Could A Maine Coyote Actually Catch A Roadrunner?

After the Kennebunk Police Department received a few complaints about coyotes in the neighborhood and then posted VERY humorous information about when and not to report sightings, we thought that we'd do a little digging.

The post from the Kennebunk PD played off the old Looney Tunes cartoon where Wile E. Coyote did his best to catch the ever speedy Road Runner.  Kudos to them, very funny stuff guys!

So, could a real life Maine coyote catch a real life roadrunner?  Lets see.

To begin with, the Greater roadrunner does not live here in Maine.  Roadrunners mainly live in the southwestern states, places like Arizona, Texas, Nevada, Southern California, New Mexico, Utah, Oklahoma and also in Mexico.  So, a Maine coyote would have to stow away on an 18-wheeler or something to actually come in contact with one.

But if it did.

Maine coyotes, at which there are over 15,000 here in the state, can run at speeds over 30 mph, according to the Maine Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, and roadrunners can only up to 20 mph, according to Wikipedia.

So, yes, a Maine coyote could actually skip the dynamite, anvils, giant catapults and anything else that it could order from the Acme Company, and just rely on its own physical being to successfully catch a roadrunner.

Just don't expect it to happen here in Maine anytime soon.