Coyotes are native-American relatives of wolves and pet dogs. Like our dogs, they are omnivorous – eating both plants and animals, taking advantage of both living creatures and dead ones. Most of their diet consists of small creatures – insects, mice, rats, birds (when they can catch them), lizards, fruit, nuts, and mushrooms. They are mostly creatures of open grasslands – even mowed areas such as golf courses and parks. Humans attract them unintentionally by making garbage available or putting food outside for family pets. Coyotes are largely scavengers and must cover a lot of ground to meet their daily needs – sometimes as much as 5 square miles in a day. In seasonally cold climates – as with other animals – coyotes grow a thicker coat and then molt it when the weather turns warm – often giving coyotes a rather scruffy appearance as they molt. Coyote pairs sometimes hunt together – often 50 feet or so apart – increasing the odds of catching a rabbit or other small animal that is flushed as they move. Most of the time, however, they are rather solitary in their movements.
Coyotes are not native to Florida, but have expanded into the state as we have cleared forested areas and provided new foods – garbage, pet foods placed outside, even garden vegetables. At times in the past coyotes were sometimes introduced as game animals, and no doubt, some of those may have survived and begun breeding here.
Coyotes pose a threat to pets – mostly because they can carry ticks, fleas, and disease organisms that can be transmitted to pets.