Coyote Inventory at Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. 2024-2025 - Dataset as Delivered
National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Division. 2026. Coyote Inventory at Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. 2024-2025 - Dataset as Delivered. National Park Service. Fort Collins CO https://doi.org/10.57830/2318163
Coyotes have successfully colonized North Carolina’s barrier islands over the past two decades, where they prey on protected shore nesting birds and sea turtles. Despite the removal of more than 170 individuals by federal agencies, the species remains well established. To understand why, researchers used non invasive genetic mark recapture and GPS tracking across Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. A multistate robust design model provided estimates of island abundance, survival, inter island movement, and detection probability. Coyote densities varied widely, from 0.05 to 0.86 coyotes per km² with Bodie Island exhibiting the highest density. Although most coyotes remained on their initial island, both genetic and tracking data documented rare but meaningful inter island movements. Examples included a female traveling between North Core Banks and Ocracoke, and another making more than 50 crossings among Shackleford Banks, Morgan Island, and South Core Banks, mostly at night and often near low tide. These infrequent events nonetheless maintain functional connectivity, enabling populations to rebound after removals. Pack sizes on heavily managed islands such as Hatteras and Bodie stayed stable across seasons, and no consistent population decline was detected following culling. Although apparent survival was slightly lower where predator control occurred, the effect was small. A fladry based deterrent experiment reduced boundary crossings by roughly 66 percent, indicating strong potential for behavior focused management. Overall, findings suggest that long term suppression of coyotes on the Outer Banks is unlikely, whereas behavioral modification strategies may more effectively protect vulnerable nesting species.
- Type
- Data Package
- Authors
- National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Division
- Date of Issue
- 2026-06-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.57830/2318163
- Units
- CAHA , CALO
- Keywords
- CAHA, CALO, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Cape Lookout National Seashore, coyote, IMD, Movement, National Park Service, NPS, NPS Inventory and Monitoring Division, NPS Species Inventory Program, Open-format, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, Population Dynamics
- License
- Public Domain