What to do if you see a coyote in Winnipeg
A walk through South Osborne went from peaceful to startling earlier this week for a Winnipeg woman, who observed a coyote in the area.
“We were warned by another dog owner, who had a larger dog, that they had seen a coyote,” said Heather Stuart.
Stuart was out for a walk around 6:30 p.m. Monday with her friend, who brought along her small dogs. The two finished their walk faster than normal that night.
When they got back to the car, they drove around out of curiosity to see if the coyote was still in the area. Within a few minutes, they spotted it.
“Our reaction was (to) turn on the brights. We had a few toys in the car. We tried squeaking [them to make] noise,” said Stuart. “We were probably less than five metres away in the vehicle. So, yeah, kind of alarming.”
Stuart said within the last 10 days, she saw two notices online of coyotes in the area.
”Which seemed a little bit different than previous years. I don’t remember ever hearing about them that often,” Stuart said.
Coyotes were also recently spotted near a school in the Linden Woods area.
The province said in terms of coyote reports, it’s been a fairly normal year so far.
“In general, in the City of Winnipeg, we get about 60 to 70 reports of interactions between people and coyotes annually, and we haven’t seen a significant increase in the number we’re getting as of yet,” said Janine Wilmot, a human-wildlife coexistence biologist with the province.
However, Wilmot noted coyotes have adapted to living in urban areas throughout North America. While it’s not as common to see them in highly developed areas, Wilmot said it is possible, more so around dusk and dawn.
“Make sure you give the animal its space. You don’t want to approach it, you don’t want to crowd it,” said Wilmot.
“If you have kids or small pets with you, [it’s] really good to pick those up because you don’t know how they’re going to respond to the situation. You don’t want them starting to run because a run can trigger a chase response in a coyote.”
In the meantime, Stuart and her friend will be taking precautions when going for their walks.
“Definitely. I think until we, or maybe even just herself, feel a bit more comfortable, we’d be doing it more in the daylight,” said Stuart. “Maybe not at dusk.”
Wilmot said you don’t need to report every time you see a coyote, only if it is deliberately approaching you, causing damage to property, or injuring someone’s animal.
She said to better coexist with coyotes, and to keep them away from your property, you should make sure to secure any garbage or compost so a coyote can’t get into it, feed your pets inside to avoid any trace of food, and clean up any mess left behind from a bird feeder.
If you do have an encounter with a coyote within Winnipeg, you can call 204-945-5221 to report the incident.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul 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.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
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.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
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.