Back to SearchBurlington, Ont.—Sept. 18, 2022— Another unprovoked coyote attack was reported to the City of Burlington from a personal residence on Lakeshore Rd. near Tuck Creek.
The unprovoked coyote attack occurred Saturday, Sept. 17 around 12 p.m. at a residence on Lakeshore Road east of the Roseland area. The victim was resting in the rear yard when a coyote bit her in the knee. The victim was taken to hospital and treated.
The coyote is described as having the same characteristics, a smaller sandy colored coyote, as the sixth coyote attack on an elderly resident at a local retirement home on Sept. 10. The City is asking residents to continue to be vigilant in and around the areas noted on the updated map attached below and report coyote sightings using the form at burlington.ca/coyotes.
City of Burlington Animal Services staff have been conducting ongoing joint operations with the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) and the Certified Wildlife Control Professional in the areas of attack to track down and eliminate the coyotes. Residents may see this multi agency taskforce in their neighbourhood and it is critical that residents do not interfere with these operations. Due to the fluidity of the situation, it may not always be possible for residents to be notified of the operations occurring in the surrounding community. It is important that crowds not gather during these operations. This is important for both the safety of residents and so crowds do not scare off the coyotes being tracked. The increasing challenge is that coyotes are no longer denning at this time of year and are more mobile. The priority of this multi agency taskforce is to eliminate the aggressive coyotes based on our approved City of Burlington Coyote Response Strategy protocol.
The City of Burlington met with senior officials of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) Provincial Services Division this week to gain expert advice on the current situation and confirm further immediate steps to deal with a family of aggressive coyotes in south central Burlington. MNRF staff experts shared that under no circumstances should coyotes be fed by humans. When people feed coyotes, intentionally or unintentionally, coyotes become familiar with humans, are no longer afraid of humans and show more and more aggressive behaviour, as is happening now in south central Burlington. From what City staff shared with MNRF scientific and veterinary experts, the experts are convinced these localized attacks are coming from coyotes who have been conditioned to see humans as providing a food source. This learned behaviour creates an environment where wildlife is conditioned to be comfortable with direct human interaction and may come to depend on humans for food. Once a coyote crosses the boundary of acceptable interaction with humans, the coyote must be eliminated for public safety reasons, due to a situation they did not initiate.
Anyone attacked by a coyote is advised to seek immediate medical attention and report the attack to the Halton Region Health Department and to the City of Burlington Animal Services at animalservices@burlington.ca or 905-335-3030.
Municipalities are responsible for taking appropriate actions to manage resident coyote sightings, encounters and attacks and take appropriate action. If a coyote attacks a person, the City has a Council approved Coyote Response Strategy in place that is currently being followed to prioritize and deal with this situation.
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Quick Facts
- In 2015, Burlington City Council approved a Coyote Response Strategy that provides guidelines on preventing and managing conflicts with coyotes.
- On Sept. 14, 2022, Burlington City Council approved staff report CM-26-22 City of Burlington Coyote Response Strategy update and response to recent serious attacks on city residents. This report outlines coyote management recommendations and strategic actions that must be taken to allow the City to be proactive when it comes to managing coyotes and wildlife to protect its residents.
- These are the first reported coyote attacks on humans in Burlington.
- Coyotes are native to North America and can be found living in urban and rural areas.
- Food sources like mice, rats, and garbage are readily available in urban areas, attracting coyotes to residential neighbourhoods.
- Concerns about direct or indirect feeding of wildlife can be reported to Animal Control at animalshelter.mailbox@burlington.ca
- Hand feeding and ground feeding wildlife on private or public property is prohibited by the city’s Lot Maintenance Bylaw (49-2022) and is subject to a fine.
- To request an audit of your yard for coyote attractants by city Animal Control staff, please email animalshelter.mailbox@burlington.ca.
Quote
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward
“This is the news we were hoping we would never hear again. Our hearts go out to this 7th victim of a coyote attack. We are pulling in every resource we have with help from the Ministry to locate and eliminate the coyotes responsible for these attacks. We won't rest until public safety is restored.”
Links and Resources
- Learn more about living with coyotes at www.burlington.ca/coyote
- Read the Council approved Coyote Response Strategy that includes an escalation process to deal with various levels of coyote interactions with residents and pets.
- Report a coyote sighting online at burlington.ca/servicerequest
- Watch a video about how to wildlife proof your property
Map coyote attacks
Attached: Updated map pinpointing the unprovoked seven (7) attacks in the city of Burlington
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Media contact:
Suzanne Vukosavljevic
Manager of Communications
suzanne.vukosavljevic@burlington.ca
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