A new peer-reviewed study indicates that coyote populations on North Carolina’s Outer Banks are likely to remain a permanent fixture in the region, despite ongoing and costly removal programs. The research, conducted by scientists from North Carolina State University, represents the first in-depth assessment of coyote populations on barrier islands. The findings suggest that current management strategies, which have relied heavily on lethal removal for over a decade, have not succeeded in eliminating the animals from these ecosystems. Instead, the coyotes have established themselves as a persistent part of the local wildlife, posing continued threats to shore-nesting birds and protected sea turtles.
The study, titled “Coyote density, demography, and genetic structure across North Carolina’s barrier islands,” was published in the Journal of Wildlife Management. It marks the first peer-reviewed effort to estimate coyote density and population size on any barrier island. Over three seasons between 2024 and 2025, researchers collected and analyzed DNA from coyote fecal samples across seven distinct islands: Bodie, Pea, Hatteras, Ocracoke, North Core, South Core, and Shackleford Banks.
Researchers identified 62 individual coyotes during the course of the study. Based on this data, they estimated that between 45 and 60 coyotes inhabit the Outer Banks at any given time. The National Park Service removed 14 coyotes from Bodie and Hatteras islands in 2024 alone. However, researchers continued to detect coyotes on both islands throughout the year. They observed substantial turnover in the population, with new individuals replacing many of those that had disappeared, suggesting a resilient and adaptable population structure.
Daniel Sossover, the study’s lead author and a research associate in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at NC State University, emphasized the permanence of the coyote presence. He noted that the National Park Service has spent significant resources for more than a decade trying to manage the coyotes’ impact on shore-nesting birds and sea turtles through lethal removal. Despite these efforts, the animals remain. Sossover argued that it is necessary to recognize coyotes as an integral part of this ecosystem and to find ways to coexist with them rather than attempting eradication.
The arrival of coyotes in the Outer Banks is a relatively recent phenomenon. They moved into the region over the past two decades, presumably by crossing bridges and swimming between islands. This range expansion has raised ecological and management concerns among residents, visitors, and wildlife managers. From 2009 to 2025, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lethally removed more than 170 coyotes from Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Cape Lookout National Seashore, and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. These areas serve as critical nesting habitats for both shore-nesting birds and sea turtles, making the presence of predators a significant conservation issue.
Sossover explained that coyote removal often fails due to biological responses to population pressure. Past research indicates that when coyote populations face heavy removal, they respond by breeding earlier, having larger litter sizes, and moving into the areas where removal is occurring. This behavioral and reproductive flexibility allows local populations to bounce back rapidly, undermining the long-term effectiveness of lethal control measures.
The study also revealed spatial and genetic patterns in the coyote population. Researchers found that coyote density generally declined as islands became more isolated from the mainland. Bodie Island, which is connected to the mainland, had the highest coyote density. In contrast, North Core Banks had the lowest density, followed by Ocracoke Island. The team identified four distinct genetic groups across the Outer Banks. Three of these groups were largely associated with Hatteras and Pea islands, Bodie Island, and South Core Banks and Shackleford Banks, respectively.
These genetic groups exhibited lower genetic diversity and contained many closely related coyotes. This suggests that the islands were likely founded relatively recently by a small number of animals from the mainland. The current populations are now largely composed of family groups descended from these initial founders. Sossover noted that these patterns indicate the islands were not colonized by a large wave of coyotes from the mainland, but rather by a few founders each, whose descendants now make up most of the population.
On Bodie and Hatteras islands, the researchers found that coyotes lived in separate groups, or packs, that stayed in different parts of the islands. Some coyotes remained in the northern sections while others stayed in the southern sections. Coyotes in the same area were more closely related, indicating localized social structures. The remaining islands appeared to each support a single pack that uses the entire island, rather than separate groups occupying different areas.
Despite the isolation of the islands, the coyotes were not completely isolated from one another. The researchers found genetic connections between the mainland and coyotes on Bodie Island, North Core Banks, and Ocracoke Island. These connections suggest that occasional immigration from the mainland may help sustain these small island groups.
Sossover stated that the findings highlight the remarkable adaptability of coyotes, demonstrating how effective they are at colonizing new areas. He emphasized that a handful of founders is all it takes to establish, organize socially, and persist, even on isolated islands and even under removal pressure.
The findings could help wildlife managers rethink coyote management on the Outer Banks, where eradication appears unlikely to succeed. Instead of focusing solely on lethal removal, managers may need to focus on reducing coyotes’ impacts on vulnerable nesting species through behavioral deterrents and other strategies. These strategies could be used alongside, or instead of, lethal removal to achieve conservation goals.
The research was supported by the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Division. The co-authors of the study include Roland Kays and Elizabeth Kierepka of NC State University and Nathan Hostetter of the U.S. Geological Survey. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The spatial variation documented across the seven barrier islands underscores how physical isolation shapes predator distribution in coastal ecosystems. While Bodie Island maintains a physical connection to the mainland and recorded the highest density of coyotes, density declined consistently as isolation increased, reaching its lowest point on North Core Banks, followed closely by Ocracoke Island. Genetic evidence linking mainland populations to Bodie Island, North Core Banks, and Ocracoke Island indicates that occasional immigration, facilitated by coyotes swimming between landmasses or crossing bridges, serves as an ongoing lifeline that bolsters these otherwise isolated groups. Rather than experiencing broad regional migrations, each island group reflects the lineage of a few original founders whose descendants formed closely related family units with reduced genetic diversity.
This genetic differentiation is mirrored by the distinct territorial arrangements established on the islands. On larger landmasses such as Bodie and Hatteras islands, the researchers observed multiple discrete packs occupying segregated northern and southern territories, where individuals in the same geographic areas shared closer kinship. In contrast, the remaining barrier islands each sustained only a single pack utilizing the entire available territory. These social structures demonstrate the species’ capacity to organize socially and persist even within confined island boundaries, maintaining stable territories despite localized pressures and low overall founder numbers across Hatteras, Pea, Bodie, South Core, and Shackleford Banks.
The biological mechanisms driving the persistence of these populations clarify why intensive removal interventions have continually fallen short across Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Cape Lookout National Seashore, and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. When lethal culling creates vacancies in high-pressure areas, coyote populations compensate through reproductive adjustments, including earlier breeding age and larger litters, while adjacent individuals rapidly move in to fill vacated ranges. The rapid replacement observed in 2024, where new individuals continually turned over after fourteen animals were removed from Bodie and Hatteras, confirms that island populations readily absorb targeted removals.
Subject of Research: Coyote population dynamics and genetic structure on North Carolina barrier islands
Article Title: Coyotes are likely a permanent fixture on the outer banks, study finds
Article References: Coyotes are likely a permanent fixture on the outer banks, study finds. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: Not provided
Keywords: coyote ecology, barrier islands, Outer Banks, population density, genetic structure, wildlife management, shore-nesting birds, sea turtles, North Carolina State University, Journal of Wildlife Management, DNA analysis, fecal samples, National Park Service, coyote removal, island colonization, genetic diversity, pack behavior, mainland immigration, conservation biology, coastal ecosystems
News Source: Margaret Porter. (November 13, 2026). Coyotes persist on Outer Banks despite removal efforts. Scienmag.
