Coyotes General Info

Coyotes are small to medium predators that are found throughout South Carolina. Native to the western U.S., the range of coyotes did not extend east of the Mississippi River until the 1940s. Coyotes reached South Carolina in the late 1970s when they were introduced to the state by private individuals for hunting purposes. Through a mixture of human-facilitated movement and natural population growth, they quickly spread throughout the state. By the 1990s, they were found in every county.

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While they are often perceived as primarily predatory, coyotes are opportunistic and will readily feed on berries, nuts, and much more. Coyotes are highly adaptable and can produce about six pups per year depending on the food availability.

Since many of the larger predators have been removed from the Eastern United States, coyotes have been able to rapidly expand and find success just about anywhere. Their high-pitched howl can be heard at night, which has given them the colloquial name “song dog”. Their song is how they broadcast to other coyotes. Some of the howls are meant to reorganize the family when they have all split up. Howls are also used to announce their presence in a territory, warning any would-be trespassers.

Coyotes will certainly form social groups, but the concept of a “pack” is often misunderstood. A pack consists of family members, with the parents at the top of the pecking order. Coyotes will also be solitary.

Coyotes are monogamous and begin to breed in January and may be actively breeding into March. The female coyote gives birth after about 63 days. Each coyote pair can produce 5-7 offspring.

When coyote populations face pressure from hunting and trapping efforts, they will have larger litter sizes. This may be due to a decrease in competition between coyotes, meaning they have more access to resources. Due to their ability to have larger litters when facing pressure, coyote populations can be challenging to reduce effectively.