Burlington residents surprised, on edge after coyote attacks

Dotted with blue Muskoka chairs, shaded by slim trees and placed atop a grassy hill overlooking Lake Ontario, one might call the municipal lookout at the end of Market Street in Burlington a loafer's paradise.

You can't beat the view," says Jim McIntyre, glancing at the shimmering water below. We come here often because it's so quiet and nice."

Peaceful, picturesque and, it turns out, home to the odd coyote.

Just last week an 18-year-old woman was lying in the grass at the lookout when a coyote tugged on her hair and scratched and bit her leg, the city of Burlington said in an Aug. 24 news release. She was sent to hospital with minor injuries and later released.

That comes as a surprise to McIntyre, who visited the site Monday with his wife, Slavica, to enjoy time off work.

Here? Really?" said Slavica.

I've never seen one here before, and we live around the corner," added McIntyre.

But coyotes aren't just being spotted more in Burlington, they're attacking humans at an unprecedented rate.

Five people - including a toddler - have been attacked by coyotes in Burlington in recent weeks. All were taken to hospital and treated for varying injuries.

These are the first ever human attacks in this municipality," spokesperson Carla Marshall said in an email, noting the unprovoked local attacks are uncharacteristic of the wild animal.

The sudden spike in attacks has left residents uneasy, particularly because of where they've happened: suburban streets, downtown parks, trails, even a fenced backyard.

My family moved here four years ago and we'd never see them. At one point this summer, though, I saw a coyote trotting down the street daily," said Daniel Dhakal, walking his Rottweiler along Henderson Road. Coyotes aren't supposed to attack things that are bigger than them, but it seems they're getting more brave so you worry."

In response to community concerns, the city rolled out a set of urgent measures to help haze" the coyote craze, including offering residents free coyote whistles" to scare off the animals and reinstill their fear of humans. Other efforts include animal services euthanizing one coyote it believed was responsible for at least three of the attacks, as well as locating where the animal was living: a den inside a scattered construction development next to the Appleby United Church.

The property was in a state of disrepair with a variety of fallen trees and unmaintained long grass and weeds and is being brought into compliance," said Marshall.

But questions still remain.

For one, the den where the responsible coyote lived sat at least a six- to eight-minute drive from where the cluster of attacks happened in south Burlington. Are the other dens around and other responsible coyotes?

It's possible, said Marshall, who noted the city has fielded plenty of tips and calls about other potential locations.

Animal services staff, in conjunction with a certified wildlife professional, will assess all potential locations to determine the appropriate actions for each den."

Another question is the reason behind the sudden presence of coyotes in Burlington neighbourhoods and their uncharacteristic propensity to attack.

I'm sure coyotes have always been around, but I've lived here 50 years and never seen them on the streets," said Wayne Ingelli.

Lesley Sampson, executive director of advocacy group Coyote Watch Canada, said coyotes aren't conditioned to interact with humans - unless they have incentive to do so. Generally speaking, she said coyotes are more prone to attack and approach if they believe a human has food.

A neighbour can leave out a bag of meat for a coyote and not get attacked, but what happens is the coyote then becomes conditioned to think humans have food," Sampson said in an interview. If it comes back to that neighbour and finds no food, it will go to the next house and keep looking, and an attack can happen."

While the city said none of the five victims fed coyotes prior to being attacked, Sampson believes it's possible others in the community have - otherwise they wouldn't keep returning.

Giving them food or leaving food out breaks down their natural instinct to stay away for us," she said. I think this should be a wake-up call to everyone in the community to stop the feeding, because people can get hurt."

Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com