Longboat howls for coyote solutions

Workshop planned next week as town reaches out to land owners as potential relocation sites.

By Suzanne Elliott
| 10:20 a.m. December 13, 2018

Longboat Key
News

Longboat Key commissioners are reaching out to owners of large pieces of land in both Sarasota and Manatee counties to see if coyotes trapped in the town could be released on their property.

Town Manager Tom Harmer said this is an informal effort by the town to accommodate some residents’ concerns about the animals, which showed up on the island last summer and sparked fears from residents about the safety of their pets.

Florida wildlife regulations require a trapped nuisance animal be relocated within the same county it was trapped, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. Experts have said coyotes are very smart, difficult to trap and would likely return to their territory if relocated.

“If you see them, report them,” Harmer said. “The FWC said private property owners have a right to trap them.”

The FWC is holding two public forums about coyotes on Monday, Dec. 17. The first is 10 a.m. to noon at All Angels Episcopal Church, 563 Bay Isles Road and from 2 to 4 p.m. at Christ Church 6400 Gulf of Mexico Drive.

The presentation, similar to the one the town held in late August, will focus on what to do if a coyote is encountered and how to protect yourself, as well as small children and pets; how to prevent problems and limit attraction to your property; nuisance coyotes in residential neighborhoods, and problems relocating coyotes from their natural habitats.

Coyotes typically weigh less than 30 pounds and are not interested in humans but are known to get into trash cans and eat pet food left outside. Their natural prey are small animals. In last summer's workshop, FWC experts theorized Longboat could be home to possibly four coyotes.

Over the bridges . . .

Longboat Key is not the only island community with coyotes.

In Holmes Beach, there have been more than 100 reports of coyote sightings, said Police Chief William Tokajer, who attributes the sightings to development. He said there have been no reports of animal aggression and there are no plans at the moment to trap the animal. “Reports of coyote sightings have lessened in recent weeks because people are becoming educated,” said Tokajer, adding there is more than one coyote on the island. “They are pack animals.”
In Sarasota, reports of coyotes in neighborhoods have been on the rise of late. The Sheriff’s Office also said it wouldn’t prioritize trapping coyotes unless there was additional reason for concern. “These animals are generally difficult to trap since they prefer live food, and the trap is a foreign object,” Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kaitlin Perez said. “Our Animal Services section also traditionally leaves wildlife alone unless the animal is sick, injured or poses a threat.”

The animal is regularly found in all of Florida's 67 counties.

Last month, Longboat police reported receiving a call from the owner of Sarasota Wildlife Trappers who reported being contacted by a town resident interested in hiring the company to kill a coyote spotted in a Longboat neighborhood. The caller was unidentified, the trapper told police.

According to police, the town resident was worried the coyote would run up and grab her small dog off its leash. The trapper told the resident that he would not respond to the request and also wanted police to know the resident was shopping for a trapper to kill the coyote, the police report said.

Police Chief Pete Cumming said his officers have not received any reports of a coyote sighting in two weeks. And none of the dozens of reports the town has received since last July have indicated anything threatening.

“There has been no single act of aggression,” Cumming said.