Transient coyotes are solitary, nomadic individuals that are not part of a pack or mated pair. They are generally made up of yearlings that have recently left their family pack, or they could be diseased, disabled, or elderly coyotes that were forced out of a pack. Transients can join another pack if accepted by the alpha pair.
Most transients are killed by cars crossing roads as they wander. Some individuals sucessfully wander for years.
NBCS study animal Milo was a 1- year old who made it to Natick, Massachusetts after traveling off Aquidneck Island. He first headed west to Coventry, then east to the Cape Cod Canal, up through Boston to Worcester, Massachusetts, then back to Natick where he was killed by a vehicle on busy Route 9 (check out Milo's travels on Google Coyotes).
Pilot was a comparatively successful transient. She was 2-3 years old and managed to make a living moving all over Aquidneck Island (check out her movements on Google Coyotes).
The picture to the left shows hourly GPS points taken the first week of Milo's capture that indicate his movement when he was starting to leave his pack in the Newport/Middletown area. His territorial behavior is indicated by the cluster of dots in southern Newport/Middletown. The traveling along the western coast indicates transient behavior.