On a bitter cold February morning, a coyote asserts itself over another for reasons unknown. Yellowstone coyotes weigh from 30 to 40 pounds, stand less than two feet tall and live an average of about six years, although one Yellowstone coyote lived to be more than 13 before it was killed and eaten by a cougar. Coyotes are easy to distinguish from their much larger relative, the gray wolf, by their overall slight appearance compared to the massive 75 to 125-pound stockiness of a wolf.