The surprising finding of a new UNH study about coyotes – The Boston Globe

They’re both charismatic and conflictual.

Coyotes weren’t introduced to New Hampshire until as recently as the 1940s or 1950s, but now their population has grown into the thousands, according to Remington Moll, assistant professor of natural resources and the environment at the University of New Hampshire.

Moll is the lead author of a new study in the journal Ecography that was based on three years of research on coyotes in around 4,500 locations around the country. The study found, counterintuitively, that human hunting of coyotes may contribute to the increase of their population.

That’s because hunting can cause breeding and birth rates to increase and actually result in a younger population, according to Moll. At the same time, he said, coyotes from other areas may immigrate to less densely populated places.

Why study coyotes in the first place?

“Coyotes are of high interest to a lot of people,” said Moll. “Between them and black bears, they’re the most abundant carnivore in North America.”

And coyotes, it turns out, can be quite polarizing.

For some, the dog-like creatures are intriguing, as ubiquitous predators that can be found just about everywhere: from Central Park to downtown Chicago, according to Moll. But others view coyotes as an unwelcome threat to pets.

“There are these strong positive and negative emotions around the issue here,” said Moll.

What about the coyote population in New Hampshire?

Coyotes aren’t a native species in New Hampshire or anywhere in the northeast. Rather, they moved east across the United States, settling here after humans killed off other large predators like gray wolves and mountain lions, according to Moll.

There was also the effect of widespread logging, which removed huge swathes of forest, opening up space for coyotes, which are a prairie species, not a forest species.

Now, “they’re very common, particularly in the southern half of the state,” said Moll. He said the climate is more mild in the southern part of the state, and coyotes can live alongside human development without a problem.

This story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.

Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.