Coyote suspected in cat death on beachside

Ormond Beach Observer
News

In May, a dead coyote, apparently hit by a car, was found on State Road A1A in Ormond Beach. The coyote was suspected of killing three cats on the beachside.

Now there are fears that a coyote may be back, after a mangled cat was found dead recently at Oceanside Country Club. Keith Walker, spokesman for the Ormond Beach Police Dept., said a coyote is suspected in the death, but he did not have a report of a coyote being seen.

Pet Safety

From the Fish and Wildlife Commission:

Safety measures should be taken to protect pets like dogs and cats, by keeping them indoors at night, on a leash or in an outdoor predator-proof pen. Cats are a particularly easy target since there are a variety of predators that prey on them, including panthers and coyotes as well as bobcats and even dogs. Keeping your cat inside not only protects it from becoming prey but it also prevents it from preying on songbirds and other native wildlife.

Coyotes are well documented throughout Florida and live in all 67 counties. They are extremely adaptable and are found in rural, suburban and even urban areas around the state.

Both coyotes and bears are attracted to a variety of food sources such as unsecured trash, bird and wildlife feeders and pet food left outside.”

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said the agency recently received a call from someone who feeds feral cats in the area. The caller said cats have started to come up missing, according to FWC spokesman Greg Workman.

Workman said the only other report the agency has had recently from Volusia County was a report from Beville Road in Daytona Beach, about a coyote that has been around about five months and has been spotted on a golf course.

Walker said if there are complaints about a coyote, Animal Control could set a trap. If the animal is caught, FWC would be called to take it.

Jennifer Winters, Sea Turtle Habitat Conservation Plan Program Manager for Volusia County, said there are documented depredations of sea turtle nests in the Ormond Beach area, but the suspected animal is a fox

“Coyotes could certainly become a problem if they discover a sea turtle nest!” she wrote in an email.