Wily coyotes invade Florida

MIAMI – A band of sneaky, savage, bloodthirsty hunters has migrated from the western United States to the woods, farms and prairies of Florida.

They’ve been observed prowling residential yards in the Panhandle, killing cattle in Central Florida and staring ominously at passersby in Everglades National Park.

The marauders are coyotes, and so far, there’s no stopping them.

“There is little that can be done about it,” said Eddie White, veteran naturalist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “You can’t eradicate them. Out West, they’ve been trying to eradicate them for 100 years now. They’ve used poisons, shot `em from helicopters and trapped them, and I don’t think they made a dent in them.”

No one knows how many of the wild canines have made it to Florida. Some came on their own; others were brought in by hunt clubs as prey for dogs, escaped and began multiplying. Averaging a litter of six pups a year, they also have been bred with domestic dogs.

Some problems they cause: killing domestic pets; harassing livestock and wild game such as turkey and deer; and digging up buried sea turtle nests on beaches.

Everglades National Park biologist Skip Snow reported an increase in coyote sightings in the park this year.

Hialeah firefighter Roy Huff reported shooting one last year at the adjacent Big Cypress National Preserve. Big Cypress spokesman Bob De Gross said there is evidence of coyotes in the Bear Island area at the north end of the preserve.

“What impact they’re having isn’t known, but we hear from the hunters saying they see fewer pigs,” De Gross said.

Huff, who frequently hunts turkeys in Big Cypress, said he inadvertently lured a coyote to a decoy when he was calling birds. He shot it.

“We don’t want them there,” Huff said.

Huff’s friend, Andy Pis, is caretaker of a 3,000-acre ranch in Hendry County, a 2 1/2 -hour drive north of Miami-Dade. Pis blames coyotes for preying on the deer population.

“The numbers have exploded everywhere,” Pis said. “Since they’re a non-native species, native animals will come under attack. The animals indigenous to the area are not prepared for this – a predator that hunts all day and all night.”

Some Florida ranchers offer $100 bounties to hunters for every coyote they kill. Others have applied to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for special, free permits to hunt the animals at night with guns and lights.

Renee Strickland, who manages a 2,500-acre spread with her husband near Myakka City in southwest Florida, tried a unique approach to protect her cattle – a donkey named Jamaica.

“They hate coyotes, dogs and wolves,” Strickland explained. “And they protect baby calves. But Jamaica kind of went overboard. She kept the calf away from her momma so she couldn’t nurse her.”

Reluctantly, the Stricklands gave Jamaica away to another rancher and are seeking a protector who’s not quite so Type-A.

Some ranchers wish the state would step forward to eliminate coyotes, but FWC spokesman White said that’s not likely.