'Coming out during the daytime': Burlington neighbourhood worried about mangy coyote
There's a wild animal in Burlington who appears to need some help.
Residents of the Palmer area of Burlington have noticed that one of their local coyotes is showing signs of mange and appears to be behaving strangely. For weeks now, the animal has looked thin, is missing patches of fur and is now regularly visible in the middle of the day.
Homeowners in Palmer have for a long time been aware of the group of coyotes who live there. That familiarity has led to a genuine concern by many residents who have been contacting officials in hopes they will do something for the animal.
Because we're so familiar with them, we've got our respectfully distanced friendship, you feel bad for the guy. And we've been watching him, especially with everybody being home for the past month significantly with kids," said Kristy MacDonald, a resident of the area. We've seen him coming out, and now he's starting to come out during the daytime. He's not coming out at night anymore," said MacDonald.
Residents have been posting pictures and updates of the coyote on the community's Facebook page.
According to the Ontario SPCA, coyotes typically spend the daytime resting. However, that behaviour can change due to desperation or disease.
Honestly, we live in harmony with this coyote, with this whole pack. And I mean, you can drive by there. You can see them any time they're running up and down their forest line because this guy's coming out during the daytime," said MacDonald.
Residents who see a distressed coyote are strongly encouraged not to approach the animal.
Lisa Cooper, the supervisor of Animal Services with the City of Burlington, said they are aware of this particular coyote and have been working with one of their rehabilitation partners who specializes in live trapping sick or injured coyotes.
They have been on location and trapped two coyotes from this area so far. They, along with the City, continue to track this particular coyote, however he is still covering a large distance on a daily basis," said Cooper.
Residents are asked to assist with the trapping of the coyote by reporting sightings to Animal Services Burlington at 905-335-3030.
The trapped coyotes are taken to a rehabilitation facility that specializes in treating injured and ill wildlife so they can go back into the wild as healthy wildlife," said Cooper.