Critter Corner: Coyote Management on Skidaway Island

An invasive species in Georgia, coyotes have been expanding eastwardly from their native range in the Southwest United States. They have spread to Georgia for several reasons, including the decline of gray wolves, their ability to adapt litter sizes, the ability to adapt to live near human populations, the expansion of agriculture, and forest fragmentation.

Coyotes are a fairly recent addition to Skidaway Island. In 2018, The Landings Association, in conjunction with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), began a management plan to help deter coyotes from frequenting the area. The coyote management plan includes trapping efforts, targeted night hunting, and incidental hunting (removal of coyotes during deer culling). The objective of the Association’s management plan is to deter coyotes from taking residence in the community, while also acknowledging we will have transient coyotes moving through the community from time to time.

Coyotes are known to reduce mesopredator populations when they move into new areas. (Mesopredators are medium-sized mammalian predators such as raccoons, possums, cats, etc.) Feral cats and outdoor pet cats are susceptible to predation by coyotes, owls, and foxes. The best policy to protect pet cats or other small pets is to keep them indoors and not allow them to roam outdoors alone.

   If you have a specific concern related to wildlife (deer, feral hogs, coyotes, or migratory birds), please report the issue by calling the Public Works Office (912-598-5506) or via SeeClickFix on TLA’s website (www.landings.org/service-requests). You also can use your TLA app to submit a SeeClickFix request.