Burlington wildlife experts say they have put down a second coyote believed to be part of a family of the wild animals responsible for recent attacks in the city.
The news comes a day after municipal staff revealed a seventh attack on a resident at a home on Lakeshore Road Saturday.
“The coyote is described as having the same characteristics, a smaller sandy colored coyote, as the sixth and seventh coyote attacks on Sept. 10 and Sept. 17,” city spokesperson Jeff Crowder said in a release on the latest termination.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward said the city is still seeking a third animal and implored residents to take caution and resist feeding wildlife.
“We can breathe a small sigh of relief at this news, though our thoughts continue to be with all the victims as they recover from these unprovoked attacks,” Meed Ward said in a statement.
“None of us want to have to eliminate a wild animal, but we’ve learned that once animals lose their fear of humans, they can’t re-learn it and they become a permanent danger to our community.”
The latest attack happened midday on Saturday at Lakeshore near Tuck Creek when a woman was bitten in the knee while resting in her backyard.
She was taken to hospital and treated, according to officials.
The city has been on alert since mid-September following the activation of a crisis management team to respond to the incidents.
Meed Ward said Sept. 13 consultations with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry suggested the attacks may be that of a family of coyotes.
“They are territorial. One family could take up as much as a 15-kilometre radius, and all of the attacks have occurred well within that,” Meed Ward previously told 900 CHML’s Hamilton Today.
Officials are reminding residents to report sightings.
Burlington residents can be docked $300 for hand-feeding or ground-feeding wildlife on private or public property.
The city has been offering coyote whistles to help residents “haze” any of the wild animals they may encounter.