Coexisting with Coyotes

If you were asked to describe a coyote, words like aggressive and dangerous may immediately come to mind. This is not uncommon. Over the years, Coyotes have appeared all over North America, and with this expansion, they have also established the title of most common large predator in Canada. Coyotes are considered a nuisance at the first sighting, regardless of whether any harm has even occurred. Humans seem to have waged a war against coyotes, killing almost half a million of them a year. No other animal has faced the same degree of torment as coyotes have, but most people fail to realize the importance of coyotes. Coyotes are of great ecological importance and they play a key role in maintaining species diversity as they provide a necessary and healthy prey to predator balance. Beyond their unfortunate reputation, they are extremely social and far more intelligent than they are given credit for.  

In the past couple of years, city newspapers and networks have focused on conflicts between coyotes and the people living in cities. The headlines that have been circulating paint a clear picture: we cannot live peacefully with coyotes. This narrative is spread through stories of these attacks which can range from mere sightings to pet killings to the extreme cases of coyotes attacking people. As a result of these attacks and uncertainty around the danger of living with these animals, many coyotes have been shot and killed rather than being relocated. Some people have even resorted to carrying baseball bats when they walk at night and arming their pets with spike-covered “coyote vests”. Just last month a coyote was shot and killed in North York. Toronto police believed that this coyote was the same one that had bit two people a week prior, but there was no real confirmation. This is just one of the countless instances where police have resorted to lethal force, often prematurely, and many people are choosing to fight back. While most of us may believe that coyotes are extremely dangerous, they are actually naturally shy and non-confrontational animals. In fact, coyote attacks in Toronto are extremely rare. 

To protect our community and prevent further attacks from happening, Toronto police need to be equipped with the tools to address coyote issues and have an alternative response to killing these animals. Killing does not work the way it is intended to. Due to coyotes’ reproduction patterns, the regeneration of their population numbers can happen very quickly. When more coyotes are killed, more females breed and there are more available resources for young coyotes to survive. This allows for the population to bounce back quickly. Even if 75% of the coyote population was killed each year for 50 years, it would still not exterminate the population. Of course, the safety of humans is the most important piece, so what else can we do to prevent coyote attacks? There are many non-lethal approaches we can take to prevent the risk of coyote attacks such as fencing and noise making. These can be achieved by educating people about coyotes and how to properly respond to inevitable coyote sightings. 

Coyotes are not endangered, and their survival is not remotely dependent on humans. They will be around whether we like them or not, and it isn’t right for society to ignore all wildlife protection laws by killing these creatures. The misconception that coyotes pose an unparalleled threat to society is one that is harming wildlife far more than it is protecting people.  Organizations such as the Toronto Wildlife Centre and Coyote Watch Canada are already calling on Toronto to prevent these incidents from happening again. It’s time we learn to coexist with coyotes to protect ourselves, and the wildlife around us.