Nighttime video captured on a camera set up by Kyle Sweet, CGCS, the club’s Golf Course Superintendent, shows the playful animals enjoying the property that has become known as a wildlife haven.
Kyle Sweet, CGCS, Golf Course Superintendent of The Sanctuary Golf Club on Sanibel Island, Fla., was featured in a “Super in the Spotlight” interview in the April 2014 issue of Club & Resort Business for his work in successfully maintaining a course that is completely surrounded by a national wildlife refuge (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2014/04/18/peaceful-co-existence/).
A recent news report aired by WBBH NBC-2 in Fort Myers, Fla. that was then picked up by other outlets and that included comments from Sweet showed just how friendly an environment The Sanctuary has become; the report included security video (below) of two playful and bright-eyed coyotes enjoying the property at night..
“We were surprised to see them. First of all, you have to wonder how they got there,” Sweet told WBBH NBC-2. After seeing footprints, he explained, he and his crew set up a wildlife camera that then captured the “invading” animals.
The City of Sanibel and local wildlife organizations have also been trying to answer how the coyotes decided to come to the area, the station reported, after the first coyote was spotted on the island three years ago. The city has gotten several calls recently from homeowners who have seen the coyotes in their backyards, WBBH NBC-2 noted.
“A number of calls we’ve gotten suggests the coyotes are definitely using some of our conservation land,” Holly Milbrandt, a biologist with the City of Sanibel, told the station. Coyotes have also been spotted along a river on the island, she added.
“It’s not very common at all. This is a new issue for Sanibel,” says Milbrandt.
Because of the increase in sightings of coyotes on the island, WBBH NBC-2 reported, the city is setting up its own surveillance cameras this summer to find out where the coyotes are, what they are doing and how many of them are there.
“I think we have two concerns; making sure humans on Sanibel are safe, as well as their small pets,” says Milbrandt.
The city’s other concern is the potential impact the coyotes could have on endangered wildlife.
But for now, WBBH NBC-2 reported, it seems the playful coyotes are keeping to themselves—and enjoying the special environment that The Sanctuary GC provides to all creatures.
“They start playing and start wrestling around, and then after they finish, they’re just kind of looking at each other, and they just kind of mosey on back onto the golf course,” Sweet told the station.
“We’re not really concerned,” he added. “If anything, it’s really cool.”
Here is the video of the station’s report that included comments from Sweet:
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