I grew up in rural Eastern Washington on 13 acres of apple trees, alfalfa and horse pasture. We saw coyotes all the time. We used the “proper” pronunciation which is kai-ohts. 🙂 I still clearly remember hearing them howling under the light of the full moon, and catching glimpses of them as they moved across our property in the middle of the night.
Coyotes fascinate me. They’re a weed species. Like roaches, raccoons, crows and possums (And humans for that matter. We are King Weed), they’ve managed to survive where other species have failed. While wolves have been nearly eradicated from the US, coyotes survive and in a lot of cases even thrive. There are coyotes happily living in most major cities in the US, even Manhattan. They’ve achieved this by being flexible and adapting to different habitats. It also doesn’t hurt that when put under population stress, coyote litters get bigger. Kill too many coyotes and they’ll just start making more.
It is this adaptability and tenacity that make them a great mascot for a games company IMO. The games industry is a hard industry that demands constant change and innovation. Today’s successful strategy is tomorrow’s failure. In order to survive and thrive, you must adapt. You must be flexible. You must be a clever coyote.
Clever Coyote Games 