Coyotes put down following Terwillegar attack

Citizen, dog suffer minor injuries

With the assistance of wildlife contractors, Edmonton's park ranger wildlife team has put down three coyotes believed to be responsible for a “highly unusual” attack on a citizen and their dog on May 31.

Troy Courtoreille, operations coordinator for animal care and park rangers, told Postmedia on June 1 that the citizen and their dog were walking in Thibault Park in the Terwillegar area around 10 a.m. when they came across a single coyote.

After the citizen unsuccessfully tried to frighten away the coyote, the person began to leave when more coyotes showed up and attacked the individual and their dog, Courtoreille said.

They were treated for minor injuries, Courtoreille said.

“With many adult coyotes in the area, we do believe (it's) very likely pups were in the immediate vicinity.”

The day following the attack park rangers along with specialists from the University of Alberta were at the scene to assess any coyote activity in the area, said Chrystal Coleman, city communications adviser.

The remains of the coyotes were sent to a forensics lab at Alberta Environment and Parks to check for evidence that could have contributed to the attack. Park rangers will continue to monitor the area and work with U of A on managing coyote behaviour through hazing techniques.

Colleen Cassady St. Clair, professor of biological sciences at the U of A, said that the Urban Coyote Intervention program that runs from January to May saw more than 80 volunteers in around 60 neighbourhoods patrolling for coyotes. If the volunteers encounter a coyote within 40 metres they use hazing techniques such as shouting, shaking a can full of coins or throwing a weighted tennis ball at them.

Cassady St. Clair says Terwillegar is one of the neighbourhoods that participated in the program.

“We know a little bit about Terwillegar ... it's been a site with increasing coyote reports. There were 10 reports in both 2019 and 2020, up from half a dozen years before that,” she said.

In 2021, that number jumped to 21 reports and Cassady St. Clair said that the city is on track to reach similar numbers this year.

“We have seen in the reports from Terwillegar of fairly bold coyotes and in particular reports of coyotes following people with dogs,” she said, adding that behaviour is very rare.

If people are worried about coyotes while walking, carry a stick, an umbrella or something to throw.

“The act of throwing something at a coyote closes that distance without you having to be too close and it makes the animal realize you can hurt it from a distance,” said Cassady St. Clair.

She also recommends shouting to alert other people in the area and intimidate the animal.

Dogs should be kept on a short leash and should not be permitted to interact with coyotes.