Coyotes in North Carolina...coyotes released to chase with hounds. Coyote Distribution: Mid-1980s ....

Coyotes in North CarolinaTITLE

History, Distribution, and Status

North American Coyote Distribution: Prior to European Settlement

North American Coyote Distribution:Current

Coyotes in North Carolina

Description

Typically 25-40 pounds

Variation in color

NC Coyotes: Prior to 1983

•1938: Gaston

•1947: Swain

•1955: Johnston

•1970: Wake

•1977: Surry

•1978: Surry Ne

wH

an

ov

er

Onslow

Carteret

Craven

Pamlico

Beaufort

Hyde

Dare

Northampton

Hertford

Ch

ow

an

Perq

uim

ans

Cam

den

Pasq

uotan

k

Curritu

ck

Granville

Durham

Alam

ance

Montgomery

Richmond

Scotland`

Cleveland

Mecklenburg

McDowell

Mitchell

Transylvania

Henderson 1938

1947

1970

19551975

19771978

Alexander

Alleghany

Anson

Ashe

Avery

Bertie

Bladen

Brunswick

Buncombe

Burke

Cabarrus

Caldwell

Caswell

Catawba Chatham

Cherokee

Clay

Columbus

Cumberland

Davidson

Davie

Duplin

Edgecombe

Forsyth

Franklin

Gaston

Gates

Graham

Greene

Guilford

Halifax

Harnett

Haywood

Hoke

Iredell

Jackson

Johnston

Jones

Lee

Lenoir

Lincoln

Macon

Madison Martin

Moore

Nash

Orange

Pender

Person

Pitt

Polk

Randolph

Robeson

Rockingham

Rowan

Rutherford

Sampson

Stanly

StokesSurry

Swain

Tyrrell

Union

Vance

Wake

Warren

Washington

Watauga

Wayne

Wilkes

Wilson

Yadkin

Yancey

GreeneJohnston

Wilson

Coyotes Spread across the Southeast

•Louisiana: late 1940s

•Arkansas: 1960s

•East of the Mississippi River•1970s through 1980s•Expedited by merging local populations from

coyotes released to chase with hounds

Coyote Distribution: Mid-1980s

Coyotes in NC: Post-1983

•Collection of reliable reports & specimens helped track coyotes in North Carolina

•Populations first established in eastern part of state obviously from illegal translocations

•1988–1990: First natural migration into western counties

•After 1996: All populations merged together

Coyote Occurrences1983 – 1985

Ne

wH

an

ov

er

Onslow

Carteret

Craven

Pamlico

Beaufort

Hyde

Dare

Northampton

Hertford

Ch

ow

an

Perq

uim

ans

Cam

den

Pasq

uotan

k

Curritu

ck

Granville

Durham

Alam

ance

Montgomery

Richmond

Scotland`

Cleveland

Mecklenburg

McDowell

Mitchell

Transylvania

Henderson

Alexander

Alleghany

Anson

Ashe

Avery

Bertie

Bladen

Brunswick

Buncombe

Burke

Cabarrus

Caldwell

Caswell

Catawba Chatham

Cherokee

Clay

Columbus

Cumberland

Davidson

Davie

Duplin

Edgecombe

Forsyth

Franklin

Gaston

Gates

Graham

Greene

Guilford

Halifax

Harnett

Haywood

Hoke

Iredell

Jackson

Johnston

Jones

Lee

Lenoir

Lincoln

Macon

Madison Martin

Moore

Nash

Orange

Pender

Person

Pitt

Polk

Randolph

Robeson

Rockingham

Rowan

Rutherford

Sampson

Stanly

StokesSurry

Swain

Tyrrell

Union

Vance

Wake

Warren

Washington

Watauga

Wayne

Wilkes

Wilson

Yadkin

Yancey

GreeneJohnston

Wilson

Coyote Occurrences1988

Ne

wH

an

ov

er

Onslow

Carteret

Craven

Pamlico

Beaufort

Hyde

Dare

Northampton

Hertford

Ch

ow

an

Perq

uim

ans

Cam

den

Pasq

uotan

k

Curritu

ck

Granville

Durham

Alam

ance

Montgomery

Richmond

Scotland`

Cleveland

Mecklenburg

McDowell

Mitchell

Transylvania

Henderson

Alexander

Alleghany

Anson

Ashe

Avery

Bertie

Bladen

Brunswick

Buncombe

Burke

Cabarrus

Caldwell

Caswell

Catawba Chatham

Cherokee

Clay

Columbus

Cumberland

Davidson

Davie

Duplin

Edgecombe

Forsyth

Franklin

Gaston

Gates

Graham

Greene

Guilford

Halifax

Harnett

Haywood

Hoke

Iredell

Jackson

Johnston

Jones

Lee

Lenoir

Lincoln

Macon

Madison Martin

Moore

Nash

Orange

Pender

Person

Pitt

Polk

Randolph

Robeson

Rockingham

Rowan

Rutherford

Sampson

Stanly

StokesSurry

Swain

Tyrrell

Union

Vance

Wake

Warren

Washington

Watauga

Wayne

Wilkes

Wilson

Yadkin

Yancey

GreeneJohnston

Wilson


Ne

wH

an

ov

er

Onslow

Carteret

Craven

Pamlico

Beaufort

Hyde

Dare

Northampton

Hertford

Ch

ow

an

Perq

uim

ans

Cam

den

Pasq

uotan

k

Curritu

ck

Granville

Durham

Alam

ance

Montgomery

Richmond

Scotland`

Cleveland

Mecklenburg

McDowell

Mitchell

Transylvania

Henderson

Alexander

Alleghany

Anson

Ashe

Avery

Bertie

Bladen

Brunswick

Buncombe

Burke

Cabarrus

Caldwell

Caswell

Catawba Chatham

Cherokee

Clay

Columbus

Cumberland

Davidson

Davie

Duplin

Edgecombe

Forsyth

Franklin

Gaston

Gates

Graham

Greene

Guilford

Halifax

Harnett

Haywood

Hoke

Iredell

Jackson

Johnston

Jones

Lee

Lenoir

Lincoln

Macon

Madison Martin

Moore

Nash

Orange

Pender

Person

Pitt

Polk

Randolph

Robeson

Rockingham

Rowan

Rutherford

Sampson

Stanly

StokesSurry

Swain

Tyrrell

Union

Vance

Wake

Warren

Washington

Watauga

Wayne

Wilkes

Wilson

Yadkin

Yancey

GreeneJohnston

Wilson

Coyote Occurrences 1996

Ne

wH

an

ov

er

Onslow

Carteret

Craven

Pamlico

Beaufort

Hyde

Dare

Northampton

Hertford

Ch

ow

an

Perq

uim

ans

Cam

den

Pasq

uotan

k

Curritu

ck

Granville

Durham

Alam

ance

Montgomery

Richmond

Scotland`

Cleveland

Mecklenburg

McDowell

Mitchell

Transylvania

Henderson

Alexander

Alleghany

Anson

Ashe

Avery

Bertie

Bladen

Brunswick

Buncombe

Burke

Cabarrus

Caldwell

Caswell

Catawba Chatham

Cherokee

Clay

Columbus

Cumberland

Davidson

Davie

Duplin

Edgecombe

Forsyth

Franklin

Gaston

Gates

Graham

Greene

Guilford

Halifax

Harnett

Haywood

Hoke

Iredell

Jackson

Johnston

Jones

Lee

Lenoir

Lincoln

Macon

Madison Martin

Moore

Nash

Orange

Pender

Person

Pitt

Polk

Randolph

Robeson

Rockingham

Rowan

Rutherford

Sampson

Stanly

StokesSurry

Swain

Tyrrell

Union

Vance

Wake

Warren

Washington

Watauga

Wayne

Wilkes

Wilson

Yadkin

Yancey

GreeneJohnston

Wilson


Ne

wH

an

ov

er

Onslow

Carteret

Craven

Pamlico

Beaufort

Hyde

Dare

Northampton

Hertford

Ch

ow

an

Perq

uim

ans

Cam

den

Pasq

uotan

k

Curritu

ck

Granville

Durham

Alam

ance

Montgomery

Richmond

Scotland`

Cleveland

Mecklenburg

McDowell

Mitchell

Transylvania

Henderson

Alexander

Alleghany

Anson

Ashe

Avery

Bertie

Bladen

Brunswick

Buncombe

Burke

Cabarrus

Caldwell

Caswell

Catawba Chatham

Cherokee

Clay

Columbus

Cumberland

Davidson

Davie

Duplin

Edgecombe

Forsyth

Franklin

Gaston

Gates

Graham

Greene

Guilford

Halifax

Harnett

Haywood

Hoke

Iredell

Jackson

Johnston

Jones

Lee

Lenoir

Lincoln

Macon

Madison Martin

Moore

Nash

Orange

Pender

Person

Pitt

Polk

Randolph

Robeson

Rockingham

Rowan

Rutherford

Sampson

Stanly

StokesSurry

Swain

Tyrrell

Union

Vance

Wake

Warren

Washington

Watauga

Wayne

Wilkes

Wilson

Yadkin

Yancey

GreeneJohnston

Wilson

Estimated Coyote Harvest by Method

19,422

36,144 36,041

31,662

27,152

34,972

43,507

133

325

593 567

847

1,434

1,747

2,091

2,843

3,458

3,8583,975

4,196

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Har

vest

by

Trap

pin

g

Har

vest

by

Hu

nti

ng

Hunter harvest Trapper Harvest

Average Coyote Harvest by Method

3.4

4.54.2

4.7

5.6

6.46.6

7.27

7.6

7.1

8.1

1

1.471.11 1.23

1.04 1.021.23

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

# o

f C

oyo

tes

Har

vest

ed

Average Harvest per Trapper Average Harvest per Hunter

Adaptability

•Habitat

•Food Habits

•Behavior

Credit: NC Travel & Tourism

Diet estimates of coyotes

Albermarle Peninsula Diets (scats)

Diet Item Percent Occurrence

Small rodents 32.7%

Rabbits 29.7%

White-tailed deer 24.8%

Other mammals 7.9%

Vegetation 3.0%

Other 2.0%

Fort Bragg Diets (scats)

Diet Item Percent Occurrence

Soft mast 40.7%

Insects 21.4%

White-tailed deer 8.0%

Small rodents 7.6%

Trash 5.9%

Rabbits 5.3%

Coyote Dispersal

Ft. Bragg Coyote Study

Credit: Morgan Elfelt, North Carolina State University

Coyotes in Urban Areas

Credit: Joseph Hinton (LSU)

Adaptability to Mortality1. Vehicle 2. Disease 3. Harvest

Litter sizes Pup survival rates# yearlings breeding

High Mortality

Low Mortality

Increased competition

Decreased competition

Litter sizes Pup survival rates # yearlings breeding

http://facultyfiles.deanza.edu/images/donahuemary/howlingcoyotesilou.jpg






























Coyote Interactions in NC

Coyote-Wildlife Interactions

•Impacts are likely to be minimal to beneficial overall

•Ecological Role

Coyote-Wildlife Interactions

•Coyotes may have impacts if prey populations are low due to other factors• Unlikely as coyotes switch to whatever is most abundant

• This seems to hold true for deer

•Red foxes are probably the only species that could be adversely impacted by coyotes

Coyote-Human Interactions

•Various concerns associated with coyotes:•Diseases•Depredation•Human Safety

Rabies(1990-2015)

Raccoon, 7150

Skunk, 1569

Fox, 1251

Cat, 416

Dog, 128

Bat, 626

Other, 208 OTHER (208)

64-COW

58-BOBCAT

34-EQUINE

14-COYOTE

10-GOAT

9-GROUNDHOG

6-BEAVER

4-DEER

3-RABBIT

3-OPOSSUM

1-FERRET

1-OTTER

Urban Coyote-Human Interactions

•Conflicts:•Attracted to unsecure food

• Pets• Pet food• Bird seed• Garbage

•Begin to associate humans with food

•Will adapt to living among people where they are not harassed• Attacks are rare; no unprovoked attacks in NC

Rural Coyote-Human Interactions

•Depredation a concern with livestock

•Predation (all species) accounts for:• 39% of all sheep and

goat losses (nationally)• 5.5% of all cattle losses

(nationally)

Rural Coyote-Human Interactions

• Livestock Damage:• Pre-2000: Dogs blamed• Post-2000: Coyotes blamed• Reality: Both responsible• Not all coyotes kill livestock

•Unconfined & unprotected livestock vulnerable

•Husbandry practices important

Tools for Preventing/Resolving Conflicts

Non-lethal:1. Education2. Tolerance3. Modifying Human Behavior

• Removal of attractant

• Leashing dogs

• Cats indoor

• Husbandry practices

Lethal

Eradication?•To cause and maintain population decline:

• Remove 70% annually• Coyotes will return

Not possible or needed

Bounties•They don’t work

•Target <5% of coyote population

•Paying people who are already catching coyotes

•Rampant fraud• Coyotes “grow wheels” (out-of-state & out-of-county)• Can buy parts/pieces online

•Cost 10s of thousands

•Don’t target the problem animals• Many states have tried, all have failed

Managing Coyotes is Important

•Must use integrated approach

•Population management ≠ damage management

You can help us document coyote trends!

Hunter, Trapper, and Hunter Observation surveys

Coyotes in North Carolina...coyotes released to chase with hounds. Coyote Distribution: Mid-1980s ....

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