Unwanted encounters between Calgarians and aggressive coyotes in the city’s northwest has prompted the city to adopt an unusual approach to thwarting the advances of the wild animals.

City crews have begun baiting coyotes in a greenspace near the communities of Hanson Ranch and Panorama Hills using dogs to lure the coyotes into the open. The brazen animals are then shot with clay pellets from paintball guns or scared off with blaring air horns.

“We’ve been actually quite active in this park all the way since last year,” said Steven Snell, Calgary Parks conservation policy lead. “We’ve been monitoring 311s (and) we’ve had a wildlife consultant frequently out in the park since around February.”

“With denning season, we’ve noticed an uptick in coyote activity so we’ve increased our presence in the park.”

Residents of the neighbourhood have filed complaints after coyotes entered backyards, snatched dogs off their leashes or snapped at people at close range.

The hazing of coyotes is currently being conducted in two parks but coyote behaviour is being closely monitored in a total of five parks.

City officials say the new approach to the aggressive animals is showing some promise but, should the behaviour of the coyotes not change, a last resort will be trapping and killing the wild creatures.

To prevent the likelihood of an encounter with coyotes, the City of Calgary encourages people to remove food attractants from around their yards and to keep dogs on leash.

With files from CTV’s Bill Macfarlane