With five coyotes caught on her 93-acre property abutting a nature park in the last month, Ile Bizard/Ste. Geneviève borough resident Ginger Petty is concerned there are more of them around and local authorities are doing little to act.
"I think the coyotes are more protected in Ile Bizard than I am," Petty told The Chronicle in an interview last week.
Various workers on her property have sighted the animals at different intervals since the beginning of the summer, but she was truly concerned after a 19-year-old singer and songwriter from Toronto, Taylor Mitchell, was killed on Oct. 27 when attacked by two coyotes on a hike near Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
Those animals were since caught and killed by park authorities.
Still, though experts agree coyotes are known to occasionally attack small children or domestic animals, Mitchell's is only the second case of recorded fatalities in North America.
"There is no determination at this time as to what caused (the attack on Mitchell)," said Dr. Stephen Woodley, chief ecosystems supervisor for the federal government's Parks Canada, adding that it was still being looked into.
Woodley said it is not uncommon to have populations of coyotes in urban centres across North America.
He said the best recourse to keep them away from human beings is to make sure food is unavailable. Even putting food out on the front porch for a pet dog, for example, may attract coyotes.
"Garbage management is another key issue," he said, adding people should not put table scraps in their garbage for pick-up.
Woodley said local authorities have been known to hire a licensed trapper to catch coyotes, but usually only after the canines have attacked people or their pets.
Meanwhile, David Bird, a wildlife biology professor at McGill University's Macdonald College campus, said killing the animals or driving them away is usually no good. "You're emptying that niche," he said, and that may only cause other coyotes to fight over the vacancy created.
"What's needed is an education campaign," Bird said, to ensure nobody approaches coyotes to feed them.
"As soon as you feed them, you're basically signing their death sentence," he added, since that act makes them dependent on humans.
They tend to come to urban centres, he said, because their local predators, wolves, are absent.
But for Petty, a widow who lives alone on her property with her small pet dog, the risk for her visiting grand-children, or even Scruffy, is too great. "I'm sorry to kill them," she said Sunday afternoon when The Chronicle arrived there, even as her Quebec-licensed trapper, Michel Desrosiers, unloaded the carcass of a coyote he had killed that very morning off of his van.
"This is the fifth one I've caught," said Desrosiers, who uses snare traps to catch the animal by the throat and kill them by strangulation. "It's humane," he assured, adding the death is quick.
Desrosiers said simply trapping is not a cost-effective option. "You can't put them in a cage," he said. "They're too smart."
Trapping them in a non-fatal manner would mean paying for trappers to stay on grounds 24 hours a day, armed with tranquilizer dart guns to shoot them and knock them out on sight. "That's about $150 an hour you're looking at," he said.
Petty is not too concerned about coyotes taking over territory left behind by the ones killed. "We live on an island," she said, adding that once waters thaw in March, coyotes could not get on or off it.
She approached the borough about the possibility of these coyotes being present in the Parc Nature du Bois de L'Ile Bizard as well, but was only sent a reply containing copies of official Montreal documents on the park.
One, a booklet about the park, makes no mention of coyotes, enumerating "beavers, turtles and ducks" as possible sights for explorers. Another sheet of paper with the city's logo calls coyotes inoffensive. "It is rare that coyotes attack humans. The only cases involved animals with unusual behaviour or who had been fed by humans," the sheet says. It also urges anyone to keep away from wild animals in general and keep pet dogs on leashes at anytime in the park.
For Petty, those answers are not good enough. "I can't walk on my own property anymore," she said. Sunday afternoon, she showed her can of pepper spray and air horn to The Chronicle, and picked up both items at the same time while carrying Scruffy. "This is what I'm supposed to do if I see a coyote while I'm walking my dog?"
Borough Mayor Richard Bélanger minimized the presence of coyotes. "I've had two people telling me they've seen coyotes so far," he said. He added a public education campaign is not out of the question. "It's something the borough could look into," he said. For now, the complaints he received were forwarded to the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources and Fauna.
Coyotes breed fear in Ile Bizard
Coyotes breed fear in Ile Bizard
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Published on
December 2, 2009
- Published on February 6, 2010
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Raffy Boudjikanian
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Comments
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- Vincent Dion
- - March 26, 2010 at 15:11:19
How decandent. "He said the best recourse to keep them away from human beings is to make sure food is unavailable. " HA! That women has several workers on her property she probably has her staff throw out full meals in the garbage because she's too picky or she's not in the mood to eat what was cooked for her. No wonder
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- Anne Streeter
- - March 26, 2010 at 15:11:19
What can I say. Sounds like a crazy lady to me. Only two recorded coyote related human deaths in all of North America! Scary! As for the $150 an hour hired gun (snare) this guy surely is laughing all the way to the bank! The final bit of nonsense is saying that snares are humane. You really lost us there!
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- annick B
- - March 26, 2010 at 15:11:19
This woman has a screw lose, it is not right to kill wild life just out of fear. can't believe that she is allowed to get away with this. Shame on you!
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- DianeMmarcotte
- - March 26, 2010 at 15:11:19
Does Ms Petty think that strangling her dog would be a humane way to put him down? I think not! Take the advice found in most comments - move away to an area that doesn't scare you (although I suspect you are afraid of many things.) Have you thought about treatment? What you are doing is NOT normal human behaviour.
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- Doris Potter
- - March 26, 2010 at 15:11:18
Ms. Petty should feel privileged to live in an area where wildlife abounds. You can't go around killing everything that scares you. If she is that scared, then she should move into a more urban area. Also, how can anyone buy that trapper's statement that strangling a coyote gives it a humane death!! It is not quick and causes intense pain both to the neck and the lungs of this creature. Anyone who witnesses the death throes of an animal being strangled would know that. Mr. Desrosiers, we are not stupid.
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- Lucas Solowey
- - March 26, 2010 at 15:11:18
This woman should be absolutely ashamed of her sickening behaviour! Disgusting! She clearly only cares about her dog not other animals. Coyotes rarely attack.. you can't just wipe them off the face of the planet. Something needs to be done about this!
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- Georges R. Dupras
- - March 26, 2010 at 15:11:18
The presence of coyotes on the Island of Montreal, though not commonplace, isn't all that rare neither. I find it contradictory that on the one hand we set aside areas of land as nature parks, and then on the other, complain when natural inhabitants move in. True, coyotes can be a problem, but the problem is one of man's own design. Anyone living in close proximity of a nature park should expect to see natural inhabitants, which include coyotes. Coyotes are attracted by our garbage, food scraps, and with the increased popularity of winter BBQ's left unclean after use, how can anyone be surprised by the presence of a few coyotes. As for trapping coyotes, this doesn't even begin to address the symptom, let alone the root cause. Each animal dispatched is, sooner or later, replaced by another. Admittedly my expertise is in the area of Bears but the arguments are similar. Every time there is a bear/human encounter, few resulting in death, there is a public outcry to cull bears. In many cases this outcry is fuelled by the media and the resulting lethal response by Officials accomplishes nothing. People who would have nature customized to their own taste should give serious consideration to relocating into the heart of the City. In so doing, they would leave nature parks to natural selection and experience only the passing inconvenience of the occasional squirrel. Georges Dupras Director, Animal Alliance of Canada
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- Ellen Cramer
- - February 8, 2010 at 11:15:16
If Ms. Petty is so afraid of coyotes, she and Scruffy should move to the city. Coyotes deserve protection. Despite the mysterious Taylor Mitchell attack, healthy coyotes virtually never attack humans. It is ironic that Ms. Petty would dote over one dog and have another shot. All animals deserve compassion (though I have less compassion for the 2 legged ones who think that the solution to any wildlife conflict is a shotgun.)
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- George Timberlake
- - February 8, 2010 at 11:15:16
From what I understand about the issue, Mrs. Petty is well within her rights as a citizen to deal with the coyote problem on her own property. They are dangerous animals that DO pose a hazard to children, pets or those who would act to protect them in the event of an attack. If there is any angst in the matter, it should be directed at the government, who is not doing what is neccesary in checking and balancing the coyote population of the city, especially on the island of Ile Bizard.
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- Helene Seguin
- - February 8, 2010 at 11:15:11
Miss Petty, you are pathetic! You have the one in a life time chance to have this wonderful piece of land and to revel in the magnificence of Nature but decide that you prefer to have it civilized! You are scared of being attacked but I am sure that you are not scared to drive your car ( more peolple die in car accidents than at the teeth of coyotes) Move to a condo.
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- Vincent Dion
- - February 8, 2010 at 11:15:06
How decandent. "He said the best recourse to keep them away from human beings is to make sure food is unavailable. " HA! That women has several workers on her property she probably has her staff throw out full meals in the garbage because she's too picky or she's not in the mood to eat what was cooked for her. No wonder
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- Ellen Cramer
- - February 8, 2010 at 11:15:04
If Ms. Petty is so afraid of coyotes, she and Scruffy should move to the city. Coyotes deserve protection. Despite the mysterious Taylor Mitchell attack, healthy coyotes virtually never attack humans. It is ironic that Ms. Petty would dote over one dog and have another shot. All animals deserve compassion (though I have less compassion for the 2 legged ones who think that the solution to any wildlife conflict is a shotgun.)
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- Eddy Miller
- - February 8, 2010 at 11:15:04
Coyotes do not belong in Ile Bizard. They are increasingly attacking animals all over the island. Shame on anyone who would want us as citizens of Montreal to take the RISK of having a human being loose their life like Taylor Mitchell did not so long ago.
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- M.C. Stanson
- - February 8, 2010 at 11:15:04
I've seen coyotes in Bois de Liesse nature park and once spotted one chasing a rabbit near the Pierrefonds marina so it's pretty clear that their population is a lot more widespread than people think. I'll bet their are populations in parks all over the West Island. Trapping a few of them is not going to get rid of them.
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- Helene Seguin
- - February 8, 2010 at 11:15:04
Miss Petty, you are pathetic! You have the one in a life time chance to have this wonderful piece of land and to revel in the magnificence of Nature but decide that you prefer to have it civilized! You are scared of being attacked but I am sure that you are not scared to drive your car ( more peolple die in car accidents than at the teeth of coyotes) Move to a condo.
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- Lucas Solowey
- - February 8, 2010 at 11:15:00
This woman should be absolutely ashamed of her sickening behaviour! Disgusting! She clearly only cares about her dog not other animals. Coyotes rarely attack.. you can't just wipe them off the face of the planet. Something needs to be done about this!
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- Ellen Cramer
- - February 8, 2010 at 11:14:56
If Ms. Petty is so afraid of coyotes, she and Scruffy should move to the city. Coyotes deserve protection. Despite the mysterious Taylor Mitchell attack, healthy coyotes virtually never attack humans. It is ironic that Ms. Petty would dote over one dog and have another shot. All animals deserve compassion (though I have less compassion for the 2 legged ones who think that the solution to any wildlife conflict is a shotgun.)
Why live on a 93 acre wooded lot if you don't want to see wild life. That lot is worth millions. sell it and get something in the city. I think it is sick to kill these animals. It's so rare for anyone to see a coyote in there life time.