--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With their sinewy legs, lean flanks, and…" description: "\"“With their sinewy legs, lean flanks, and narrow muzzles, coyotes appear to be designed for speed and savage assault, and yet even as they face you dow..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/dean-r-koontz-72342_quote_with-their-sinewy-legs-lean-flanks-and-n_576153.jpg" --- # With their sinewy legs, lean flanks, and narrow muzzles… ![“With their sinewy legs, lean flanks, and narrow muzzles, coyotes appear to be designed for speed and savage assault, and yet even as they face you down with a predatory gleam in their eyes, they have some of the appeal of dogs. Prairie wolves, some people call them, and although they lack most of…” quote by Dean R. Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/dean-r-koontz-72342_quote_with-their-sinewy-legs-lean-flanks-and-n_576153.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/dean-r-koontz-72342_quote_with-their-sinewy-legs-lean-flanks-and-n_576153.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/dean-r-koontz-72342_quote_with-their-sinewy-legs-lean-flanks-and-n_576153.jpg) > ““With their sinewy legs, lean flanks, and narrow muzzles, coyotes appear to be designed for speed and savage assault, and yet even as they face you down with a predatory gleam in their eyes, they have some of the appeal of dogs. Prairie wolves, some people call them, and although they lack most of the charm of wolves, they do have a puppylike quality because their feet are too big for their bodies and their ears are too big for their heads.”” Dean R. Koontz ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Coyotes are built for speed and aggression yet retain a dog‑like charm, highlighting paradoxical traits in nature. **In simple terms:** Coyotes are fierce but also endearing. Key Takeaway Recognize complexity in seemingly simple things. Themes nature paradox perception Mood curious appreciative Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - wildlife observation - environmental education - personal reflection Key Concepts animal behavior human‑animal connection Questions to Reflect On - Why do we find certain wild traits appealing? - How does this perception affect conservation attitudes? A Different Perspective May romanticize wildlife, overlooking ecological impacts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coyotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coyotes/) ## Related quotes > [“And sleep that night on the cold plains of a foreign land, forty-six men wrapped in their blankets under the selfsame stars, the prairie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/and-sleep-that-night-on-the-cold-plains-of-a-foreign-land-forty-six/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [A herd of prairie-wolves will enter a field of melons and quarrel about the division of the spoils as fiercely and noisily as so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-herd-of-prairie-wolves-will-enter-a-field-of-melons-and-quarrel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A decent cowboy does not take what belongs to someone else and if he does he deserves to be strung up and left for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-bean/a-decent-cowboy-does-not-take-what-belongs-to-someone-else-and-if-he/) [Roy Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-bean/) > [Each place its own mind, its own psyche! Oak, Madrone, Douglas fir, red-tailed hawk, serpentine in the sandstone, a certain scale to the topography,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-abram/each-place-its-own-mind-its-own-psyche-oak-madrone-douglas-fir-red/) [David Abram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-abram/) > [Texas governor Rick Perry has been in the race only three days, and he's already blowing away the competition like it is a trespassing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/texas-governor-rick-perry-has-been-in-the-race-only-three-days-and-he/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Coyote never loses. Because I change the rules of the games my enemies play. What are the rules of your game?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/coyote-never-loses-because-i-change-the-rules-of-the-games-my-enemies/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [All we want, whether we are honeybees, salmon, trash-collecting ants, ponderosa pines, coyotes, human beings, or stars, is to love and be loved, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/all-we-want-whether-we-are-honeybees-salmon-trash-collecting-ants/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [“Grandpa would go for strolls alone through the pastures where meadowlarks and grasshoppers flew like broken-winged birds, where rabbits constructed their havens, and where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lingerfelt/grandpa-would-go-for-strolls-alone-through-the-pastures-where/) [James Russell Lingerfelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lingerfelt/) > [I am the reality of all coyotes. The archetype. The epitome. You are just a reflection of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-am-the-reality-of-all-coyotes-the-archetype-the-epitome-you-are/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“They used to treat sheep carcasses with Lithium so if the Coyotes went after the herd and bit on the treated carcasses, the got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-jamison/they-used-to-treat-sheep-carcasses-with-lithium-so-if-the-coyotes/) Kay Jamison > [Life's not linear at all. It happens in lighting flashes. So fast you don't see those lay-you-out cold moments coming at you until you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/life-s-not-linear-at-all-it-happens-in-lighting-flashes-so-fast-you/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [You have a coyote inside you and you have to get it out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/you-have-a-coyote-inside-you-and-you-have-to-get-it-out/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [On my recent trip to the Mexico border, Border Patrol agents in California told me they have arrested the same coyotes 20 times, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-keller/on-my-recent-trip-to-the-mexico-border-border-patrol-agents-in/) [Ric Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-keller/) > [In this dream, I wasn’t a coyote shapeshifter trying to hold a werewolf, I was Coyote’s almost daughter, and I had all the strength…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/in-this-dream-i-wasn-t-a-coyote-shapeshifter-trying-to-hold-a/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [ People say, "Look, your book \[Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty's Favorite Uncle\] is about tall tales." And I said, "No, you don't understand,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/si-robertson/people-say-look-your-book-tales-and-wisdom-from-duck-dynasty-s/) [Si Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/si-robertson/) ## More by Dean R. Koontz > [“Each small meanness, each thoughtless expression of hatred, each envious and bitter act, regardless of how petty, can inspire others, and is therefore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-r-koontz/each-small-meanness-each-thoughtless-expression-of-hatred-each/) Dean R. Koontz > [“On the night that I was born, my paternal grandfather, Josef Tock, made ten predictions that shaped my life. Then he died in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-r-koontz/on-the-night-that-i-was-born-my-paternal-grandfather-josef-tock-made/) Dean R. Koontz Explore all 3 Dean R. Koontz quotes ## More Coyotes quotes > [ People say, "Look, your book \[Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty's Favorite Uncle\] is about tall tales." And I said, "No, you don't understand,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/si-robertson/people-say-look-your-book-tales-and-wisdom-from-duck-dynasty-s/) [Si Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/si-robertson/) > [In this dream, I wasn’t a coyote shapeshifter trying to hold a werewolf, I was Coyote’s almost daughter, and I had all the strength…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/in-this-dream-i-wasn-t-a-coyote-shapeshifter-trying-to-hold-a/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [On my recent trip to the Mexico border, Border Patrol agents in California told me they have arrested the same coyotes 20 times, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-keller/on-my-recent-trip-to-the-mexico-border-border-patrol-agents-in/) [Ric Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-keller/) > [You have a coyote inside you and you have to get it out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/you-have-a-coyote-inside-you-and-you-have-to-get-it-out/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [Life's not linear at all. It happens in lighting flashes. So fast you don't see those lay-you-out cold moments coming at you until you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/life-s-not-linear-at-all-it-happens-in-lighting-flashes-so-fast-you/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“They used to treat sheep carcasses with Lithium so if the Coyotes went after the herd and bit on the treated carcasses, the got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-jamison/they-used-to-treat-sheep-carcasses-with-lithium-so-if-the-coyotes/) Kay Jamison > [I am the reality of all coyotes. The archetype. The epitome. You are just a reflection of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-am-the-reality-of-all-coyotes-the-archetype-the-epitome-you-are/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“Grandpa would go for strolls alone through the pastures where meadowlarks and grasshoppers flew like broken-winged birds, where rabbits constructed their havens, and where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lingerfelt/grandpa-would-go-for-strolls-alone-through-the-pastures-where/) [James Russell Lingerfelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lingerfelt/) > [All we want, whether we are honeybees, salmon, trash-collecting ants, ponderosa pines, coyotes, human beings, or stars, is to love and be loved, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/all-we-want-whether-we-are-honeybees-salmon-trash-collecting-ants/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [Coyote never loses. Because I change the rules of the games my enemies play. What are the rules of your game?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/coyote-never-loses-because-i-change-the-rules-of-the-games-my-enemies/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Texas governor Rick Perry has been in the race only three days, and he's already blowing away the competition like it is a trespassing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/texas-governor-rick-perry-has-been-in-the-race-only-three-days-and-he/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Each place its own mind, its own psyche! Oak, Madrone, Douglas fir, red-tailed hawk, serpentine in the sandstone, a certain scale to the topography,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-abram/each-place-its-own-mind-its-own-psyche-oak-madrone-douglas-fir-red/) [David Abram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-abram/) > [A decent cowboy does not take what belongs to someone else and if he does he deserves to be strung up and left for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-bean/a-decent-cowboy-does-not-take-what-belongs-to-someone-else-and-if-he/) [Roy Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-bean/) > [“Sometimes animals could not be reintroduced into the wild because they’d lost their ability to hunt, had come to rely on humans for food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-hartnett/sometimes-animals-could-not-be-reintroduced-into-the-wild-because/) [Annie Hartnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-hartnett/) > [This morning I saw a coyote walking through the sagebrush right at the very edge of the ocean ― next stop China. The coyote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brautigan/this-morning-i-saw-a-coyote-walking-through-the-sagebrush-right-at/) [Richard Brautigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brautigan/) [Browse all 100 Coyotes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coyotes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“With their sinewy legs, lean flanks, and narrow muzzles, coyotes appear to be designed for speed and savage assault, and yet even as they face you down with a predatory gleam in their eyes, they have some of the appeal of dogs. Prairie wolves, some people call them, and although they lack most of the charm of wolves, they do have a puppylike quality because their feet are too big for their bodies and their ears are too big for their heads.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dean R. 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