City of Calgary officials confirm a male coyote has been destroyed following a recent encounter with a golfer at a northwest course.

“That was, to be clear, our last resort and it’s something we would rather not do,” explained Chris Manderson, urban conservation lead with Calgary Parks. “Killing coyotes as a means of controlling the population simply doesn't work. There's lots of good evidence all across North America that when you do that, you’ll actually get the opposite reaction. You'll see an increase in population, you will break up packs, they fragment, they move into new areas and they increase their litter sizes.”

On Thursday, June 28, a member of the Country Hills Golf Club was bitten by a coyote on the course. The woman suffered minor puncture wounds and underwent tests to ensure she had not contracted rabies.

Following the attack, a contractor, employed by the City of Calgary, located and fatally shot the animal. The remains of the coyote were sent to Alberta Fish and Wildlife to be tested for diseases.

Ward 3 Councillor Jyoti Gyondek agrees with the decision to destroy the aggressive animal but admits the City of Calgary is still in the learning phase of coyote control after accepting responsibility from the province in 2017.

“Our team has been learning how to manage and what to do,” said Gondek. “We’ve got a lot of researchers on this as well so we’re trying to handle it the best way we can.”

Coyote activity in the area has been prevalent in recent years and city workers have been conducting hazing efforts in an attempt to reinstate fear of humans in brazen animals. The workers have shot clay pellets and paintballs at the coyotes and sounded air horns.

The Country Hills Golf Club continues to monitor coyote activity and has taken measures to make the land less hospitable for the coyotes. The course has deployed bear spray and placed chunks of concrete into empty dens.

Golfers are being advised of the recent encounter and are encouraged to remain aware of their surroundings.

With files from CTV’s Shaun Frenette