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October in Rhode Island: young coyotes are on the move

Coyote Season in Rhode Island: Mating, Pups and Pet Safety

In Rhode Island, coyotes mate from December to March and pups are born in April, according to RIDEM; coyote hunting is open all year with no bag limit.

October in Rhode Island: 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 December.

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

How to keep pets safe from coyotes in Rhode Island

  • Keep pets, particularly cats, indoors. Coyotes don't distinguish between domestic and wild animals and are likely to view cats and small dogs as potential food and larger dogs as competition.
  • For the safety of your pets, always keep them leashed when outdoors and feed them indoors.
RIDEM, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
  • Never intentionally feed coyotes. It is illegal in Rhode Island and will create problems for humans and coyotes alike.
  • Trash should be secured in containers and only put out on the curb the morning of trash collection.
RIDEM, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source

If a coyote comes close

Chase coyotes off your property. Keep coyotes wild by "hazing" them, which means doing things to scare them or chase them away.
RIDEM, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source

If a coyote follows you

If the coyotes stops or is inquisitive, remain calm, make loud noises, try to look big and intimidating, and slowly back away. DO NOT attempt to approach the coyote or turn and run away. If the coyote attempts to approach, go inside and report the observation to the Environmental Police: (401) 222-3070.
RIDEM, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source

More on living with coyotes in Rhode Island: RIDEM.

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 Rhode Island

For a coyote that is bold around people, pets or homes in Rhode Island:

RIDEM Division of Law Enforcement (Environmental Police)

Call (401) 222-3070Contact details
If the coyote attempts to approach, go inside and report the observation to the Environmental Police: (401) 222-3070.
RIDEM, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
Hunting and trapping

Coyote hunting and trapping in Rhode Island

Hunting
All year2026 to 2027 rules
Bag limit
No limit
License
A Rhode Island hunting license (a trapping license to trap, except residents trapping on land they own and live on)
Night hunting
With limits
Trapping
Nov 1 to Feb 282026 to 2027 rules
Coyotes season on state lands is from September 15 until the last day in February, and during the open spring turkey hunting season, April 29–May 23, 2027. There is no closed season for coyote hunting on private lands.
RIDEM, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
No person shall hunt, trap, pursue, take or kill any wild bird or animal in the state without first having obtained a Rhode Island hunting or trapping license.
RIDEM, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
Shooting hours for coyotes on private lands is 1/2 hour before sunrise until midnight. Hunters attempting to take coyotes after dark must possess a predator call.
RIDEM, 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 RIDEM’s page before you go out. Every state’s coyote seasons.

Sightings

When people report coyotes in Rhode Island

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
237 research grade records from Rhode Island, every year from 2016 to 2025 combined, by the month they were made. Most are logged in August. 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.

Rhode Island coyote questions

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Coyote season in other states

Small game season in Rhode IslandPheasant, quail, grouse, rabbit and squirrel season datesHunting license in Rhode IslandWhat a license costs, plus the tagDeer season in Rhode IslandArchery, firearms, muzzleloader and youth deer datesAttic wildlife in Rhode IslandWhen you may evict animals from an atticBear hibernation in Rhode IslandWhen 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.