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Feeding coyotes will lead to tragic consequences By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) is warning area residents not to feed coyotes as this can result in aggressive behaviour towards humans. Biologist John Pisapio of the MNR's Aurora office offered this advice Friday, one day after eight-year-old Julia Couto was bitten on the leg by a coyote as she played with a friend in her neighbour's backyard on Canonridge Circle. The coyote reportedly approached from the wooded area behind the backyard and jumped a fence to confront the two girls. The youngsters were able to escape inside the home despite being pursued by the coyote. Halton police said Couto's injury was not serious. Police shot and killed the animal in the same area a short time later. While Pisapio said he did not know enough about the details of this specific incident to say whether humans had been feeding this wild dog, he did discuss the dangerous situation that can result when a coyote has come to expect food from humans. "Coyotes are shy animals that avoid human interaction," he said. "Occasionally, coyotes that exhibit fearlessness or aggressiveness towards people have been habituated to human food sources; either through intentional feeding, which is common, leaving food outside or improper garbage storage. These animals may approach or follow people looking to receive a food reward." Pisapio said once this behaviour has been learned, the coyote may not be able to distinguish the person doing the feeding from other residents in the area and, as a result, the coyote may approach anyone. "So, it's unlikely a disease was involved," said Pisapio. "The first course of action in addressing conflicts with coyotes is to determine if intentional feeding is occurring and to put a stop to it." Manager of Animal Protective Services with the Oakville & Milton Humane Society Amanda Barrett said the dog killed Thursday was an adult female, which showed no sign of disease or starvation. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency took the body of the coyote for testing to determine if there is any medical reason it may have attacked. While testing is still underway, it was 9 · Thursday, January 26, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com RIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVER at home in the woods: The coyote was spotted near Fourth Line and the North Service Road last month. reported the coyote did not have rabies. "It's very odd behaviour," said Barrett. "With coyotes, there is the whole system of fight or flight. Coyotes follow the flight. They don't like confrontation; they basically will run the opposite way if they feel threatened at any point. They will not stick around to do battle. Even with prey aspects, they like the sick, injured, the easy prey to hunt down. They don't look for confrontation, so it is a very odd behaviour that it would come from a wooded area to an area where there were humans (children) and then continue to go after them after they ran. That is not the typical sign of a coyote." Halton police believe the coyote killed was the animal that attacked Couto. However, the police are advising residents to be vigilant around woods and ravines as there were more than one set of tracks found in the area of the incident. While this was the first incident involving a human, northwest Oakville has seen a series of coyote attacks on dogs recently. Two weeks ago the remains of a Saddler Circle woman's small dog, killed by a coyote, were found after the dog went missing from its yard. On Jan. 11, a second dog was attacked while being walked by its owner north of Upper Middle Road, near Grand Oak Trail. On Jan. 16, a dog was attacked as it walked with its owner along a ravine in West Oak Trails Park. Prior to the coyote's shooting on Thursday, the Town of Oakville had announced it will host a coyote information night, Tuesday, Jan. 31 from 7-9 p.m. at St. Volodymyr Cultural Centre, 1280 Dundas St. W. The Town hosted a similar meeting last year. An MNR coyote expert will be a featured speaker as well as a representative of the Oakville and Milton Humane Society. The OMHS reports during 2011 51 reported dog bites on humans in Oakville. During the same period there were no coyote attacks on humans reported. Not all dog bites are reported. For safety tips regarding coyotes, visit www.oakville.ca. www.solsticeresturant.ca