Nolan Hill coyote euthanized as more Calgarians report coyote concerns
More Calgarians reported unpleasant encounters with coyotes Wednesday, while the city confirmed it has euthanized one that attacked three people in Nolan Hill.
After three people were bitten by a coyote in the northwest Calgary of Nolan Hill over the past few weeks, Morgan Sebastian, who lives in the Greenbrier neighbourhood, filmed a recent encounter with a coyote that started acting in a menacing manner while she was out walking her dog.
The most recent incident took place Tuesday, when Sebastian was out with her dog on a leash. She filmed the encounter, which she said was her third coyote confrontation in less than a week.
She reached out to CTV News after calling the city and Alberta Fish and Wildlife to file complaints, only to be bounced back and forth between the two agencies.
Also, a Calgary resident from Montgomery shot video last week of a coyote following him and his dog while he was out for a walk.
No one was hurt in either incident, but that wasn't the case in Nolan Hill, where three people were bitten.
A city spokesperson confirmed early Wednesday evening that the Nolan Hill coyote was euthanized Tuesday.
"Calgary’s population of urban coyotes means at times there will be encounters with citizens in parks, green spaces and neighbourhoods. However, it is unlikely that these encounters will lead to a negative interaction as aggressive behaviour in coyotes is very rare," the city said in a statement.
"As stated previously, the coyote in Nolan Hill was uncommonly bold and aggressive. The Nolan Hill coyote was permanently removed by our contractors, who identified and confirmed that this was the correct animal prior to removal, on the evening of June 22."
'A LITTLE SCARY'
Sebastian said in more than three years living in Greenbrier, it's the first time she's experienced anything like this, from one coyote circling to several coyotes surrounding them and even charging them.
Morgan Sebsastian has had three encounters with coyotes in the past week in the Greenbrier neighbourhood
"It is a little scary," she said. "(Although) I am more scared for the old ladies that walk their small dogs in the area and the small children in the area, especially after the unprovoked attacks in Nolan Hill."
"It's a little nerve-wracking," said Sebastian. "I've got little rocks in my pocket."
PROTECTING COYOTE PUPS
Shelley Alexander at the University of Calgary said June is traditionally the time when coyotes move their pups to a secondary den, and in an urban setting like Calgary, they might feel the need to move them more than once in order to protect them.
That in turn might explain them exhibiting more aggressive behavior towards people, which she said is known as "escorting", which is amplified when a person has a dog with them.
The city issued a response to Sebastian's video late Wednesday as well.
"Regarding the video provided entitled, “Coyote close encounter (Part1)”, we are familiar with this area and have placed signage to inform residents that there are active coyotes in the area," they said.
A woman in her 60s is in hospital after she was attacked by a coyote in the yard of her home in Nolan Hill over the weekend. City staff say the coyote is believed to be between one and two years old, and displaced from its previous range by construction.
"There is a den in the area and the coyote is likely guarding its den. As shown in the video, when the person walks to a distance the coyote is comfortable with, the animal turns around and walks away. This video reiterates the importance of ensuring pets are on-leash when walking, as well as not approaching coyotes and making sure to give them plenty of space."
"Citizen safety is the number one priority," it said. "The City supports and encourages peaceful co-existence with coyotes through public education and, if needed, proactive management.
"We have had great success with our hazing program, which has helped limit the amount of negative human/coyote interactions. We focus hazing efforts and determine locations based on 311 calls and investigations into the severity of each call.
"Our contractors are working in several communities throughout the city that we have determined to be priority areas. So far, from January to June this year, we have received 20 per cent fewer coyote 311 calls than over the same period in 2020."
With files from Camilla di Giuseppe
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.