Eight cats missing in a single neighborhood. Are coyotes to blame?

Eight cats have gone missing over the past few months in one South Florida neighborhood — possibly the prey of coyotes that have begun to roam communities from Hollywood to Boca Raton and beyond.

Cat owner Tina Luccarelli says a pair of coyotes have been spotted several times in her Coconut Creek neighborhood.

“This morning I was out here by my garbage can taking photos of paw prints by my garbage,” she said.

In recent months, trappers have been getting calls about coyotes from all over South Florida. Experts suggest we get accustomed to seeing them, especially at dawn and dusk, when they tend to be most active.

Paul Zambrano, a trapper with Bandit Wildlife Management, says he’s captured coyotes both west of the Turnpike and east of Interstate 95.

Because they are considered non-native to Florida, they cannot be relocated once trapped, said Carol Lyn Parrish, a spokeswoman for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“You’re basically signing their death sentence when you hire a trapper,” Zambrano said. “They have to be euthanized.”

But on Thursday, state wildlife spokeswoman Jamie Clift Rager said coyotes can indeed be relocated.

“It is not mandatory that captured coyotes be euthanized,” she said. “They may also be relocated. The relocation must occur within 24 hours of capture and coyotes must be released within the same county of capture on 40 contiguous acres with written landowner permission.”

Broward County has a thriving coyote population, said Cherise Williams, security manager for Broward County Parks.

Crews have spotted coyotes in some parks in the northern end of the county, Williams said, declining to name which parks.

“They’ve caused us no problems,” she said. “They’re not active during the day and they avoid humans. It’s just something we have to learn to live with.”

Coconut Creek Commissioner Becky Tooley said she heard traps were placed at Coconut Creek Elementary School after a coyote was seen prowling the grounds.

Nadine Drew, a spokeswoman for the Broward County School District, confirmed on Wednesday that the city placed traps on the campus after neighbors reported seeing coyotes near the school.

The state wildlife commission says no coyote has attacked a human in Florida, but they have been known to attack cats and small dogs in the past few years.

In January, a pair of coyotes attacked and killed a cat inside a gated community in Palm Beach Gardens.

Jill Jackson was out for a walk when she came across two coyotes killing a neighbor’s cat in late January in her Garden Oaks neighborhood in Palm Beach Gardens.

The neighborhood looked into hiring a trapper but decided to wait and see if there was a second sighting. So far, the coyotes have stayed away.

Last month, one of Luccarelli’s neighbors snapped a photograph of a coyote hanging out on a nearby golf course owned by Broward College.

And in May, Luccarelli’s son spotted a coyote sitting in the middle of the road one night and chased the animal down in his car. He grabbed his phone as the coyote broke into a run and he managed to capture the encounter on video.

Luccarelli reported the sightings to Coconut Creek officials, prompting them to place traps throughout the golf course.

No coyotes were captured and the traps have since been removed, said Jodi Brown-Lindo, spokeswoman for Broward College.

“We have not had any incidents at all,” she said. “The city had been leading that charge. We wanted to take all precautions that were necessary.”

.ss-blurb-fblike{
padding-left:10px;
}
.ss-blurb-fblike-heading {
font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;
font-weight: bold;
}