masticophis taeniatus (Douglas, 1966:734).
Five species of Peromyscus inhabit Mesa Verde National Park (Anderson, 1961). Two of these species, P. crinitus and P. difficilis are rare, and none was taken in more than 14,000 trap nights. Several individuals of P. boylei were taken in live traps, but this species could not be regarded as common. The two remaining species, P. truei and P. maniculatus, are the most abundant species in the park. Comparison of the habitats and life-cycles of these two forms and analyses of their interrelationships have been the objectives of this study.
The distribution of P. truei in the park is regulated by the presence of living pinyon-juniper woodland where logs and hollow trees of Juniperus osteosperma provide nesting and hiding places, and where seeds of juniper trees and nuts of pinyon trees provide food. Several other investigators have reported P. truei to be associated with trees, but apparently these findings have not assumed the importance they warrant in understanding the ecology of this species. Bailey (1931:152) observed an individual of P. truei nesting in a tree on Conchas Creek, New Mexico, and thought that this species might be more arboreal than was generally supposed. The type specimen of P. t. truei was taken by Shufeldt from a "nest protruding from an opening in the dead and hollow trunk of a small pinon, at least 2 feet above the ground#8230. The nest, composed of the fine fibers of the inner bark of the pinon, was soon pulled out, and its owner dislodged...." (Shufeldt, 1885:403). Individuals of P. truei usually build nests in trees, or in hollow logs, and are therefore more abundant in pinyon-juniper woodland where there are many such nesting sites.
Rocks and stones are not necessary in the habitat of P. truei, although this species was most abundant where there was stony soil. The coincidence of rock or stones and a high density of P. truei is thought to be explainable in terms of vegetation. Stony soils support mixed shrubs as well as pinyon and juniper trees; the additional cover and source of food probably allow a greater abundance of P. truei than would be possible without the shrubs. Secondarily, the rock provides nesting sites for more mice.