STATUS OF THE COYOTE IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

The range of the coyote (Canis latrans) in the southeastern United States, particularly east of the Mississippi River, has recently expanded. Although populations were present in Arkansas and Louisiana in the 1960s, only isolated individuals were known to exist east of the river before 1975. In addition to Arkansas and Louisiana, the present range includes Mississippi and Alabama, the western three fourths of Kentucky and Tennessee, Northwestern Florida, south-central and northwest Georgia and scattered portions of Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Peninsular Florida. Recent literature indicates that several releases have influenced the rate of range expansion