City to help residents coexist with coyotes

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This article was published 07/10/2019 (2348 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The spread of suburban development into naturalized areas has prompted Winnipeg’s animal services department to partner with the provincial wildlife branch on a series of public information sessions on getting along with coyotes.

“We have these new areas being built on what used to be green space, and the more we move and develop into green space, the more conflict with wildlife there’s going to be,” said Leland Gordon, chief administrative officer at animal services.

The province acknowledged suburban expansion has resulted in an increase in coyote sightings in Winnipeg.

“With more housing subdivisions going up in the city, there are more people getting exposed to coyotes for the first time,” said Janine Stewart, a human-wildlife conflict biologist. “Some people are nervous about that. Some are excited about that. They call our department to let us know they are seeing them.”

Stewart said interaction between coyotes and the public in Winnipeg is minimal — two or three reports annually of attacks on household pets, with no reports of attacks on people.

However, Stewart said, with increased sightings, her branch wants to help residents learn on how to coexist with the wild canines.

Two information sessions are planned: Oct. 28, at Red River Community Centre (293 Murray Ave.), 6:30-8 p.m.; and Nov. 4, at Transcona Library (1 Transcona Blvd.), 6:30-8 p.m.

“We see this as a real good opportunity to work with the city to get information to people,” Stewart said. “There has been an increased interest in coyotes over the last few years because people are moving into those new developments.”

Stewart said the best way to avoid contact with coyotes is to ensure there is nothing in a yard that might attract them, such as exposed food or compost. Fallen fruit and spilled bird seed should also be cleaned up, she said, as they attract small animals that are prey for coyotes.

Dogs and cats should also not be allowed to run loose.

Urban coyotes are mostly nocturnal creatures who tend to avoid humans, Stewart said, explaining people in the new suburbs on the city edges should avoid walking their dogs at night. If they do, she said, people should carry noise makers or a walking stick that could be used to scare coyotes away.

Deer and geese are common wildlife in the city, but there have also been sightings of foxes, black bears, beavers and large snapping turtles.

“We wanted to be proactive,” Gordon said in explaining the public information sessions. “Nothing awful has happened at this point, but let’s sit down and talk to Winnipeggers about ways we can prevent something from happening.”

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca