Some dog owners and walkers in a particular Ontario neighbourhood insist on carrying foghorns, bear spray and even a golf club amid increased coyote sightings.
Oakville, Ont., residents Mike Sheppard and Ashley Wray, who recently brought home a puppy, admit they’re afraid to take a simple stroll with their pet due to coyotes roaming nearby streets.
“We went from seeing them maybe once a month … now we’re getting to seeing them daily and they’re now not as timid or shy of humans,” Sheppard said.
Wray says she was stalked by one last Sunday and set aback when the animal eyed her pup and got down in a “pounce position.”
“I panicked and I hopped a fence screaming for help,” she said.
She said a nearby resident sprung into action to protect her and the dog, eventually escorting both back to their home.
“I was even too scared just to walk the four houses up, and they walked me home to make sure I was safe,” she said.
Wray now never leaves home without a foghorn and said she knows neighbours who go as far as carrying bear spray and even one who takes a golf club with him when going out.
Lesley Sampson of Coyote Watch Canada said people feeding wildlife is typically what makes the animals bold enough to encroach into residential areas.
She recommends small dog walkers keep their pet on a short leash, roughly less than six feet, so that it can be picked up should a coyote approach.
“First and foremost (it’s) really important that you never turn your back and run from any canid whether it’s a domesticated canine … coyote or fox in the wild,” Sampson said.
She said that making eye contact is paramount and that aversion tools like hazing techniques — shouting and waving arms high in the air — can be effective.
“We are the ones that set the boundaries for these animals,” she said.
“It’s really important that we are communicating and demonstrating to them that they’re not welcome.”
Town of Oakville spokesperson Julia Le said the town has not received any reports of dog deaths due to coyotes this year, but admitted there have been reports of coyotes approaching and even following people, particularly in the southeast.
Le encourages anyone who spots a coyote to report it on the website, but Sheppard said they’ve been reporting sightings and have yet to see any action.
“I don’t know what it’s going to take for them to see a certain number of sightings where it becomes something that they’re going to help control or have the humane society or wildlife authority come in,” he said.
Oakville has investigated at least 17 complaints of feeding or improper food or garbage storage in 2024.
Municipal bylaws on feeding wildlife carry fines between $300 and $500 for violators in Oakville.
Burlington coyote strategy issues advisories regularly
Oakville’s neighbour Burlington adopted a coyote response strategy in 2023 to deal with increasing sightings, largely relying on regular messaging around the mating season and warnings about feeding wildlife.
In mid-2023, the municipality reported a decline in activity compared to the previous year when seven attacks on humans and animals were reported to animal control.
The strategy came after the city activated a crisis management team to respond to the attacks after a resident was attacked at a long-term care home in the area.
That attack took place just after 8 a.m. on a Saturday, when a coyote attacked a resident on a patio at a home on New Street in the Roseland area.
At the time, Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward said it was believed the attacks may have been caused by a family of coyotes, following consultations with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
Burlington residents can be docked $300 for hand-feeding or ground-feeding wildlife on private or public property.
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