‘It wasn’t backing down’: aggressive coyote encounter amid Waverley West warning signs By: Chris Kitching Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Tuesday, May. 2, 2023 Last Modified: 8:13 PM CDT Tuesday, May. 2, 2023 Updates

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/05/2023 (858 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Carla Martin was still shaken one day after she and her daughter’s pet dogs were confronted by three coyotes on a path between Bridgwater Lakes and Whyte Ridge.

Martin and the leashed dogs — a golden retriever and a boxer — encountered the wild animals on the west side of Kenaston Boulevard at about 10 a.m. Monday.

“It was quick. I didn’t even see them coming,” said Martin, who is visiting from Milton, Ont. “I was terrified, absolutely terrified.”

Recent encounters on or near the path, which is next to an open field in southwest Winnipeg, have prompted the city to install temporary signs warning people about coyotes.

A coyote den is believed to be nearby.

Martin said one of the three that confronted her was aggressive and got very close to her and the dogs.

“It was in an attack stance with its shoulders back, and it was growling and showing its teeth,” she said Tuesday. “It was scary.”

The second coyote was close behind and the third was pacing back and forth a few metres away.

As she pulled the dogs back, Martin yelled and tried to make herself look bigger, but the lead coyote wasn’t fazed.

“For every two steps I took back, the coyote took two steps forward. It wasn’t backing down,” she said. “I didn’t want to turn my back.”

Two people in an SUV saw what was happening and pulled over on Kenaston, just south of the overpass on the Bishop Grandin Boulevard.

They got Martin and the dogs into the vehicle and drove them to her daughter’s home.

“The Good Samaritans, God bless them,” said Martin. “When we got into the vehicle, the coyotes didn’t back away.”

She isn’t sure how long the encounter lasted, but it was quick and had a toll on her. “My body feels like it was an hour.”

Martin didn’t see any warning signs during her walk Monday morning. She said she would have turned around if she had seen signs alerting her about the presence of coyotes.

The temporary signs were installed sometime Monday due to the increase in coyote activity, according to deputy mayor Janice Lukes, city councillor for the area.

She has requested larger and more detailed information warning signs, similar to those in Assiniboine Forest.

Lukes (Waverley West) has received multiple reports of coyotes acting aggressively toward people and dogs — the most about coyotes in her eight years on council.

Provincial conservation officers are monitoring the situation between Bridgwater Lakes and Whyte Ridge, she said.

Janine Wilmot, a human-wildlife coexistence biologist with Manitoba Natural Resources and Northern Development, said attacks on humans are extremely rare.

“Most coyotes will try to avoid encounters with people.”–Janine Wilmot

“Most coyotes will try to avoid encounters with people,” she said.

Pups are being born at this time of year, which can result in adult coyotes being protective, said Wilmot.

The number of reported sightings or encounters in Winnipeg has been stable, with about 70 per year.

Sightings have occurred across the city. The locations with the most reports vary from year to year.

Most reports are sightings by dog walkers or residents who haven’t seen a coyote in the city before, said Wilmot.

Coyotes have adapted to living in urban areas across North America in recent decades.

The province doesn’t conduct population surveys, but there are some coyote families living within city limits, said Wilmot.

The animals tend to be more active at night, she added.

Coexisting with coyotes

Wilmot encouraged people to keep their garbage secure and clear yards of any food or food waste, such as fallen bird seed or fruit, to avoid attracting coyotes or wildlife they prey on.

Dogs, which can be perceived as a threat, should be on a leash at all times during walks to reduce the potential for an encounter, she said.

Wilmot advised people to remain calm and pick up any small children or pets if approached by a coyote. Make loud noises and try to appear larger in a bid to scare off the animal, she said.

Don’t run and don’t turn your back on a coyote. “You really don’t want to start running because that can stimulate a chase response,” said Wilmot.

She suggested walkers carry a whistle or some form of noise maker.

Sightings or encounters in Winnipeg can be reported to conservation officers at 204-945-5221.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.