WINTER PARK, Fla. – A coyote has been trapped and put down after a month-long string of pet attacks in several Orlando neighborhoods.
Trapper Wayne Salicrup told Local 6 he caught a coyote Sunday morning while doing a normal check of several traps he's set in a Winter Park neighborhood. Salicrup wouldn't reveal exactly which neighborhood because of a client confidentiality agreement.
Since August, a string of presumed coyote attacks has plagued a nearby College Park neighborhood. One attempt was even caught by a homeowner on surveillance video.
Salicrup, who runs Trapline Wildlife Services, said he has dispensed traps in several Orlando neighborhoods at the request of clients. He said coyotes come into College Park and Winter Park from large patches of woods, especially one located at Princeton Street and John Young Parkway in Orlando.
The trapper said he knows of at least six more coyotes he's working to trap, but it's impossible to predict the population. According to Salicrup, coyotes are not necessarily more active in the summer, but he's been busy because neighbors are more aware of the problem with the string of recent attacks.
He said as coyotes lose habitat, they run out of natural food sources and target small domestic animals if given the opportunity.
"They run out of their natural food source. They've exhausted that and that's what makes them go for easier prey like your house cat or small dog," said Salicrup.
He advises homeowners to keep pets inside at all time and to not leave pet food out either.
The coyote trapped Sunday was euthanized. Salicrup said relocating it wasn't an option.