Suburban coyotes
Human behaviour causing problem, says expert...
The coyote issue that has some neighbours on St. James Avenue concerned appears to be caused by people feeding wildlife, say officials.
Mayor Jim Diodati, Gerald Spencer, manager of enforcement services for the City of Niagara Falls and Lesley Sampson, director of Coyote Watch Canada, met this week with a group of residents who live in the area to discuss their concerns.
“They think they’re doing a good thing by feeding these animals and they’re actually creating serious problems for the animal and the residents because the residents are worried about their dogs and cats and kids and it’s creating other problems — you can’t do something like that within the urban boundaries,” said Diodati.
He said officials are not sure who may be feeding wildlife.
“We all agreed that we would start with education of the residents. We’ll try to figure out who it is, we have some ideas, and then if the person does it (again), it’s up to a $5,000 fine,” said Diodati.
“You can’t do stuff like this, you’re going to cause serious concerns for a lot of people and you’re going to put the coyote in jeopardy as well because once it comes into the residential area, some people will take matters into their own hands.”
In an interview last month, St. James Avenue resident Mary Gordon said during the past year she has noticed an influx of coyotes in her end of the city, especially in a hydro field that backs on to her property.
But since June, she said coyotes have taken a particular liking to a property next door.
She said near the end of the summer she also noticed a rat problem in the immediate area.
Other residents in the area have shared Gordon’s concerns, and have said there have been instances where coyotes got close to children. In an interview last month, Diodati said that like Gordon, he lives along the hydro corridor and regularly sees coyotes.
Diodati updated the situation in an interview this week.
“We did determine they’re not living in the one backyard, as we thought. Yes it’s been in some of the yards, looking for the food, but it’s not living there.”
Spencer said there’s no issues with the neighbouring property from a property standards bylaw perspective.
“We’ve been there a few times in the past,” he said.
“There’s no outstanding property standards issues with respect to that property whatsoever.”
The owner of the neighbouring property, whose name is being withheld, denied what Gordon and other neighbours have said, adding he lives at the home, which has been owned by his family since 1966.
“I mind my own business. I keep to myself,” he said.
“I live there, that is my residence, that is my home.”
There’s no rat problem emanating from the property, $2,000 was spent on landscaping last year and the property is well kept, he said.
The rear of the yard is an urban forest lot that goes back about 300 feet, as are many of the adjoining properties in the neighbourhood, he said, adding that coyotes are part of the urban landscape and should be left alone.
“The city inspectors came on my property and they told me there’s nothing wrong with your property,” he said.
“I’ve seen (a coyote) once in my backyard. I walked in the backyard and it jumped up from behind a tree and ran away.”
He said people should leave the coyotes alone and not feed them.
“Haze it if you don’t want it on your property — that’s what you do.”
Diodati said this week’s meeting with a number of neighbouring residents was “really productive.”
He credited Sampson for helping educate residents about wildlife.
“Some people think it’s as simple as remove the coyote, remove the problem, but that’s not what happens — you remove the coyote, other coyotes will move into the territory,” said Diodati.
“Coyotes, as she said, they’re creatures of nature, they do what’s instinctive and she said for them to change their pattern somebody is doing something. She said, ‘I believe somebody is feeding them.’ Then, sure enough, the one neighbour goes, ‘well come to think of it,’ he’s had squirrels and that bringing food, including pizza slices, onto his property. You’re messing up their ecosystem and you’re creating problems for other people and then we’ve had some incidents with the coyote approaching kids.”
He said as a result of the meeting, city officials will hand out information fliers to residents living in the area telling them “what to do” and “what not to do.”
“It covers a number of things, including what you should not do, including things like leave your garbage out the night before, leaving food out for feral cats. There is a feral cat colony in that general area and some person … feeds the feral cats and (Sampson) said the coyotes will come in and eat, too, or they’ll eat the cats.”
In an interview this week, Gordon said the meeting was “better than I expected.”
“I think there was a collective understanding by bringing the neighbours. I invited them to come because I’m just the one doing the talking, (but) I’m not the only one (with concerns).”
Gordon said she hopes the situation can be better managed following the meeting.
“There’s some insights from Coyote Watch Canada, from (Sampson’s) work that she’s done in the neighbourhood, potentially suggesting that there’s some food being provided by certain homes,” she said.
“I was pleased with the level of involvement of the mayor. I think that we dispelled some myths, just by having a united voice with my neighbours, potential myths that others would have you believe and I think that was heard loud and clear. I think it has at least alerted the city to maybe keeping a closer eye on what comes with this property.”
Sampson, who goes out into the field to investigate coyote-related issues, said that area of the city is a “very old” travel corridor for wildlife.
“Wildlife has been using that for years — deer, fox, coyotes, skunks, racoons, whatever,” she said.
“Rodents are present the last couple of years, not just in Niagara communities, but right across Ontario. Different communities we work with, rodents are an issue, especially when there’s infrastructure change.”
Coyote Watch Canada works closely with the City of Niagara Falls on wildlife co-existence programs.
“Just based on our investigative work, there’s things that can be tightened up and it’s an effort that everyone has to contribute to — it’s a collaborative effort, it’s not just city bylaw coming in, or Coyote Watch Canada, or one or two neighbours on the street.”
Sampson said evidence shows people are “definitely” feeding wildlife in the area and that “needs to be curtailed immediately.”
“You might have one or two people that target specific wildlife species, but that’s really irrelevant because every other species comes to the table,” she said.
“I was telling the folks from St. James that they’re looking at coyotes and you have to look at this ecosystem that we’re living amongst, so people that have bird feeders overflowing, all the birds of prey … they’re very capable of scooping up a small dog or cat and most of the folks at the table were not aware of that.”
Sampson said if people come across a coyote, they should be “very assertive.”
“You can even pick up snowballs and throw them towards the coyotes. The No. 1 thing that we tell the residents, if they have a small dog, they can pick up the dog, or a child, but nobody should ever turn their back and run from any canine, whether it’s a domestic dog or wild canines.”