A St. Charles cavalier, a small shih tzu, and three cats have been the latest victims in what’s believed to be coyote attacks in the Campbellville area.
“Trust me, they are here and not afraid…” said Tom Charron, resident of Wheelihan Way, a rural subdivision in Campbellville that’s adjacent to a wooded area.
Charron was one of many residents who wrote to the Champion after reading a story about the McKarron family’s beloved dog, which is believed to have been snatched up by a coyote a few weeks ago.
Wanita Gillis, whose house backs onto Wheelihan Way, reported that her beige and white shih tzu, Angel, went missing on the night of December 6.
“I didn’t know at the time we had a problem with coyotes but when I did my door-to-door (search), I sure found out fast,” she said.
Eve Bowder, who lives a few kilometres away on Appleby Line, said her pregnant cat, Bengal, was “killed and dragged away…right in front of my house leaving a trail of blood behind.”
Residents sent in photographs of what appears to be coyotes roaming around in their backyards.
Tom Boer, who lives just south of Campbellville, captured images on his cellphone of a “beautiful male deer,” followed by a photograph of the same deer “half eaten by the coyotes two days later.”
Boer said he could identify the deer because of its distinct antlers. He didn’t see a coyote actually eat the animal, but said he recognized the “distinct sound” made by coyotes and said he saw one on his neighbour’s property shortly before the incident occurred.
Lesley Sampson, founding executive director of Coyote Watch Canada, a non-profit wildlife advocacy and education organization, said residents need to be more open-minded about the type of animal that might be snatching their beloved pets.
“Hawks, owls and eagles will all swoop down and grab a small dog or a cat. If there are any small animals, they will go out and take those animals without hesitation.”
Brent Patterson, research assistant for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, believes coyotes are probably not responsible for every single lost pet that’s occurred in Southern and Central Ontario, but said coyote numbers peaked in 2010 in the area and are still climbing.
“And food has probably been in decline for the past few years…so they are hungrier. Hunger can be a strong motivator to undertake more risky behaviour,” he said.
The risky behavior for residents is the proximity of the coyotes to their property. Tish Vigna, who lives on Boland Crescent in Campbellville, about a kilometre from Wheelihan Way, said she saw a coyote come “almost on our front porch.”
When Ron and Judy McKarron’s St. Charles cavalier was taken, Ron said the animal was within 10 feet of their porch.
“It was confident enough to come right up to the front steps and take this little dog right in front of my wife’s eyes,” he said.
Sampson believes the animal is exhibiting these behavioural patterns because people in the neighbourhood are intentionally or unintentionally providing food sources. She added it’s very rare for coyotes to get that close to an individual without good reason.
“If a coyote is that comfortable coming up on someone’s porch then someone in the community has been feeding that animal,” she believes.
But almost every resident who wrote in to the Champion took issue with that statement.
“Trust me, no one is feeding them,” wrote Charron in an email.
Patterson agreed with Sampson that coyotes don’t typically approach someone on their front porch, but said it isn’t impossible.
“All it takes is one or a couple that have adopted that behaviour. In that case, we would consider some degree of habituation to have occurred. They have learned to associate people with food and overcome the natural fear of us and our dwellings. They decide it’s worth the risk,” he said.
Sampson said residents may not even be aware that the things in their backyards or around their properties are potential food sources — bird seed, bread meant for geese or chipmunks, pet food, improperly disposed of garbage, compost, etc.
“Coyotes are very smart. They have to survive,” she said.
Where Sampson and Patterson differ is on what to do when coyotes have made their presence felt in an area. Sampson said that Coyote Watch Canada would focus on community outreach. She would bring out a team to the area, track animal prints, look for sources of food, find coyote “hot spots” and warn residents of the potential dangers and measures that should be taken to prevent conflict with the animal. These include putting food sources away, keeping trash bins covered, using minimal amounts of bird seed and keeping pets under strict control.
Patterson said that although these measures are recommended first and foremost, they may not be enough to solve the problem.
“When all else fails and you’ve done everything you can to prevent it and it’s still an issue, then I don’t have a problem advocating for a lethal removal of the animals,” he said.
“Any property owner has the right to defend property against damage if you’re not subject to bylaws with firearms.”
The Town of Milton bylaws prohibit firearm use in urban areas, areas that are within 150 m of a building or structure, whether occupied or not, or within 30 m of a highway. There are also prohibitions on private and public property, unless permission is obtained from the property owner or public authority that owns the land and it falls within all other legal parameters.
However, the bylaw states that firearms are permitted on personal property in a rural area (only to scare or kill animals or birds that are injuring or threatening to injure property, crops, poultry, livestock or person(s) on that property.”
“Removing all food attractants might help minimize the threat, but it’s not a guarantee that it can help altogether. Lethal removal is warranted,” said Patterson.
The only other options, he said, is to “coyote-proof” the property, which means installing fences, motion-sensitive lights, water sprinklers and anything that “would give them a scare.”
“But we need to understand that those things aren’t cheap.”
Rachael Williams can be reached at rwilliams@canadianchampion.com or on Twitter @MiltonReports.
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http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/5320358-residents-say-coyote-attacks-on-pets-prevalent-in-campbellville-area/