Coyotes hungrily eye watermelon farms

Florida's watermelon growing season is in full swing, and for the next few months, farmers across North Central Florida will be busy caring for their rows of melon plants. But as the melons ripen on the vines, farmers will not be the only ones watching. Hungry animals are always waiting for a chance to feast on the juicy melons, and in recent years, farmers have had to keep a wary eye out for one particularly cunning foe: the coyote. Coyotes are not historically found in Florida but have quietly crept into the state over the past 40 years and as their population continues to increase farmers have found that, especially during dry years, coyotes seek out watermelons as a succulent meal and will devour between 10 and 15 watermelons a night. Lois McPherson, a watermelon grower at Bellevue Gardens Organic Farm in Archer, said she will always remember the first time her fields were visited by coyotes. One morning about 20 years ago, when she went out to inspect her fields, the melons were demolished. It looked as if they had simply "exploded on the vines", she said, and all that remained were large chunks of rind strewn across the field...more