TORONTO – Another coyote has been spotted in the Beach, over two weeks after police shot and killed another one of the animals.
Police said they shot the coyote in Cabbagetown on Feb. 10 because it was “acting aggressively.”
The latest sighting was over the weekend on Hammersmith Avenue.
The Toronto Wildlife Centre estimates there are around 2,000 coyotes in the city.
The centre told the Toronto Star, GTA residents can expect more sightings as the animals look for mates, and food after a long winter.
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Don’t just kill it – it will unbalance the environment. It should be slaughtered humanely, butchered for meat, and its pelt given to the homeless for warmth. I have seen wolf fur before and I assume that these are just as warm.
Kill it!
I live in the Guildwood Village. We have coyotes sightings here which are fairly innocuous. In addition, we have coy wolves ( a hybrid produced from a cross between coyotes and the northern red wolf). Information regarding these animals is readily available on the net. I had never heard of them, until I was confronted by five of them on the trail that runs along the lake at the foot of Galloway. I am a woman from Muskoka. I am not easily intimidated by foxes, coyotes, black bears and other members of the ecosystem, but when they approach a human in pack style, there is something very unnatural about their behaviour. These coy wolves displayed no indication of illness, such as rabbis. I do know what that looks like. My main concern was with the male (likely the alpha pack leader) which displayed canine aggression (head down, hackles up, tail pricked up, at times teeth exposed). He approached slowly to about 10 feet away. I spread myself to look bigger, used a low guttural voice “Go on”… and stood my ground. He took a step back, so did I. I backed all the way up the hill to Guildwood Pkwy. He followed to half way up the hill. I threw a couple of bricks his way and continued to warn him. The other coy wolves appeared to be circling, waiting for instructions as it were. I felt threatened. Animal Services, when called, minimized my experience as though I were a hysterical high school girl. They did not present themselves to investigate, but rather told me I should post a warning at the top of the hill! In my opinion, wild animals do not trump humans, especially if they are aggressive. Let’s not wait until a child or another woman (as in the case of the young singer on the east coast) is killed.
Bonnie, if this ever happens again, or if anyone you know is threatened by a coywolf, you must call Toronto Police to deal with the situation. Animal Services will not help you. In the Beaches we have asked them repeatedly over more than 3 years to intervene with a resident coywolf. At first they provided real support by bringing someone in to try to chase it out of the area, but since then have done nothing. Only recently with the attack on, and death of my dog, did they start to make arrangements to have a public meeting and have supported the idea of making residents discontinue feeding the coywolf.
Also if you get the runaround as I did, and they put you over to TWCA, recognize that they will not even come and destroy currently unoccupied coywolves dens (we have 3 that have been discovered, all within 60 feet of peoples homes) as the coywolves arent damaging public property.
It appears that its ok for the wild animals to cross from city property, attack and possible kill your family pet, potentially bite children (as has occurred in Oakville and other areas), and return safely to the sanctuary of city property.
The final insult is the people you support with your tax dollars will not help you.
Please call animal services this time instead of killing it.
Your suggestion to call Animal Services is laughable. In an email i received from them yesterday, they have confirmed that the right organization to call when faced with an ‘immediate and bonafide threat’ is the Toronto Police. Yes, the police. Forget about Animal Services when you are dealing with coywolves. They see their role as to take the reported sightings, and may provide education to the community on how to coexist with coywolves in our neighbourhoods.
This is a laughable position if coywolf threats and attacks weren’t becoming such a common problem as they press their way into urban centres.