in many cities Ontario are urging individuals to report coyote dens near residential areas and to be mindful of the animals as mating season for the dogs gets underway.
Burlington, Ontario, west of Toronto, said residents must report all sightings and dens near homes to the city.
Nick Anastasopoulos, director of the city’s Department of Buildings and Bylaws, said coyotes are especially protective during mating season.
“They’re going to protect their pups,” he said. “If you’re walking the big dogs, they see them as a threat.”
The city recorded seven unprovoked coyote attacks on humans last year. It launched a task force to address the attacks and repeatedly reminded residents not to feed the animals.
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“When we created a task force and we had an Animal Services team actively working to deal with the situation, we saw a huge drop in aggressive attacks against residents,” Anastasopoulos said.
Mississauga, Ontario, is also asking residents not to feed the animals and to report coyote sightings.
“Most of the time, any of these actual incidents or any of the actual reported behavior is the result of wildlife feeding,” said Jay Smith, animal services manager. “So that’s our biggest challenge, is to address it.”
One conflict with a coyote has been reported so far this year in Mississauga and four were reported last year, down from 21 in 2021.
The number of reported sightings of coyotes in Mississauga is on the rise, with 1,292 in 2021 and 1,452 in 2022. Smith said residents can report encounters and sightings on an online interactive map of Mississauga.
In Toronto, the city said coyotes may be more active and visible as they seek a potential mate. It said it received 252 reports of coyote sightings this January.
“If you see a coyote, please keep a safe distance and make sure your dog is always on leash,” she wrote in a recent statement.
Colleen St. Clair, professor of biological sciences at the University of Alberta, said coyotes, especially males, are quite mobile at this time of year as they search for mates.
“They’re moving around a lot, but it’s also a time of year when coyotes start to act quite territorial toward each other,” she said.
St. Clair, who created the Edmonton Urban Coyote Project in 2009 to study how coyotes live in urban areas, said mating season runs from mid-January to mid-March.
“What they’re doing on the heels of breeding season is they’re looking for den sites to raise their pups, and they want really safe sites,” she said.
St. Clair said that while urban expansion has encroached on some of the coyote’s habitat, the adaptable canines may also move into metropolitan areas to keep them safe.
“Coyotes are hunted very aggressively everywhere throughout North America outside of urban areas,” she said. “The animals move to towns and cities where they “generally” feel safe,” she said, which has increased the instances of people feeding them.
“This is the fastest way to fatally manage coyotes because they become very aggressive when they are fed by people,” she said.
St. Clair warned urban residents to avoid feeding animals, turn down composters, keep bird feeders in inaccessible areas and keep things like fallen fruit and bird seed clean.
He said people who encounter coyotes should respond with hostility by things like making loud noises and throwing objects such as tennis balls, while not turning their backs on the animals or running away.
“If (people) have the opportunity and feel confident in doing so, they can be armed to spay their dog,” St. Clair said. “Or they may be ready to yell at a coyote and act aggressively.”
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