One wily coyote is keeping tabs on downtown Fort Myers as the wild dog found its way to a ledge of the parking garage adjacent to the Luminary Hotel on Tuesday, Nov. 25.
Fort Myers Police, Fort Myers Fire Department and the Florida Wildlife Conservation were on the scene as well as passersby as they plotted a rescue. The coyote, brownish orange, seemed skittish on the 2-feet wide perch, the waters of the Caloosahatchee River nearby. After about two hours, the coyote jumped into the parking garage.
Soon after jumping into the parking garage, Fort Myers Police said the coyote was spotted heading toward Centennial Park about 12:45 p.m.
Police asked if anyone sees the coyote, to call them.
Coyotes are growing in population, and they’ve turned up in every corner − and now the ledge of a luxury hotel − of Southwest Florida, an expansion that’s both a marvel of adaptability and a source of unease for residents, as the cunning canines continue to reshape the region’s ecological and human landscape.
As Southwest Florida continues to grow, people are edging them out of their natural areas. Coyotes typically hunt small animals and can run up to 40 mph with sightings reported recently, especially in Cape Coral.
There are no reliable population counts, wildlife officials say, but coyotes now live throughout the Sunshine State.
In 1983, Florida’s wildlife agency found coyotes in 18 counties in 1983; by 2007, they were in all 67.
This is a developing story; check back for updated information.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Coyote trapped on ledge of luxury hotel in downtown Fort Myers
Reporting by Tayeba Hussein, Amy Bennett Williams and Stacey Henson, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
