Coyote sightings reported in Longboat Key

Longboat Key residents have notified the town about coyote sightings for the first time in about two years.

Town Manager Tom Harmer said two different people have contacted the town about seeing a coyote last month on the north end of the island.

“We don’t know if it’s one [coyote] or more than one,” Harmer said during Monday’s commission meeting.

The first report came Oct. 23 of a coyote walking south along the sidewalk near the Whitney Beach Shopping Center. The second report came Oct. 28 on Gulf of Mexico Drive between Binnacle Point Drive and Dream Island Road.

Last week marked Longboat Key’s first report of a coyote sighting since 2018. Harmer said back then, the coyote sightings were on the Sarasota County side of the island.

“These are Manatee [County] coyotes?” District 2 Commissioner George Spoll joked. “The other three here took a vacation and left. These are different.”

In 2018, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission held forums in Longboat Key about what to do if a coyote is encountered and how to protect yourself. Because of concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the town is utilizing its social media pages for public outreach.

“I know in 2018 in the summer when we started to get those sightings, there was a lot of friction in the community about what to do with those coyotes,” Harmer said. “There were some people that felt like, ‘leave them alone. They’re not going to hurt anyone.’ Others [were] like, ‘why haven’t you shot and killed that coyote?’ We had those extreme kind of views, and I was in both kinds of public meetings.”

Although coyotes are found in all of Florida’s 67 counties, they rarely come in contact with people. However, they can prey upon pets and livestock. Coyotes typically weigh about 30 pounds and are known to get into trash cans and eat pet food left outside.

The town advises that people keep dogs on a short leash, supervise pets while they’re outdoors and not to leave pets unattended outside.

Anyone who sees a coyote can scare it away by waving their hands in the air, yelling loudly and acting aggressively. Noisemakers and air horns work too.

“We track any contacts to our police department. Our police department is lead,” Harmer said. “This another opportunity for Chief [Kelli] Smith, so we’re trying to fill her day with unique opportunities here on the island.”

To report coyote sightings, contact the Longboat Key Police Department at 941-316-1201.