Widely debated over the past 10 years and only recently rejected as a full explanation, the expansion was attributed to the widespread killing/eradication of wolves and other large carnivores throughout North America. The removal of large carnivores is believed to have opened up a vast region of habitat for coyotes that was free from competition, while European settlements expanded north, providing ample alternative food sources for coyotes.
It sounds to me like killing of wolves and/or displacing them was only part of the explanation for their migration north. Coyotes are opportunists so I'm thinking that agricultural land development played a larger part.
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