Crafty canines making presence known in cities like Cape Coral, Sanibel

Floridians have created a paradise for an unwanted pest that's increasingly attacking neighborhood pets. 

The coyote invaded Southwest Florida a couple of decades ago and has expanded its grip on the region in recent years. 

They're prolific in Cape Coral, where residents have turned to each other through social media like Cape Coral Coyotes Information on Facebook for answers. 

Coyotes were a hot topic at the Sanibel city council meeting this past week after recent pet attacks there. 

"It’s not natural, their attitudes toward humans on the island," Sanibel city councilman Jason Maughan said. "Seventy percent of our island is preserve (lands), so there’s plenty of room for them to roam around. And now it’s not us intruding on nature but nature intruding on us." 

Maughan pleaded with other council members to find a way to scare or haze these animals until they're again afraid of humans. 

"They don’t run away, and they’ve completely lost their fear of humans," Maughan said. "And that’s not natural. That tells me the psychology of those animals has changed."

These clever canines were once confined to the West but have now moved into every state but Hawaii. 

And they're not going away anytime soon. 

"They're designed to expand and the main thing now is humans make great environments for coyotes," said Jim Beever, with the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council. "We clear land and make it more open and we don't leave it as a diverse forest. We get rid of the bigger predators of coyotes. Pretty much any predator larger than a coyote will eat it or kill it for competition."

Beever spent years working as a field biologist for what is now the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 

He said coyotes use man-made systems like roads and bridges to expand their territory. 

"I suspect the coyotes that got on Sanibel came across the causeway," Beever said. "They will cross on bridges, and this has been documented in various places." 

Beever said trying to control populations on Sanibel and in cities like Cape Coral is fruitless because coyotes will simply reproduce. 

"It is possible to remove coyotes from an island system if the island isn't connect to the mainland by something like the causeway," Beever said. "But even in situations where they've tried to remove coyotes from islands, the tides will get shallow and the coyotes will then (swim) out there." 

The Humane Society of the United States says any relocated animals will simply try to return to their initial home range. 

"Relocation programs for coyotes do not work either," said Lynsey White with the Humane Society. "Coyotes are very territorial and occupy very large home ranges (in some cases up to 40 square miles). Upon being relocated, they will do just about anything to get back to their home range, crossing roads and highways – often getting hit by cars in the process." 

Coyotes have found a niche in ecosystems across the mainland United States. 

They've replaced the wolves, mountain lions and bears that were once the apex predators in many of these regions. 

In Florida the coyote makes its living killing small mammals and rodents and by eating anything from insects to fruit and even garbage. 

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says culling or trapping and euthanizing nuisance animals like coyotes doesn't work. 

"Removing coyotes for the purpose of eradication is an inefficient and ineffective method to control populations," the agency states on its website. "New coyotes move into areas where others have been removed. Removal activities such as hunting and trapping place pressure on coyote populations, and the species responds by reproducing at a younger age and producing more pups per litter; populations can quickly return to their original size." 

Hazing, however, is effective, FWC says. 

The idea is to make loud noises and even spray water at any coyote that doesn't retreat at the sign of humans. 

They're non-native but the state considers them "naturalized," as they are a permanent part of the landscape and the ecosystem and came to Florida on their own. 

Other non-native animals are often considered invasive or unwanted because they compete with native critters for breeding and hunting space and habitat. 

"Coyotes help maintain balanced ecosystems by controlling the populations of rodents and smaller predators such as foxes, opossums and raccoons," said FWC spokeswoman Melody Kilborn. "These animals naturally occur in higher densities and can quickly overpopulate areas of habitat."

Florida was home to an Ice Age coyote that was larger than today's version, Beever said. 

That animal died out with the mammoths and other Ice Age mammals and was replaced by the red wolf, which has since gone extinct in the Sunshine State. 

"The red wolf persisted here until they were shot out by settlers who came into the state for agriculture," Beever said. "Whether they were ranchers or farmers, they made it their business to kill them. Coyotes were able use the interstate system to travel to Florida. And that's how they spread to the east." 

Beever said coyotes started moving through the Pasco and Hillsborough county areas in the 1990s. 

They'll be in Florida "as long as people keep clearing native habitats," Beever said. 

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Coyotes are relatively small, with the average adult weighing 28 pounds, according to FWC. 

But 28 pounds is a large animal when your dog only weighs 13. 

And they often hunt in packs, too, using numbers to their advantage. 

"They're always evolving," Beever said. "They're smart."

Staying away from a coyote population can be difficult because the animals adapt to urbanized landscapes. 

FWC recommends that owners of small dogs use a leash 6 feet in length or less and use caution around wooded areas when walking their dog at night or near dusk or dawn. 

Connect with this reporter: @ChadGillisNP on Twitter.

Coyote fast facts

• They live throughout Florida and in every state except Hawaii.
• They typically weigh 15-30 pounds. Males are slightly bigger than females.
• Coyotes eat whatever’s available, including nuts, seeds, dead animals, rodents, garbage, pet food, domestic cats and small dogs.
• They breed every year, with two to 12 pups per litter. Pups are raised in a den.
• Removing coyotes in one area can result in other coyotes from surrounding areas moving in and producing more pups per litter.

Prevent problems

How to discourage coyotes from hanging out near your home:

• Never feed them. Clean up pet food, fallen fruit and seed around bird feeders.
• Keep your small dogs on short leashes when walking them outdoors. Keep cats indoors.
• Secure garbage cans. Compost in animal-proof containers.
• Don’t try to pet a coyote.
• Teach children not to approach any unfamiliar animal.
• Teach your children to recognize coyotes, and not to run from them.
• Tell youngsters that if a coyote approaches them, they should move slowly into a house or other structure. If that's not possible, climb up on a swing, tree or deck – and yell.
• Don’t let coyotes intimidate you. Frighten them away by making loud noises, waving your arms in the air, throwing sticks or spraying them with a hose.
• Close off crawl spaces under your home, porches or sheds.

SOURCE: Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission