I'm sure they are. I know the coyotes appear to be denning right now. My daughter and I were walking our two Aussies through some trails in the woods and came upon what I would guess was a female yote. Heard her before we saw her. She was yipping and howling non-stop. When I finally saw her, she was on a small ridge top looking down at us and actually came down and started following us, howling and yipping the entire time. Of course this happens one of the few times I wasn't carrying. I told my daughter to take the dogs and get on down the trail. I grabbed a big stick and followed behind them. I bet she followed us a 100yds or so. I'm guessing she had pups nearby and was trying to scare us off and protect her den.