Coyotes in Virginia: Ecology and Role in the Landscape
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Coyote in Virginia are omnivores with a highly varied diet: small mammals (rabbits, rodents), carrion, and occasionally items like eggs or even deer fawns when conditions allow. Virginia Tech Publications+1
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Coyotes also serve ecological functions: they help control pest species (rodents, groundhogs), act as scavengers to clean up carcasses, and help regulate lower‑order predator populations (mesopredators) where they are dominant. Virginia Tech Publications+1
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In recognition of their ecological role and potential for conflict (livestock predation, deer fawns, pets), the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) classifies coyotes as a “nuisance species,” meaning they may be taken (hunted or trapped) at any time and without strict seasonal limits (except on some protected lands), provided legal methods are used. Virginia Tech Publications
Because of their adaptability and diet flexibility, coyotes are now firmly established across much of Virginia — farmland, timber, mountains, urban edges — which means their impact and our ethical approach must consider regional specifics.
