If you’ve ever seen a dog run past you without an owner, it actually might have been a coyote.
According to the Stanley Park Ecology Society, there has been a number of coyote sightings in and around Vancouver, including Granville Island, South Main and an especially heavy presence in Mount Pleasant, this month alone.
On January 23rd, around 1:30 pm, a coyote was seen chasing several children within Mount Pleasant.
Conservation officers were notified and the coyote sighting map was updated to include the incident.
The sightings even went as far as Burnaby and Surrey.
The sightings noted some coyotes were travelling together, a couple of them were sick or injured and at least one was seen eating garbage outside of a school.
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To see an interactive version of this map, click here.
Coyote Sightings
Although often mistaken for dogs or even wolves, coyotes have features that set them apart from other animals.
They have fluffy tails that point straight down, thick fur that comes in brown, black or grey, golden-yellow eyes and large ears that point upwards.
The Stanley Park Ecology society notes, many coyotes are affected by mange, which causes a loss of fur due to parasitic mites burrowing in the skin.
This condition is contagious to pets, so it’s important to keep your animals safe as we try to coexist with our coyote population.
Coyotes are considered to be one of the most adaptable wild animals, so much so, they have adapted their behaviour in cities to avoid humans during the day and do their hunting at night.
Their diet consists primarily of mice, squirrels and rabbits, but they’ve been known to take what they can get such as fish, eggs and garbage.
Although they have been known to prey on cats and small dogs, our furry friends actually only account for one to two per cent of a coyote’s diet.
Even though the risk to your pet may be small, you should still take measures to keep your pets safe.
How To Keep Your Pets Safe
The Stanley Park Ecology Society urges cat owners to keep cats indoors and dog owners to carry a coyote shaker, keep your dog on a leash and to walk your dog during the day in open areas with heavy pedestrian activity.
However, if you do see a coyote while walking your dog, especially if your dog is small, pick them up, raise your arms if you can and yell “go away coyote” to alert others there is a coyote nearby.
The Stanley Park Ecology Society says in order to scare away a coyote, “be big, brave and loud.”
If you see a coyote, please report it using this online form or call 604-681- WILD (9453) with the date, time, location, and what the coyote was doing when you saw it.
