FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Fort Lauderdale family is on edge after a wild visitor showed up at their home.
A coyote got a little too close for comfort to Jesse Espinosa’s home, and it now has the family concerned that it may come back.
The animal was seen on home security footage roaming the property of the Melrose Manors neighborhood around, at around 4 a.m.
The coyote did not make too big of a scene. It spent its time just wandering around, jumping on top of trash cans and sniffing the area.
Espinosa said his wife first saw the coyote on camera but wasn’t sure at first what it was.
“My wife comes in the morning, and says, ‘Baby, there’s a baby reindeer in the patio, in the front yard,'” he said. “I’m like, ‘A baby reindeer?’ So I look at the video, and I’m like, ‘No, that’s a coyote!'”
The couple has lived there for a decade, but this is a first for them.
“In the 10 years that I’ve been living here, I haven’t seen a coyote or anything even close to that size,” he said.
Jesse said that the animal’s presence is frightening, and he isn’t just worried for himself and his family.
“It is a little scary because ,obviously, I wouldn’t want to come out here and see this wild animal, and I don’t know what its reaction is going to be,” he said. “I’m scared for my kids and my neighbors.”
There were also concerns for neighborhood pets.
“It’s a wild animal; you don’t know what it’s going to do,” said Espinosa. “If it’s hungry, it’s going to look for prey, something to eat.”
Now, he’s looking for possible solutions in case the coyote pops in again.
“If animal control can check out this, get into this story and see if it can be trapped, it would be good,” he said.
Espinosa said he’d be happy if he never saw the coyote again.
“Hopefully it’s a coincidence, and it’s it’s not going to happen again,” he said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said coyote sights are not rare. The coyote population is expected to grow as the animals become more comfortable living around humans.
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