Eric Ernst(Florida newpaper writer), like most journalists, tend to start their news articles regarding Coyotes with an "alarmist spin" .............Florida, like the rest of the USA is home to the Coyote in 2011/12...........Thankfully, Mr Ernst did his homework and he contacted Wildlife workers in his region of the State who explained to him the coexistance formula that is optimum wherever Coyotes and Humans intersect............ "After talking with wildlife rehabilitator Kevin Barton, director of the Wildlife Center of Venice, they decided to do nothing, which is probably a sound choice. Barton says attempts at trapping or extermination could be expensive and would probably fail. The survivors would simply breed larger litters and repopulate the area".........."If left alone, local coyote populations will stabilize based on the availability of food. So, if people want to keep coyotes out of their neighborhood, they have to remove the food supply.That means they should not let their pets or children outside unattended, especially from dusk to dawn. Nor should they leave pet food or garbage where coyotes can get to it"............The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is paying attention......It is collecting data from sightings to identify coyote habits in Southwest Florida. The gatekeeper of the record, Gretchen Hocknedel of FWC, has a pretty good idea where it will lead. "We're going to have to live with coyotes like we do with alligators and panthers and bears. They're here to stay," she says. "Learn to live with them. That's the message.

Ernst: Coyotes moving into Southwest Florida

A male coyote was captured by a motion-sensor wildlife camera on March 21, 2008, at the Carlton Reserve in South Sarasota County.

By Eric Ernst

Coyotes: they're fast, they're smart, they're wary. They hunt by night, and they'll eat just about anything, including cats and small dogs.And, they've moved into Southwest Florida just like the armadillo.

Even experts don't know how many coyotes live among us. But they know there are a lot more than there were 50 years ago. They've been sighted in all 67 Florida counties, where they have joined the black bear and the panther at the top of the food chain.

These animals typically shy away from humans. Most of us have heard only their plaintive cries or caught a glimpse of one darting across the road. However, some coyotes, perhaps emboldened by hunger or loss of habitat or adventuresome curiosity, have started encroaching into residential neighborhoods.

The occasional attacks have made news from Naples to Hernando County, leading to fears that someday a coyote will attack a child or an elderly person. The subject of coyotes came before the Venice City Council last week. Reacting to residents who believe coyotes have killed their pets, council members debated what to do with a small population of coyotes living on city airport property.

After talking with wildlife rehabilitator Kevin Barton, director of the Wildlife Center of Venice, they decided to do nothing, which is probably a sound choice. Barton says attempts at trapping or extermination could be expensive and would probably fail. The survivors would simply breed larger litters and repopulate the area

.

If left alone, local coyote populations will stabilize based on the availability of food. So, if people want to keep coyotes out of their neighborhood, they have to remove the food supply.That means they should not let their pets or children outside unattended, especially from dusk to dawn. Nor should they leave pet food or garbage where coyotes can get to it.

Even without those safeguards, the risk to humans is negligible. Coyotes are timid; they rarely approach people.

University of Florida researcher Martin Main has compiled a list of "things you need to know" about coyotes in residential neighborhoods. (Check www.edis.ifas.ufl.edu; search word: coyote).

He cites a University of California study that identified 89 reports of coyote bites nationwide — mostly in California — from 1988-2003. In contrast, Main notes, emergency rooms treat 368,000 dog bites in a year and 33 people died from dog maulings in 2007 alone.

The fact we're talking about any of this is a testament to the adaptability of coyotes. Since the 1800s, with the eradication of wolves in most of the United States, coyotes have expanded their range from the Southwest to all states.

Coyotes have evolved according to their surroundings. In the northeast United States, they've bred with wolves and possibly with dogs, to produce what has popularly become known as coywolves. Coywolves weigh 45 to 65 pounds. The largest coyote ever recorded in Florida weighed 39.

Coyotes also have changed their habits to live in every major city in the country. Out west, in the wild, they hunt and interact during the day. In urban settings, they tend to be nocturnal. Bottom line: Coyotes are here, and practically everywhere else, to stay.

In that vein, people have started three initiatives in our area:

•Lisa Hickey, a Cooperative Extension agent in Manatee County, has an excellent video on the county website (see embedded video with this story).
•After a coyote killed her Maltese, Melody Sweetman-Carpenter of Bradenton campaigned for the creation of warning signs that could be erected wherever coyotes are sighted. Fish and Wildlife officials liked the idea enough that they might make such temporary signage part of their management strategy.
•The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is paying attention. A team of biologists, including UF's Main, is collecting data from sightings to identify coyote habits in Southwest Florida. The gatekeeper of the record, Gretchen Hocknedel of FWC, has a pretty good idea where it will lead. "We're going to have to live with coyotes like we do with alligators and panthers and bears. They're here to stay," she says. "Learn to live with them. That's the message."