To the editor:<\/p>\n
I was recently on the city of Sanibel\u2019s website when I came across the post, \u201cProtecting Sanibel\u2019s Shorebirds and Sea Turtles!\u201d The article reminds us to, among other things, \u201crespect posted areas,\u201d \u201ckeep pets away from established nesting areas,\u201d and lists a slew of beachfront lighting ordinances.<\/p>\n
The real threat are the coyotes, not lightbulbs. According to a Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) report published on June 3, coyote depredation resulted in the loss of 43 least tern nests. The number of sea turtle nests destroyed as I write this letter is 53, up from 38 to date in 2025. And nesting season has only begun. In 2025, coyotes destroyed approximately 40% of sea turtle nests on Sanibel and Captiva. Least terns and sea turtles are state-protected in Florida, where they are officially classified as a threatened species.<\/p>\n
The increase in the coyote population poses a critical threat to Sanibel\u2019s native wildlife and ecosystem balance and creates unnatural competition for food resources, threatening native island species. They are non-native, highly adaptable predators and have fundamentally disrupted conservation efforts. Even though physical barriers are used, their effectiveness has waned as coyotes continually learn to outsmart these safeguards.<\/p>\n
Over the past few years I have spoken to many concerned Sanibelians who have encountered coyotes exhibiting stalking behavior while walking their dogs and children. Just the other day one boldly walked right past me, only a few feet away, while I was stopped on the bike path at Bowman\u2019s Beach Road and Sanibel-Captiva Road. It was headed toward the park, via the crosswalk, just in time for lunch. The growing habituation of these coyotes to human environments increases the risk of aggressive behavior, particularly during mating season. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has instructions on how to haze coyotes if they approach you too closely.<\/p>\n
It is important that we not anthropomorphize coyotes, focusing on their cuteness and puppy-like behavior. They are invasive, apex predators. I urge the Sanibel City Council to take action and protect the island\u2019s vulnerable, native species. Including Sanibelians.<\/p>\n
David Barnes<\/p>\n
Sanibel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To the editor: I was recently on the city of Sanibel\u2019s website when I came across the post,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-308614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}