Outdoor Ontario
Wildlife Reports => Toronto Wildlife => Topic started by: Bluffs Birder on January 31, 2010, 08:30:24 PM
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Here's the latest news about coyotes in our city...
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100131/coyotes_attack_100131/20100131/?hub=TorontoNewHome
Walter
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Do you hear that???...
I think it's an uproar on it's way.
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If people would learn how to keep their dogs on a leash in coyote populated areas then there wouldn't be a problem.
I hate this city.
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It doesn't say if the dog was offleash or not, either way people do need to be careful out there.
especially if you are going out birding alone.
one might consider using dog-spray (its like pepper spray but it is labled "dog repellant or something like that) and it IS legal to have.
Don't hate this city Attila, we are used to the comfort of being "safe" and some people really don't know better. They are not used to "wild life" being in the city.
LOL Meghan..uproar? what uproar? *g*
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Ravynne40 - in the initial taped report aired on CTV the owner admitted that the initial attack happened while her dog was off leash, and then the coyote's followed them after she had fastened the leash.
As well, if you listen to the entire video clip attached to the story, at the end people are suddenly considering leashing their dogs when they take them along those trails. Those trails are NOT designated as off leash and as such anyone walking their dogs off leash there, as well as in other locations like the Rouge Valley where incidents have been reported, are breaking city bylaws and should be charged not only with that but also with reckless endangerment as they are putting themselves and their animals at risk of being attacked.
I go birding alone all the time, run into coyotes occasionally, but preventative measures are simple - act big, make tonnes of noise, and don't run otherwise they'll think you're a food source. I wouldn't use dog spray, but that is entirely up to the person.
As far as hating this city, I have good reason to. I've lived here my entire life, and can remember a time up until the late 70's when we had wolf packs and deer running around just north of Sheppard Ave. People knew how to take precautions back then, and the wildlife population was a lot greater than it is now. I've seen the city grow and the attitudes of people change over that time as well, thinking and believing that they suddenly have to have wildlife cater to their needs instead of them trying to learn and understand how to accomodate what is left of the wildlife in this city and its outskirts. That's the same type of mentality that people who walk their dogs off leash in known coyote habituated areas adhere to - it's all about me, my needs, wants, and desires.
I'll end my rant there, but Lord knows I could go on for a lot longer.
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Attilla i apologize i didn't watch the video snippet i just read the little article, sorry
i'm not disagreeing with you either, i find that people with dogs are walking them along many trails and parks with out their leashes, Marie Curtis, Sam Smith I notice many
and i'm not sure either if these parks are leash free at all? but i also know that i have not seen any posted signs (either that or i haven't noticed them)
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I'm unsure regarding Marie Curtis, but Sam Smith is just going through the application process for having one now which would be directly situated accross from the water treatment plant, NOT the main birding/walking/trekking portions that extend out to the lake.
Minutes of the first meeting can be found here: http://www.toronto.ca/parks/dogs/colonel_and_humber_dec09.pdf
If you scroll down to Page 7 of the document, you see residents comments that advise the presence of coyotes in the area. In essence, this goes back to what I'm saying - people knowingly walk their dogs off leash in a non off leash area that they know contains a coyote population. If a problem were to ever exist in an area that is designated as off leash, then the issue will need to be revisited.
Explain this to me: should the coyote's be punished for the stupidity of those who knowingly break the rules? Because that's all I'm seeing here, and it's not right at all.
Late Edit - Marie Curtis park is NOT an off leash site.
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Explain this to me: should the coyote's be punished for the stupidity of those who knowingly break the rules? Because that's all I'm seeing here, and it's not right at all.
Late Edit - Marie Curtis park is NOT an off leash site.
No the coyotes should not be punished, as for leashes? why all of a sudden do all these people think they can walk their dogs sans leash anywhere and everywhere there's a path?
thanks for the link i will go read :)
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Hi everyone:
Ill read the link.. tks Rayanne
and Attila
I believe I understand
what you are saying
my how things have changed
and for pete's sakes
dogs should be on the leash
or people more careful
coyotes are everywhere now
Egret
My grandfather was a birder
and is deceased now
but he took me out
and I recall when it was all wonderful
farmland and fields Attila
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I've lived here my entire life, and can remember a time up until the late 70's when we had wolf packs and deer running around just north of Sheppard Av
More info on this?
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More info? Simple - they got pushed out by the expansion of the city and now reside in the area between the proposed Pickering airport and Stouffville along with coyotes, deer, and the occasional bear.
To state that any of this is surprising is nonsense - the wildlife was here long before us and has evolved to the point where they have learned how to survive based on the results of peoples actions.
Just outside the city you now get deer being sought after by coyotes as a food source, simply because the coyotes have grown as a direct result of mixing with wolves. Now you get 2 or 3 of those together and they hunt just like a wolf pack, bringing down deer quite easily. If you wonder why deer, it's quite simple - they're the largest game that we have available in the region, and unless you've been under a rock you can see that the deer population has been growing not only in this area but all around the province, especially in the area around London and the Niagara Escarpment.
Within the city, all the coyotes have done was trade the jack rabbits that used to comprise their diet and replaced it with the next available food source - cats and dogs that owners believe are safe to be let off leash in areas where there are known coyote populations. I remember when jack rabbits ran around the Scarborough area - it lasted until the early 80's, when we then paved over their land and caused them to leave that last little area that was left and go outside of the city.
As I've been saying, it truly is nature at its finest when an animal like a coyote can not only adapt to survive outside of the city, but even moreso within its borders. We should respect them for what they are, and not always look to lay blame for something that is a result of our own creation.
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And if anyone is wondering, here's a picture of one of the coyote's in question that I took last year as it was doing it's nightly stroll on the top of the bluffs.
(http://i460.photobucket.com/albums/qq326/WingsofFuryPhotography/Mammals/ResizedScarboroughBluffsCoyote.jpg)
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I've lived in Scarborough for most of my life and, like Attila, I also have seen great changes to the city over the years and not always for the better but, there's no such thing as a perfect or even near-perfect world and it appears that that concept is fading even further and further away from us lately. Hopefully we can turn it around someday.
Anyway, I just wanted to add the following:
Back in November 2008 as I was doing a bit of birding in Sylvan Park (located on the left-hand side of the Doris McCarthy Trail atop the Bluffs) I literally stumbled upon a freshly cleaned deer carcass. Just imagine the scare I got as I was walking around gazing up into an evergreen tree for owls and then looked down to see where my next step was going to be and saw a huge ribcage of bright red bones less then 2 feet in front of me...yes, I nearly fainted!!! My first visit to the park and sure enough I was alone and no one else was in the park! As I stepped back and my heart started beating again at a regular pace, I took a couple of photos and wondered what type of animal or animals could have ate so much meat. At the time I really didn't have a clue what it could've been other than maybe Turkey Vultures as they passed through the area during migration (but that would've been over a month back!) When Attila posted the above photo back in May 2009 from roughly the same area, I was pretty sure that I had my answer. This lastest report from the Bellamy Ravine (Doris McCarthy Trail) has me covinced now that the Coyotes have been in the area for quite some time. I'll be carrying a whistle with me when I venture down the Trail in the future.
It's wonderful to see nature adapting to us!!!
Walter :)