Coyote VS Turtle
The barrage of storms that have affected southwest Florida over the past few years have raised havoc for all of us. Residents, especially homeowners, have had to adapt to our changing environment. And we are not alone. Coyotes are a clever, cunning, and highly adaptable animal that has found a way to thrive in every county in Florida, and indeed most of the country. But some of their adaptation strategies have gotten them into trouble.
While doing research for this column, I watched an August 12th podcast hosted by Sanibel Captiva Community Foundation’s Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis. In the Podcast, Matt interviewed SCCF’s biologist Jack Brzoza and Coastal Wildlife Director Kelly Sloan.
“Coyotes were first documented on Sanibel around 2011, but there are historical fossils that go back millions of years. They moved into Florida as part of their natural range expansion,” Jack Broza said during the podcast.
In a 2015 interview for The Weather Channel, Sanibel’s then Natural Resources Director and current SCCF CEO James Evans noted that coyotes were first documented on the island in March of 2011. At that time, he said estimates suggested that there were 10 to 15 coyotes living on Sanibel and Captiva.
“We don’t know about the number of coyotes on Sanibel. There’s a 2015 study by the Univ. of Georgia that collected and analyzed their scat, estimating perhaps 30 to 67 coyotes on the island back then. It’s probably not an accurate number (now), but we do have lots of protected land on Sanibel that creates a great habitat for coyotes,” explained Kelly Sloan. “I see them all the time. Running across Periwinkle... I hear them at night.
They have been here a long time. Their numbers have likely increased (since that study.) It could take $100K to collar and sterilize them. We could use ear tags, but we still have to get them in hand," she added.
So how did they find their way to Sanibel and establish such a significant presence?
"Coyotes are capable swimmers; we’ve seen them walking along the Causeway. They have the ability to come and go between Sanibel and Captiva as they please. We’ve seen them on adjacent islands accessible only by boat, so we know they can swim well.
There’s less pressure on them on Sanibel than other areas. No panthers or bears to contend with. And there is no eradication program here. (At least not yet.)
They are the top predator here. In North America, humans have tried to eliminate coyotes across the country, mostly unsuccessfully. They adapt. Once rooted in an area it's hard to get rid of or control their population." Brzoza explained. "Captiva residents report seeing coyotes swimming there daily from Buck Key. They are swimmers," MS. Sloan added.
And the coyotes are getting hungrier. When Ian hammered and flooded Sanibel Island, it wiped out a lot of vegetation they liked, i.e. sea grapes, coco plums, mangoes, etc., and likely significantly decreased the rodent, iguana, and insect populations that coyotes depend on for food.
In the podcast, MS. Sloan noted that coyotes are opportunistic, and there’s probably less prey now for them to eat.
A 2015 Weather Channel story I read noted that coyotes had dug up about 60 sea turtle nests during that year’s hatching season, which runs from May 1st through October 31st.
And there is disturbing evidence that these clever families (they don’t call them packs), are teaching their pups how to overcome increasingly upgraded security efforts to protect the nesting sites.
"(Nest) Depredation rates were 10%, but there's been an increase in frequency; They're really smart. but far exceeding 10% to (now) 40 or 50% is unacceptable." Ms Sloan reported during the podcast. Earlier this summer SCCF reported that roughly one third of the turtle eggs in the 800 to 1000 nests they monitor had already been deprecated by coyotes. Wildlife experts have worked hard to match the coyote’s skillful and successful efforts to attack the nests.
"We started putting metal screens with holes large enough for the hatchlings to emerge, so we don't have to remove the screens at hatching time. But now they have figured out how to dig below the screens. That was very rare prior to 2021. We now have 3-dimensional boxes. They work well, but they're hard to build, install, and remove; so it's not a long term plan," Sloan said.
"We know where the eggs are, so we anchor the screens to center to cage the nest, and we bury them a foot below the sand. It takes 40 minutes to install each cage, where it used to take about a minute. That's a big labor and cost increase. We had 843 nests last year. With GPS coordinates and trembles (a surveying stick that helps provide accurate GPS coordinates) they can get precise nest location data. The nests can sometimes become covered by storm activity. Many are attacked from the top down.
We doubled the screen gauge so they couldn't bite through, but then they started digging underneath the cage. New strategies were looked at in 2024-different treatments-ground habanero peppers to deter the coyotes. They recommended spreading two to six tablespoons on top of the ground around the cage. It wouldn't affect the hatchlings, but would deter coyotes when they start sniffing around. Pepper and rebar reinforcements didn't prove to be significantly more effective than screening. Some unfortunate volunteers get nailed by the pepper sometimes.
None of these are a slam dunk nest protector, One volunteer, an engineer, suggested an auditory deterrent-a high pitched whine that people couldn't hear, but the goal frequency was not achieved, and the prototype did not show evidence of deterring coyotes. We're still looking for ways to make that work" Brzoza explained
The City and the three environmental groups addressing this problem-Citizens for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW), SCCF, and Ding Darling, are keenly aware of the sensitive nature of providing a delicate balance needed to respect and manage the coyotes and the sea turtles, and they all want to hear from residents before they make a decision on how-or whether-they should take more aggressive steps to ensure the viability of the sea turtle nests. Matt Depaolis noted that there are potential benefits from the coyotes' arrival on Sanibel and Captiva. They help control the rodent, rabbit, and iguana populations for example.
Jack Brzoza acknowledged that in other areas, targeted lethal removal has definitely shown success. Bringing down the rate of nest depredation to to the more acceptable 10% levels that had previously existed seems to be the goal.
Regardless of what decisions are made, SCCF, CROW, Ding Darling and the City of Sanibel are working hard to develop new and creative ways to allow turtle nests eggs to thrive so the sea turtle population doesn't decline. The scientists and wildlife expert teams are planning on presenting their findings to the city in October or November, and it will be up to the city to decide on a course of action. Meanwhile, those Wile E Coyotes are watching and waiting.
Past Commander Bob Moro AP
Fort Myers Power Squadron-America’s Boating Club
