Urban coyotes catch a break in Pinellas County
October 11th, 2006 by admin
Last weekend, when Pinellas County Animal Services responded to a call about coyotes in a residential neighborhood, something unusual happened. Residents were politely reminded that they share the environment with animals, and the coyotes were allowed to continue on their way. (Well, not exactly. A female coyote was captured, given a health check and fitted with a tracking collar before being released back into the woods.)
An article in today’s St. Petersburg Times explained that the animal had stumbled into a University of South Florida study of the movements and behaviors of urban coyotes. The paper quoted local residents who were surprised both at the presence of wild animals near their homes, and that the coyote wasn’t “removed.” County urban wildlife officer Rick Stahl explained, “‘We’re going to leave them alone. Just like alligators.” (Coyotes do not pose a threat to humans.)
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we have recently noticed quite a few coyotes in our area and i would have to say they look to be larger that any 39 pds. not only that, the neighbors apparantly have a pack that live on the back side of their property, and at dusk, when they all begin to howl, (around 15 or 20 of them, or at least it seems), it is one of the scariest things i’ve ever heard. i have a pit bull, and i wouldn’t even think about leaving him outside by himself, let alone, with what i’ve heard. i am not a person that believes in harming anything, especially a helpless animal, but, those things sound like they would have no problem taking care of themselves. although, i have to say, they are very beautiful dogs, i am trying to obtain as much information on them as possible, to keep from having to make a decision like that. thank you very much for your time.