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October in New Jersey: young coyotes are on the move

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

In New Jersey, coyotes mate in January and February, according to NJ Fish & Wildlife; the coyote hunting season runs September 8 to March 15.

October in New Jersey: 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 and February, per NJ Fish & Wildlife
  • Pup season: April and May, per NJDEP Fish & Wildlife
  • 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 Jersey

  • Bring pets in at night.
  • Never feed a coyote. Deliberately feeding coyotes puts pets and other residents in the neighborhood at risk.
  • Feeding pet cats and/or feral (wild) cats outdoors can attract coyotes. The coyotes feed on the pet food and also prey upon the cats.
  • Provide secure enclosures for rabbits, poultry, and other farm animals.
NJDEP Fish & Wildlife, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source

If a coyote comes close

If coyotes are present, make sure they know they’re not welcome. Make loud noises, blast a canned air siren, throw rocks, or spray them with a garden hose.
NJDEP Fish & Wildlife, read October 13, 2026. 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 Jersey: NJDEP Fish & Wildlife.

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 Jersey

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

NJ Fish & Wildlife (Wildlife Control)

Call 908-735-8793Contact details
If you observe coyotes in the daytime that show no fear of humans or if a coyote attacks a person, immediately contact your local police and the Division of Fish and Wildlife at 908-735-8793; outside of normal business hours call the DEP Hotline at 877-WARN-DEP.
NJDEP Fish & Wildlife, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
Hunting and trapping

Coyote hunting and trapping in New Jersey

Hunting
Sep 8 to Mar 152026 to 2027 rules
Bag limit
No limit
License
A current NJ hunting license (firearm license for a gun, archery license for a bow; a Rifle Permit to use a rifle); no coyote permit; apprentice licenses not valid for coyotes
Night hunting
With limits
Trapping
Statewide: Nov 15 to Mar 15; Stocked WMAs: Jan 1 to Mar 152026 to 2027 rules
The season will now be split into Daytime and Nighttime Seasons. The Daytime Season will begin Sept. 8, 2026 (due to the effective date of the 2026 Game Code) and run through Mar. 15, 2027.
NJ Fish & Wildlife, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
You must have a current NJ license to hunt or trap. The minimum age to hunt is 10 and to trap is 12.
NJ Fish & Wildlife, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
The Nighttime Season will begin Jan. 1, 2027 and run through Mar. 15, 2027. No special permit is required for the Nighttime Season.
NJ Fish & Wildlife, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source

Read the trapping 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 NJ Fish & Wildlife’s page before you go out. Every state’s coyote seasons.

Sightings

When people report coyotes in New Jersey

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
312 research grade records from New Jersey, every year from 2016 to 2025 combined, by the month they were made. Most are logged in April. 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 Jersey coyote questions

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Coyote season in other states

Small game season in New JerseyPheasant, quail, grouse, rabbit and squirrel season datesHunting license in New JerseyWhat a license costs, plus the tagDeer season in New JerseyArchery, firearms, muzzleloader and youth deer datesAttic wildlife in New JerseyWhen you may evict animals from an atticBear hibernation in New JerseyWhen 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.