ORLANDO, Fla. – Central Floridians are accustomed to sharing neighborhoods with wildlife, but one College Park homeowner says repeated encounters with coyotes have left her heartbroken and spending thousands of dollars to protect the animals in her care.
Lori Carroll has lived in her Orlando home for 11 years and cares for a colony of feral cats that were already living on the surrounding property when she moved in.
“Some of us have inherited outdoor cats that can’t come in,” she explained.
While many of the cats remain outdoors, Carroll has taken steps to ensure they are fed, medically treated, and spayed or neutered, to prevent rapid reproduction.
But her efforts were shaken when she returned home one day to discover what remained of one of her oldest cats after a coyote attack.
Angry and concerned, Carroll called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to report the incident and described to News 6 a detailed, 20-minute conversation.
Ultimately, though, according to FWC, relocating coyotes is not a solution the agency uses.
“As far as our officers coming out and grabbing them and relocating them, we don’t do that,” FWC Officer Chad Weber said.
Wildlife officials say coyotes can actually reproduce more rapidly when populations are hunted or trapped, making relocation and removal ineffective long-term management strategies.
But that left Caroll and other neighbors, who she said have had outdoor pets attacked by the wild canines, with few options.
According to FWC’s website, there are several things people can do to decrease their chances of a coyote encounter or scare them away:
1. Secure Attractants (coyotes are highly adaptable and visit neighborhoods seeking food)
- Manage garbage: Keep trash in animal-proof containers and only put them out on the morning of pickup.
- Feed pets indoors: Never leave pet food, water bowls, or birdseed outside.
- Clean up yards: Pick up fallen fruit from trees.
- Block crawl spaces: Close off open spaces under decks, sheds, and porches where coyotes might den or rest.
2. Protect Your Pets (Since small pets resemble natural prey, close supervision is essential.)
- Keep cats indoors: A screened porch is not secure.
- Leash your dog: Walk dogs on a short leash, especially during dusk, dawn, and at night.
- Livestock security: Protect small livestock (poultry, goats) in fully enclosed, roofed spaces or use electric fencing.
3. Haze to Reinforce Fear (actively deter it—so it learns to avoid people)
- Be loud & large: Wave your arms above your head and yell loudly.
- Use noisemakers: Clap your hands, bang pots and pans, or use a handheld air horn. You can make a “coyote shaker” by filling an empty soda can with pennies or pebbles and taping it shut.
- Throw objects: Throw sticks or small stones in the direction of the coyote (not directly at the animal).
- Deterrents: Spray them with a water hose or use pepper spray at close range.
- Continue until it leaves: Hazing stops working if the coyote waits for you to stop; keep the behavior up until the animal completely leaves the area.
Carroll went through a litany of preventative methods, buying radios to emit chatter, which can be a successful form of coyote hazing, hiring private security to patrol her property until she could get a fence up, buying traps, removing outdoor food, and trying to corral as many of the feral cats as possible.
Her final line of defense was the aforementioned fence, which she says the coyote jumped within 24 hours of installation.
“To be mad at the coyote is pointless. They’re hungry and we’re displacing them.” Carroll said, pointing to Florida’s rapid expansion.
Carroll and many online who’ve shared videos and images with News 6 of coyote sightings, believe the population is growing.
Weber couldn’t confirm an uptick in coyotes, but did note the animals are present in all 67 Florida counties and are commonly found in both urban and suburban areas.
A News 6 information request revealed there were only two reported sightings in Orlando between January and May 2026, which is why FWC urges residents to report them.
That spurs an official investigation and helps FWC determine if it’s the same coyote being spotted multiple times as well as collecting other pertinent data.
While FWC does stress homeowner and community responsibility, if a coyote problem persists, the conservation urges the public to contact them for a wildlife biologist to escalate action.