Neighbors in Atlantic Beach say they are worried about their safety because of coyotes.
Action News Jax Courtney Cole reports that a boy watched his pet cat get killed by a coyote.
Coyotes are something you might think you would only see on National Geographic, but neighbors in Oceanwalk shared pictures with Action News Jax of a coyote in their backyard.
Here’s another picture given to me by an Oceanwalk neighbor. This one taken during the day. Neighbors say they’re seeing them more often. They also tell me the coyotes aren’t afraid of humans...at all. Now they’re concerned about how to keep their families safe. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/tq18O1dBGB
— Courtney Cole (@CourtneyANJax) July 26, 2018
Laura Mullis said she has lived in the neighborhood since 2001 and saw her first coyote eight months ago. On July 12 one got entirely too close for comfort, she said
"Our son walked into our living room to see the coyote in our backyard, pretty much 30 feet out of our backyard, eating our cat that was 18 years old,” Mullis said.
She says the scariest thing about it all -- is that it happened in broad daylight.
“There’s constantly children in and out. There were workers at the house next door,” Mullis told Action News Jax.
Mullis says her son is now terrified to go outside without her.
She says she now has to walk around with tools like a flashlight, knife and air horn to protect herself in her own neighborhood.
Mullis said she has reached out to the city of Atlantic Beach and was told to call animal control. This mom says that is not enough.
“What’s going to happen when the cats are all gone? Will a small child be next? Is that what it will take for everybody to say 'hey, there is a problem, and we have to do something.'"
Do you see this right here? No, you’re eyes aren’t fooling you, this is a coyote starring right into a camera in the yard of a neighbor in Atlantic Beach. This snap shot is postmarked in June, but this neighbor told me she sees them regularly. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/8TfxmslN8T
— Courtney Cole (@CourtneyANJax) July 26, 2018
Action News Jax reached out to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation about the problem.
They said that coyotes will always be present in Florida; however, with some simple precautions, residents can learn to successfully coexist with them.
FWC said that it is important to secure all attractants such at pet food and garbage because this is what attracts such animals to the area.
They cautioned to keep all cats indoors and to keep dogs on a short leash, supervised while outdoors.
FWC said techniques like yelling, throwing rocks, using air horns, and more can work to scare off the coyotes. These are called hazing techniques. "Coyotes are generally not a threat to people and are usually easily scared off," FWC said in an email.
FWC also said coyotes sightings do not mean there is threat necessarily. FWC added that removing coyotes can sometimes cause more problems. This could allow a more nuisance coyote to invade, or cause the current coyote family to breed more quickly in order to replace the loss.
"Coyotes are also beneficial to the ecosystem by providing pest and rodent control," FWC said.
Action News Jax will also reach out to the city of Atlantic Beach to see if they are planning to take action as well.
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