Coyotes make themselves at home in Stoney Creek
By Kevin Werner, News Staff
Stoney Creek News
Apr 29, 2010
Large Medium Small Print This Article Tell a friend Carolyne DeLaat discovered her family had some new neighbours late last year.
And with any new residents moving into a neighbourhood, it has taken them a while to get used to them. These residents, though, took the DeLaat family a lot more time to understand.
“The first thing we heard were these little puppies, back in December,” said DeLaat, who has lived in her Oakridge Drive home that backs onto the Niagara Escarpment for about five years.
“We thought we had dogs. Then the howling began, and we wondered what could it be?”
One Sunday night when she let out her golden retriever, her eyes moved up to the escarpment and locked onto a huge coyote staring straight at her, and not backing down from the human contact. “They just look at you,” she said.
“I had to run after my dog, grab her and put on her leash.”
Since then, during the winter and into spring, DeLaat, her husband and two older daughters have slowly adapted to the den of coyotes that live behind their home.
During the night at around 11 p. m. they would hear the coyotes howling, which would sometimes go on into the early morning hours.
“That howling is disturbing,” she said.
She has seen paw prints coming as close as 50 feet to within her property. And she has also noticed the once prevalent wildlife in the area, such as rabbits, and squirrels, are all gone.
DeLaat contacted city officials, but without any luck, then the Ministry of Natural Resources for help, who referred her to a trapper. She said the trapper told her he could capture the coyotes and release them but only a mile from the area. Since coyotes are territorial animals, and can roam up to five miles from their home, any coyote released a mile away would be back soon. The trapper also offered to capture and kill the animal, but she has resisted the idea, at a cost of about $1,000, she said.
As the weather gets warmer, DeLaat worries about the neighbourhood children’s safety, as well as people who use the Bruce Trail. An entrance to the trail system is near the coyotes’ den.
“These animals are huge,” she said. “They are also very curious about things.”
She wonders what will happen when summer blooms and homeowners start enjoying their backyard barbecues, and other activities, which is sure to attract the attention of the coyotes, she said.
“They are not intimidated whatsoever,” she said. “They will stay and look when confronted. Then they gradually saunter away. They are lean, mean looking animals about the size of a wolf.”
She says any child, especially younger kids, would be threatened by a coyote.
“These coyotes should be in a more controlled environment,” she said.
A Niagara Escarpment Commission spokesperson said NEC does not have jurisdiction over wildlife on the escarpment.
Stoney Creek councillor Maria Pearson has suggested the NEC install signs warning people who use the Bruce Trail of the presence of coyotes in the area.
Since DeLaat’s first encounter with the coyotes, she has absorbed as much information about them as possible. Her property doesn’t have a fence, and she believes one would be useless since coyotes can jump about 10 feet. If there are fruit trees around, coyotes will be there, and bird feeders also provide another readily available food source.
They are disturbed by loud noises, so DeLaat has a whistle handy. And if a person is confronted by a coyote, don’t run away, or they will chase you down, she says. Back away slowly, she said.
“We are adapting as best we can,” she said. “I would prefer the city take measures.”
Hamilton residents have had to live uneasily with coyotes as their appearances have become more frequent across the city, in Ancaster, and last year along the beach strip. Coyotes became so bold among Beach residents that they were walking along the street and taking food that had been left near homes. They can still be seen loping around the area, said Ward 5 councillor Chad Collins.
The Natural Resources ministry did kill one coyote last year, after there were arguments made about relocating the animal.
This past year a coyote killed a young Nova Scotia woman, and in Mississauga a coyote snatched a small dog while it was walking with its owner. The dog wasn’t on a leash.
Pearson said the City of Hamilton can’t do anything about the animals. She said it is illegal for a person to shoot the coyotes because it is against the city’s bylaw to use a firearm within the city limits.
Since the spring, DeLaat and her family hear the coyotes howling maybe every two weeks. The pups have grown and are now travelling with their parents around the area.
“There could definitely be a much larger problem in the future,” said DeLaat. “Nobody is willing to do anything. There are too many children in the area. I don’t feel these coyotes should be in the urban areas.”
