Lots of Coyotes

by Terry, Kristie, Brian, Torben, The Nelsons, Tabitha
(Stevensville, Newmarket, St Catharines, Brampton, Wellington County, Westport, Waterloo, Barrie, Chippawa, Richmond Hill)

Terry Talbot from Stevensville wrote to say ... I live near the rail-road tracks in Stevensville and when the evening train comes by the Coyotes start yelping and its right behind my rear building. I have a Lab and another small dog and worry about my dogs evening duty's outside in the yard. The problem is no one can do anything about this problem. You can't shot them, they are not afraid of people any more and the outdoor cat population has gone as well.

Kristie Allen said ... I work in Newmarket and live in Whitby and travel regularly along Lakeridge Road very early in the morning coming home from night shift. I was maybe 20 minutes north of highway 7 on Lakeridge Road a few weeks ago and all of a sudden I saw what I thought was a large dog trot across the road right in front of me. As it crossed from the west side of Lakeridge to the east side I slowed my car and noticed the large bushy tail, distinctive greyish looking thick fur and very pointy nose and I knew it was a Coyote I was seeing. I slowed right down to look at the Coyote and he stopped on the east side of Lakeridge to look back at me and as I got a real full-on close look at him it was very clear it was a Coyote, not a dog. I was so excited, he just gave the one look and continued on trotting into the field on the other side of the road. It was really amazing how fast he blended into the background and disappeared. I am so amazed at seeing this wildlife and was shocked how big Coyotes actually are up close like that. I was so dumbfounded that I didn't think to snap a picture with my phone, now I really wish I had.

One of our readers from St Catharines said ... a large pack of Coyotes calls Thorold Confederation Heights area home - One night around 10 pm early in June my husband had to go to downtown Thorold from our house which is located in the Confederation Heights area. He decided that because he was walking he would take a shortcut and walk down the tracks behind Stoke Seeds (on Collier Road just south of highway 58) Shortly after he started down the tracks he heard a growl. When he turned around and shone the flashlight he saw 8 sets of Coyote eyes shining back. There were still more in the bushes on either side of the tracks. They were growling and advancing on him. He tried yelling, throwing rocks and shining his flashlight but they weren't scared. Then they started to try and circle around the front of him and surround him. So he had to run. When he looked back again there were about 12 sets of eyes and they were chasing him. When he got close to where the tracks emerge through some houses and cross the street which is all well lit he threw more rocks actually hitting one they decided to give up. This pack can be heard most nights usually between 12 am and 4 am yipping and howling like crazy. They can get so loud they have woken us up. They are not afraid of humans and are quite large animals. Not sure how big the pack is but would love to find out and see pictures of them too if anyone happens to capture the pack in action. If you have any info please comment on this below.

In June Sim spotted two canids in Castlemore, Brampton ... tonight at approximately 11:30 pm, a friend and I parked our car next to a children's park located near Pannahill Drive close to Castlemore and the Gore Road, Brampton. We walked down to a memorial area built to honour a plane that crashed in the area many years ago. We sat down on the benches in this lower area that had a path going into a trail in a dense forest area, with Cotrelle Road on the other side of the forested path area. It was dimly lit where we were sitting, but sure enough when we looked up over the hedges leading to the path we saw two very large light coloured, almost white, animals that resembled very large German shepherds. They were jumping up and down and their long tails were straight up in the air. They had pointed up ears. We got up and started running back to the car, I looked back and they were gone. Did we see Wolves? I've seen deer in the area before when I first moved here, the area used to be all forest, but now it's more developed with lots of houses. I'm going to call animal services in the morning, it's so alarming to think children and seniors visit this park all the time. Those animals were very large and I'm sure they would be able to kill humans. I also hear howling out of my window at night some times. Brampton really needs to put more effort into animal control.

One of our readers from Ballinafad, Town of Erin, Wellington County said ... There seems to be a den very close to the homes in the area. Until this year I have never seen them only heard them. Now they are coming out in the open and into our yards. Earlier this week they were less than 50 meters from my neighbor's house and today one was in my yard, 75 meters from the house. It did not run away immediately when I yelled and banged a patio table. This was May 21, 2016.

Brian from Westport saw a Rideau Lakes Coyote ... I saw a Coyote run in front of my car around 4:00 pm as I headed south on Perth Road (Rt 10) toward Kingston having recently left Westport. I stopped my car on the side of the road to watch the Coyote prance up and down across the field of high grass until it reached the woods.

Torben Spangler said ... we live in Waterloo, Ontario in a Condominium community called Blue Springs. We enjoy 5 ponds and the wildlife associated with the ponds such as lots of Canada Geese, several species of ducks, white tail deer, not to forget several species of fish, including one endangered species. We have been here 4 years and have for the first time experienced "Yipping" as in your video. This has taking place several times now, after midnight and is very loud. We have not seen the animals yet, but hope to see them soon.

The Nelsons from Barrie, Ontario said ... it's July 31, 5:30 pm and we are sitting on our deck overlooking the meadow and along comes a lone Coyote taking in the scenery sniffing the air and just wandering along. He stopped to look up at us and just kept going keeping his wandering pace along the path of Lovers Creek beside the pond. We have seen many wonderful wildlife in and around the pond and the meadow and Lovers Creek, including deer but this was our first spotting of the Coyote. I wish we had the camera at the ready but we were just too taken with the beautiful sight.

Tabitha wrote to say ... I repeatedly see Coyotes and it is widely known that they are about in the Chippewa area of Niagara Falls, Ontario, near King's Bridge Park adjacent to the Niagara Area. They may appear in both dusk and dawn, however I have even known to see them during the dawn time as I take that route to work on a daily basis toward Clifton Hill. They are very light in colour and stay near the fence that protects the rapid waters of the Niagara River towards the falls. They do not travel up farther past the power dock. There have NEVER been any known cases of attacks. When cars pass they are typically still and cautiously staring in our direction.

One of our readers from Richmond Hill said ... it was approx. 1:00 am July 27th, when I had come out to my vehicle parked around the corner at Centre St. E. and Beaverton Ave. Since there aren't any sidewalks on this side of the road, I was using the road when I witnessed a very large Coyote ahead of me, close to my vehicle. It was coming towards me at which point I shouted for it to go away, waving an arm at the same time. I noticed the hair on it's back rising, but it did run away thank goodness. Residents in this neighbourhood should watch their small pets. This was too close for comfort.


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