City seeks help from residents in monitoring a wild coyote
Last week, the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge reported a confirmed sighting of a coyote on the edge of a mangrove shoreline along Wildlife Drive. This is a new mammal for Sanibel, now established throughout mainland Florida, which most likely arrived here by swimming island to island. It is probably a young adult, which disperse from their mother’s territory to establish their own.
Coyotes are very omnivorous though the majority of their diet in Florida is typically small mammals such as mice, rats and rabbits. They are most active near dawn and dusk and are normally extremely shy and stay clear of humans. However, young coyotes may not be expert in capturing prey and can be expected to be opportunistic in finding food sources.
Coyotes have been known to eat everything from watermelons and other fruit and vegetables to garbage, dead fish and wildlife, birds, livestock, small pets and -unfortunately — even sea turtle eggs.
Residents should apply the same appropriate caution as with raccoons in not leaving dog food or other edible food outside overnight and carefully securing their garbage cans. As it is not known to have a mate on the island, it may soon move on to other locations.
Please report any sightings of this animal, especially if it can be safely photographed to confirm its identity. It is closely related to dogs and wolves so can be easily confused with a pet dog. Sightings can be reported to:
• City of Sanibel Department of Natural Resources — 472-3700
• J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge — 472-1100
• Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation — 472-2329
Source: City of Sanibel