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October in New Hampshire: young coyotes are on the move

Coyote Season in New Hampshire: Mating, Pups and Pet Safety

In New Hampshire, coyotes mate from January to March and pups are born in May, according to NH Fish and Game; coyote hunting is open all year with no bag limit.

October in New Hampshire: Dispersal

The usual coyote year

The young of the year leave home to find their own ground, crossing roads and turning up in neighborhoods new to them.

For pets: Young coyotes new to a place are still learning what to avoid: keep cats indoors and walk dogs on a short leash at dawn and dusk.

Across the country, dispersal usually runs from October to December.

Next comes mating season, from January.

  1. JanMating
  2. FebMating
  3. MarMating
  4. AprPups
  5. MayPups
  6. JunPups
  7. JulFamily
  8. AugFamily
  9. SepFamily
  10. OctDispersalNow
  11. NovDispersal
  12. DecDispersal
  • Mating season: January to March, per NH Fish and Game
  • Pup season: May, per NH Fish and Game
  • Family season: July to September, from the national calendar
  • Dispersal: October to December, from the national calendar
Pets and yards

How to keep pets safe from coyotes in New Hampshire

  • Keeping your pets and pet food inside at night helps reduce the likelihood that a family pet will become prey.
NH Fish and Game, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source

What most state agencies advise

Secure garbage and compost, advised in 35 states

Contain garbage in a closed receptacle.
Iowa DNR. Read it at the source

Feed pets indoors, advised in 31 states

Do not feed pets outside.
NYS DEC in New York. Read it at the source

Walk dogs on a leash, advised in 28 states

Walk your dog on a leash when outdoors.
ODFW in Oregon. Read it at the source

If a coyote comes close

Moving toward the coyote while waving your arms or clapping.
CT DEEP in Connecticut. Read it at the source

If a coyote follows you

Do not run or turn your back on a coyote that has approached you. Face the coyote, shout at it, be as big and loud as possible, wave your arms and back away slowly.
Wild Aware Utah. Read it at the source

More on living with coyotes in New Hampshire: NH Fish and Game.

Four young coyote pups outside a den dug into a dirt bank, one standing at the entrance looking out
Four pups outside their den in the bank above Big Dry Creek at Metzger Farm Open Space, Colorado, in mid May. Photo: Jim Kennedy. “Four Coyote Pups by Den in Metzger Farm Open Space, Colorado (17614272575)”, nature80020, CC BY 2.0
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Whom to call

Who to call about a coyote in New Hampshire

For a coyote that is bold around people, pets or homes in New Hampshire:

USDA Wildlife Services

Call (603) 223-6832Contact details
Hunting and trapping

Coyote hunting and trapping in New Hampshire

Hunting
All year2026 to 2027 rules
Bag limit
No limit
License
A Regular N.H. Hunting, Combination or Archery License (a Small Game License does not cover coyotes); resident landowners on their own land are exempt
Night hunting
With limits
Trapping
WMUs A to F: Oct 15 to Mar 31; WMUs G to M: Nov 1 to Mar 312026 to 2027 rules
To hunt for furbearers, hunters must have a current Regular N.H. Hunting, Combination, or Archery License. A Small Game License does not allow for the hunting of furbearers.
NH Fish and Game, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
Night Hunting: Coyotes may be hunted at night from Jan. 1 through March 31. Lights may be used, except from a motor vehicle, snowmobile, or OHRV.
NH Fish and Game, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source

Read the hunting season rules at the source.

Read from each source on October 13, 2026. Methods, night rules and public land rules can change by unit, so read NH Fish and Game’s page before you go out. Every state’s coyote seasons.

Sightings

When people report coyotes in New Hampshire

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
657 research grade records from New Hampshire, every year from 2016 to 2025 combined, by the month they were made. Most are logged in October. A record is a person’s photograph confirmed by others, so the bars count sightings rather than coyotes.

Reading the last thirty days of reports from iNaturalist.

New Hampshire coyote questions

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Coyote season in other states

Small game season in New HampshirePheasant, quail, grouse, rabbit and squirrel season datesHunting license in New HampshireWhat a license costs, plus the tagDeer season in New HampshireArchery, firearms, muzzleloader and youth deer datesAttic wildlife in New HampshireWhen you may evict animals from an atticBear hibernation in New HampshireWhen bears den and wake, and when to take feeders down
A coyote standing among sagebrush and grass coated white with hoar frost, looking toward the camera
A coyote hunting meadow voles in hoar frost on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge, Wyoming, at the end of December. Photo: Tom Koerner, USFWS. “Coyote in hoar frost on Seedskadee NWR (13234615673)”, USFWS Mountain-Prairie, Public domain

Every fact links to the page it was read from, each read October 13, 2026. Mating, pup and dispersal months are the agency’s own where it prints them; the national calendar fills the rest. Sighting counts are iNaturalist research grade records, which count sightings, not coyotes. Coyote season across the country.