Another summer of Urban Coyotes in Ottawa!

July 30, 2014 94d Comments

Another summer is here and my trail cameras have once again snapped into action!

I am always interested in monitoring the white-tailed deer situation in my area, but of course the marauding coyotes always seem to steal their thunder; showing up on all my cameras with great regularity!

Then the missing cat signs start popping-up around town. Two such signs have gone up near my place since June. No, not every missing pet in Ottawa is the work of wile-e-coyote, but these predators do have a hand(or paw) in many of those disappearances.

I received a sad letter this week from a distraught lady out in the Bridlewood area of Kanata who’s beloved cat disappeared without a trace, so she decided to Google ‘Ottawa Missing Pets’ which brought her to the Outdoors Guy Blog and a previous post about coyotes in our region.

Of course her worse fears were all but confirmed!

She told me she felt that Ottawa may be experiencing a ‘coyote outbreak’ and that residents should be ‘warned’ of the potential dangers these animals pose in the suburbs.  I explained to her that this isn’t really an ‘outbreak’ per say, but that managing and controlling ‘urban coyotes’ has been an ongoing problem here and in many other metropolitan areas.

I am thankful that, out my way at least, a handful of famers located outside the ‘no discharge zone’ are helping control the coyotes through hunting and trapping, whereas most residents like myself are forced to stare out our back doors while these four-legged killing machines run-off with our pets, if we’re not careful.

But then the animal rights people would say this is ‘their land’ and ‘they were here first’, so we should leave well enough alone.

Blah blah blah

Go tell that to the lady from Bridlewood who’s cat was ‘undoubtedly’ snatched-up by a yote. Or the two families down the road from my place who just lost a beloved family pet! My neighbour witnessed her own cat being torn apart by a coyote in her backyard about 6 years ago. Not something that anyone needs to experience!

Yep, another summer is here and the fear of coyotes in Ottawa continues- on unabated with no real solution in sight!

Welcome to the National Capital Region – enjoy the scenery but watch out for yotes!

Outdoorsguy

Follow me (as I learn how to use) twitter: @thatoutdoorsguy

94 thoughts on “Another summer of Urban Coyotes in Ottawa!”

  1. we don’t have any more yotes in our area as they all have been eliminated over the last year from 20 down to maybe 2 this will definitely help with the deer hunt this year

  2. Sorry to hear that the coyotes are killing our pets. This is another good reason for pet owners to keep their pets safe and under supervision at all times. I am surprised that some cat owners don’t realize the risks involved with letting their cats out to freely wander about the neighbourhood. It is also not appropriate for cat owners to think that their neighbours appreciate their cats coming onto their property killing wild birds and other creatures. Too bad city councillors are turning a blind eye to that!

  3. Outdoors guy, are you sure that lead pic wasn’t photo shopped?
    I would like to remind urbanites that when their beloved Fluffy brings in a bird or a mouse for praise that places them into the food chain. How can you blame yotes for taking advantage of an easy meal? They kill for food, not like some fat housecats that will torment a mouse for hours then walk away when it’s dead to go inside and eat a can of tuna. I love cats (8 buried in the yard) and dogs (3) but if they were outside killing then they too were fair game. I have no problem shooting coyotes if they get too close or become a nuisance but there is enough deer to go around and out here they remain almost invisible. Thing is, coyotes are becoming masters of adapting to their ever-changing environment, and obviously they do it much better than us two legged animals. The perceived ‘urban problem’ boils down to the fact that we have created a perfect habitat for coyotes; one that ensures a plentiful food source combined with a ‘no hunt’ buffer. What could be better? Why wouldn’t they move into urban areas?
    On a grim note, I watched two yote pups starve to death last week and that wasn’t pleasant no matter how much you don’t like coyotes. Not sure what happened to momma (likely done in by an armed cat lady visiting from the city) but they were just too young to fend for themselves and ended up as Turkey vulture fare by the end of the week. First time I have ever seen pups that close but unfortunately starvation of any animal isn’t pretty.
    On an even grimmer note, I didn’t get a bull tag. Drats.

  4. like others have said, cats that are lose are free game for other animals just like the birds are to them.
    Don’t want your cat eaten by a yote, then keep it inside or under supervision, simple as that, or on the other hand, feed it strait to the wild animals that nature put here to clean up the weak

    On another note, moose tags are out and once again we’ll be heading up with a bull and cow tag 🙂

  6. I don’t necessarily disagree with what others have said about the coyotes, but I do think they are too dangerous a predator to be in urban areas.

    On another sad note, my son and I were unsuccessful in getting doe tags. Let’s hope other members of our group had better luck!

  7. From previous comments i believe no one has owned a cat, because simply keeping your cat indoors is a daunting task when its sunny outside and your head strong feline pet wants to get free-he will.

  8. Quote “Go tell that to the lady from Bridlewood who’s cat was ‘undoubtedly’ snatched-up by a yote. Or the two families down the road from my place who just lost a beloved family pet! My neighbour witnessed her own cat being torn apart by a coyote in her backyard about 6 years ago. Not something that anyone needs to experience!” End Quote.

    There’s a simple answer Jeff, tell these people to tie up their cat or keep it indoors. Irresponsible cat owners are contributing to the problem by not removing the food source.

    I don’t feel sorry for any person who looses a cat or dog to a predator.

  9. I feed wild birds in my backyard and I don’t appreciate free roaming neighborhood cats stalking and killing them on my property. They also use my garden as a litter box. If cat owners want to let their pets outdoors they should be put on a leash just like dogs are. They should also be licensed. Cats (domestic pets and feral) kill billions of birds and small mammals every year in the United States alone. They play havoc with the natural environment. It may be harsh, but I think coyotes are providing a service by keeping cat numbers down – especially feral cats.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/killer-cats-take-down-billions-of-birds-report-says-1.13

  11. I cannot believe that we would accept coyotes coming into our neighbourhoods and eating our pets. That is insane. We should be shooting them.

    1. I agree that we must keep tabs on our pets, but does that mean I need to fear when my own dog is running around on my own property? And should a coyote come onto my property I’m not even allowed to shoot it? I live in the suburbs with 2 miles of fields and forest beside me, yet still part of City of Ottawa with a NO discharge zone.

      Outdoorsguy

  12. My son has been following the MNR on twitter and apparently they have greatly reduced the number of doe tags this year because of the harsh winter.

    1. Evidently doe tags are going the same way as moose tags this year…I guess last winter really was a harsh one. I’m almost scared to get back to my deer woods.

      Outdoorsguy

  14. While shooting coyotes in open fields and forests might not be a problem, it could be dangerous in more crowded suburban and urban areas. And trying to kill them off could have unforeseen consequences. Part of the reason the range of coyotes has expanded so dramatically is because we wiped out other top predators that competed with them, such as cougars and wolves. The coyotes have just filled in the void left behind.

  15. Certainly it would not be safe to shoot them in populated areas. Other means would need to be used. I think that a factor in the expansion of the coyote’s range is that they no longer have reason to fear humans. We pose no threat to them therefore they take full advantage. Start killing them and that will change.

    I don’t really understand the lack of sympathy some of you have expressed for the poor people who have lost their beloved pets to these vermin.

    1. Sooo…I spent my last day of holidays yesterday doing some ‘cougar hunting’…the 4-legged kind that is.

      Received a report(email) from someone who spotted a ‘large cat with a very long tail’ crossing the road less than 2 miles from my house!!

      What??????

      After doing some investigating, I discovered that a cougar-like animal has been suspected in that area for almost 10 years now. Local farmer has heard ‘growling’ at night..and another nearby resident spotted the big cat last year sometime.

      All news to me of course…

      So I decided to visit the area and do some poking around..in the rain. Found a couple of good spots to put out trail cams..along with a little predator scent I was given from Tinks last fall.

      We’ll see what shows up on the cams..but Im holding out little hope as these cats are notoriously secretive..

      I know I know…no cougars in Ontario right.

      Outdoorsguy

  17. Hunting Mom,

    What are the other means besides shooting that you would suggest to kill coyotes in more populated areas? If traps, snares or poison are used, chances are that pets will be harmed as well.

    Coyotes have been extensively hunted, trapped and poisoned for decades and it hasn’t had much of an impact on their numbers. They’re incredibly adaptable animals. If they’re killed off they recover quickly by having larger litters at an earlier age. And studies have shown that the primary reason for coyotes losing their fear of humans is because some people are feeding them.

    Attacks on humans by coyotes are rare and there have only been two fatalities ever recorded. One of them was a young woman who was killed in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, and I heard from a former worker there that some park employees had been feeding the coyotes.

    There are other predators besides coyotes that will kill free roaming cats, such as foxes, bobcats, raccoons, owls, hawks and eagles. Do you want to shoot them too?

  18. Fishr

    I have no doubt that there are ways to safely eliminate these creatures from our urban areas. There are really smart people out there who can figure it out. As to people feeding them, I am sure that happens on occasion but I think that is exceedingly rare. Most people with young children and pets would not risk their safety by feeding coyotes. I can assure you that my friends in Bells Corners are not feeding them. They are building wooden extensions to their back fences to try to prevent them from coming into their yards.

    And yes, that is what I would advocate — shoot all the eagles, hawks, foxes, raccoons, bobcats and owls…and bears, beavers, fishers…and blue jays — they are nasty little birds….

  19. Hunting Mom – with you on those damn noisy Blue Jays. I don’t want to see anyone lose their beloved pet, but to add to fishr’s point cars probably kill more pets than coyotes.

  20. It’s funny, about 12 years ago I came back from the cottage. A neighbour came up to me with a small dog on the leach. A coyote had been seen on the street that morning. She wanted to know if it would go after her dog. I said it probably would. She wanted to know if I would shoot it? Her husband is a police officer, I have neighbors up here at the lake, we have a big bear in the area. They have ask me to shoot it?

      1. I have just been nominated by Eric the Intern of CHEZ 106’s Doc & Woody SHow to do the ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE!!!!!!!!!!!

        Better get some ice cubes in the freezer…

        Outdoorsguy

  21. Guess what I just saw on my way home from Costco? A coyote! Right by the side of the road on Hunt Club just west of Merivale. Lovely.

    1. Hunting mom, I have seen three in the last month alone..two along the 416 and I dont even travel there very often.

      Outdoorsguy

  22. Hey man! It’s been a while.
    I was talking with buddies on Saturday night over a few beers. We came up with the best fundraising idea in support of PETA: A PETA Turkey Hunt! Followed by a turkey roast. However, perhaps a PETA fundraising coyote hunt would be just as welcomed, LOL

    Hunting season is upon us. I’m heading up North again for our annual week-long bow moose hunt. We have two cow tags this year, but no bull. Heading up on Sept. 19 – can’t wait!!

    1. Hey GPG..good to hear from you!!

      Any hunting fundraiser for PETA is a good idea in my books..hehe

      Seen my #theicebucketchallenge yet? My daughter filmed it last night..and I managed to get-in some hunting promo(the hard way) as well as exposure for ALS:

      Outdoorsguy

  23. The coyote issue is raising it’s ugly head again. We saw a coyote in our park here in Centrepointe in Nepean. Right next to two children’s playgrounds. No fear whatsoever. He was stalking a cat. We notified the police. Not sure if they will do anything.

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