Coyotes In Etobicoke

Coyote Encounters on the Rise

Coyote encounters have been on the rise across the GTA and southern Ontario over the last few years. While there have been several reports of human-coyote conflicts, only one bite has been confirmed in the city in the last decade, and it was a unique situation—the victim had been feeding the coyote.

We share Etobicoke with its animal inhabitants, and coyotes are no exception. And we want coyotes around—they keep our rodent populations under control. So we will encounter them. But what should you do if you encounter a coyote?

Typically, coyotes do not pose a real threat to humans. They are highly adaptable social animals and rarely attack unprovoked. When you see them on the prowl, they are usually out hunting small rodents. Most of the time, they only become bold and interactive because they have learned that such behaviour earns them dinner; typically because humans leave food out for them, intentionally or unintentionally.

Coyotes largely only demonstrate aggression if you approach their den—especially if you are with a dog, which the family-oriented coyote may interpret as a threat to its pack resting in its den. Most of the time, coyotes will only approach or stalk you if they are worried you are endangering their pups and want to assess your behaviour. And so part of living with coyotes is getting a sense of what they consider “their turf,” knowing how to respect it, and understanding how to react to their presence to prevent conflict.

How to respect a coyote’s space

• Avoid walking your dog off-leash through well-known coyote hotspots (e.g., the Etobicoke Creek Trail, Humber Bay’s parks)—this is especially important at dusk and dawn, the times when coyotes most often leave their dens to hunt. Helpful to note is that coyotes in the city usually make their dens in areas with thick flora or in little used open areas, such as golf courses in the winter.
• Do not feed coyotes—be sure to cover your trash and compost bins.
• Leash your dog—if your dog is roaming off-leash and enters the territory around a coyote’s den, the coyote can become fearful. Keeping your dog on a leash is one of the best ways to discourage interactions between coyotes and domestic dogs.
• Know their patterns—February is the month in which coyotes most often mate, so they may become more protective once their pups are born a few months later in the spring.

What to do if you encounter a coyote

• Stop—do not run from a coyote. Stand still exactly where you are.
• Be big, loud, and assertive—make it known to the coyote that he is not welcome in your space. Lift and wave your arms. Make as much noise as possible, but remember to shout not scream. You can clap, stomp, blow a whistle or airhorn, and shake your keys. If you are walking in an area well-known for its coyote population, it can also be helpful to walk with an umbrella or a can filled with coins; opening the umbrella towards a coyote and throwing the can in the area around the coyote (but never directly at the coyote) can discourage them from approaching you. But if you don’t want to carry these things around, there are also lots of natural projectiles you can throw towards the area around the coyote, such as small rocks, sticks, or dirt.
• Back away slowly—calmly and assertively step backwards away from the coyote. To the degree possible, do not demonstrate fear and do not break into a run.

One more thing…

• Coyotes can suffer from Echinococcus multilocularis, a tapeworm that houses itself inside their intestines and presents in their feces. It’s important to make sure that your dog does not ingest any coyote poop—another reason to keep your dog leashed in coyote hotspots. Ingesting feces with Echinococcus multilocularis can cause cysts to form in your dog’s body—especially in the liver—that are often not diagnosed until they become very difficult to treat. Dogs can also pass the parasite to humans.