Etobicoke residents rattled by coyotes in Princess Margaret Park

Residents in an Etobicoke neighbourhood have taken to carrying baseball bats, air horns and pepper spray to protect themselves and their pets against a pack of coyotes living in Princess Margaret Park.

Coyotes have livedin the neighbourhood for several years, but locals say the pack isbecoming increasingly aggressive towardthem and their dogs.

"Everybody is walking around with golf clubs, baseball bats, sticks and hockey sticks," said resident Amanda Thomson.

"Usually, you would think that's a little nerve-wracking to see somebody walking around with that, but they're walking aroundwith their dogs for protection."

Complaints about coyotes in the area have skyrocketed in July. The city said it has received 27 service requests to 311 about coyotes around the park this year, including 18 last month alone.

In 2023, there was only one coyote-related service call from the area for the entire year.

Many houses back onto the park, which includes a forested area with trails where the coyotes live.

The city is hosting a community meeting Thursday evening to discuss concerns about the pack.

Thomson is planning to attend the meeting, but othersare skeptical about whatsolutions will be discussed.

"They're not going to tell us something we don't already know," said Donna Dziemianko, who also lives in the neighbourhood. "They're going to tell us how to co-habitate peacefully with coyotes."

City doesn't know why coyotes are being more aggressive

Since the Canada Day long weekend, the city said it began receiving more reports about coyotes interacting with dogs including incidents where coyotes attacked and injured pets.

The city said it does not know why the coyotes are becoming more aggressive toward dogs.

Residents say a man and his dog were attacked by the pack last month. Both survived, but people in the area are still rattled.

Dziemianko says she hasn't walked her dog, Dallas, in the park since the attack.

"It's sad because the park is beautiful," she said. "That's what it's there for to use. We can't use it because the coyotes live there."

Thomson said she's seen coyotes liein a bush by her street even in the early afternoon.

"As soon as you pull onto the street, you're like: 'I need to stay in my car or beep my horn or chase them down the street so I can get back into my house,'" she said.

Children in a local daycare can't play in the park, Dziemianko said. And when she's walking down the street,she shouldn't have to worry about whether a coyote is following her.

Both Thomson and Dziemianko say the city should consider separating some of the coyotes and moving them somewhere else.

Coyotes aren't a risk unless they attack: animal services

But Dr. Esther Attard, the director of Toronto Animal Services, said it's not possible to relocate coyotes. She said more coyotes will replace any that are removed.

"They've been here longer than we have and they'll continue to be here as long as there's green space," she said.

As well, it "doesn't work" to move coyotes to another territory where there may be an existing pack, she said.

Though she said the injuries to pets are horrible, coyotes are not considered a public safety risk unless they start attacking humans.

"For dogs to be attacked by coyotes or have interactions with coyotes is not unusual, because [coyotes] are dogs too," she said.

If the coyotes are deemed a public safety risk, the city would kill them, not remove them, she said.

The pack of coyotes in the park is a family unit, including new pups born this year, Attard said. It's possible some pups may have been killed by dogs, causing the coyotes to be more protective, she said.

"It's more defensiveness, it's not aggressiveness," she said.

Attard said some of the recent incidents involved dogs that were off-leash. The city requires dogs to be on a leash at all times in parks.

Some people are also feeding the coyotes, she said. This can cause negative interactions when coyotes approach people who haven't been feeding them, expecting food.

"The coyote doesn't know how to discern between, 'Oh you're the person who gives food and you're the person who doesn't,'" she said.

Mayor Olivia Chow said the city will hear residents' ideas about what it can do to help them deal with the pack.

"The city will provide the kind of information and the enforcement that's needed to keep people and their pets safe," she said Thursday.

Attard said people should learn to coexist with the coyotes. But forDziemianko, the pack is interfering with locals' day-to-day life.

"I don't necessarily think we have to go kill them all right now, but when theyhave more rights than we do, that's pretty sad," she said.

Tips from the city when dealing with coyotes

• Never feed coyotes.

• Do not approach coyotes, their dens or their pups.

• Do not touch coyotes, even if they appear tame, sick or injured.

• Keep your dog on a leash and under control.

• If you see a coyote, do not run but make loud noise to scare it away. Make yourself appear large, imposing or as threatening as you can.