Coyote attacks rare, but follow safety tips in an encounter: FortWhyte wildlife expert

After a nine-year-old boy was mauled by a coyote in a quiet North Kildonan neighbourhood Saturday evening, many Winnipeggers have concerns about what to do if they have a similar encounter with a wild animal within city limits.

FortWhyte Alive’s Barrett Miller told 680 CJOB’s The Start that attacks by coyotes are quite rare — maybe one reported incident or less nationwide each year — but there are a few tips if you find yourself in that situation.

“The best thing to do, if the coyote is uninterested in you, is to just maintain your distance,” Miller said. “Safe social distancing with wildlife is 20 metres.

“If an animal is making you uncomfortable and you get a chance to see it coming, you make yourself loud and large. Puff yourself up. If you have a piece of clothing you can take off, like a jacket, hold that up over your head to make yourself even bigger — and this applies to anybody, from a very small person to a very big person.”

It also applies, he said, to any wild animal, from a coyote to a bear to even a raccoon.

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What you shouldn’t do, however, is try to run, or make any kind of high-pitched scream, which can trigger either play or a predation instinct in a lot of animal species.

“It can provoke that predatory instinct…. ‘Oh, it’s running, it’s afraid, maybe this is something I could eat.’

“We’ve got some pretty big brains, but our legs are not as fast as most of the animal world, so we can get outpaced.”

Miller said people should also avoid turning their backs on wildlife, but try to get away from the situation, back away slowly and give the animal lots of space.

If a coyote or something else is suddenly in your space and you don’t have any other options, there’s one more tip that might save your bacon: when in doubt, go for the snout.

“I’m not giving people permission to go around punching neighbourhood wildlife, but if this happens, you swing for the nose,” he said.

“If you miss the nose, you might connect with the eyes or ears, and it turns out that no mammal — no animal — likes getting punched in the nose, eyes or ears.”

The family of the nine-year-old victim of Saturday’s attack confirmed he received stitches in his head and is recovering at home. He was out walking near Popko Crescent and Knowles Avenue with his 15-year-old sister, police said, when the coyote ran toward them as they tried to flee.

Thanks to some quick thinking by neighbours, including one armed with a shovel, the animal was chased away and is currently being sought by Manitoba Conservation officials.

Miller said despite this weekend’s attack, Winnipeggers don’t need to be afraid of coyotes, which are typically far more timid than we might assume — just like other creatures such as foxes or deer.

“Winnipeg is a wildlife city — it’s one of our assets. It’s actually a really great thing that we have that biodiversity around us,” he said.

“Coyotes will go anywhere that there are rodents, anywhere there’s a food source. Humans tend to bring rodents with them.

“If we have green around us — and with our rivers, with our parks, golf courses and the like we almost always have green around — it’s always a good idea to keep an eye out for wildlife. ”

0:53 More coyote sightings in Winnipeg