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<\/p>\nA wayward coyote kicked off the holiday season on Tuesday, halting downtown Fort Myers foot traffic and drawing state wildlife officers after it wound up stranded on a parking garage near a luxury waterfront hotel.<\/p>\n
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and others responded to reports of a coyote at the parking garage adjacent to the Luminary Hotel, 2200 Edwards Drive, on Nov. 25, where they spent at least hour trying to devise a plan to remove the coyote from the ledge safely.<\/p>\n
Fort Myers Police and Fort Myers Fire Departments plotted with FWC on the capture and closed roads surrounding the incident.<\/p>\n
However, the animal jumped over the barrier of the parking garage before FWC officers could execute a rescue mission. It ran toward Centennial Park and the Caloosahatchee River, evading them, said Bradley Johnson, public information officer for the FWC.<\/p>\n
The coyote was there for multiple hours, Johnson said. Officers think it ended on the ledge after maintenance workers frightened it.<\/p>\n
Brownish orange and appearing skittish, the wild canine was not seen again.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A wayward coyote made its way onto the ledge of the parking garage at the Luminary Hotel in downtown Fort Myers on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. Members Fort Myers Police Department, Fort Myers Fire Department and Florida Fish and Wildlife responded to the scene along with a crowd of curious onlookers. The coyote jumped back into the garage and made its way safely out of the garage and was seen heading towards Fort Myers.<\/p>\n
Social media from the Luminary Hotel indicates its team saw the canine spotted on the upper level of the city-managed parking garage and immediately notified the authorities.<\/p>\n
“Our guests and staff were never at risk, and hotel operations continued as normal,” the post indicated. “We appreciate the quick response from all agencies involved and the community\u2019s concern as the situation unfolded.”<\/p>\n
They added a silly note to the experience.<\/p>\n
“Don\u2019t worry, we offered an early check-in and some Bonvoy points to get him off the ledge,” the social media post read.<\/p>\n
Coyotes are growing in population, and they’ve turned up in every corner <\/a>\u2212 and now the ledge at a luxury hotel \u2212 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\u2019s ecological and human landscape.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n There are no reliable population counts, wildlife officials say, but coyotes now live\u00a0throughout the Sunshine State<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 1983, Florida’s wildlife agency found coyotes in 18 counties in 1983; by 2007, they were in all 67.<\/p>\n Please support local community journalism and stay informed about Southwest Florida news by subscribing to The News-Press<\/a> and Naples Daily News<\/a>; download the free News-Press<\/a> or Naples Daily News app<\/a>, and sign up for daily briefing email newsletter, food & dining and growth & development newsletters here<\/a> and here<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n