A sick and skinny coyote roaming the streets of Winnipeg’s Lord Roberts neighborhood this summer has concerned residents conflicted about whether to try to catch the animal, despite provincial and city rules against feeding or trapping wildlife.
Since June, Lord Roberts residents have been sharing sightings of a thin coyote, with large patches of fur missing across its body, on the community’s Facebook page.
Manitoba Conservation officers have received multiple calls about a coyote suffering from mange in the area, the province said in an email to CBC News.
Sarcoptic mange is a contagious skin disease caused by microscopic mites that often affects wild canids like coyotes, according to the Wildlife Health Lab at the University of Cornell.
Similar to scabies in humans, mange often causes hair thinning and loss, along with weight loss, grey scabs and infected patches of skin. Severe cases can lead to hypothermia, starvation and death.
A provincial spokesperson said Conservation officers have assessed the coyote and found it was “not aggressive” and “still very mobile.”
WATCH | Video of coyote in Lord Roberts area:
Concerned Winnipeggers trying to help a coyote by capturing it
Some residents of Winnipeg’s Lord Roberts area are worried about the well-being of a coyote they’ve seen roaming the neighbourhood. Unsure if Manitoba Conservation will help the animal, which residents believe has mange, they’ve decided to take matters into their own hands and attempt to live-trap it.
Local animal welfare advocate Tracy Groenewegen said mange is treatable, and many Lord Roberts residents want to help the coyote get healthy.
“Just being on this community [Facebook] page, like a number of other residents, I just became invested in the coyote’s well-being,” Groenewegen said.
“Clearly this coyote isn’t posing a threat, it just needs help,” she said, adding she hasn’t heard of any safety incidents related to the animal.
Out of concern that Conservation officers might shoot the mangy coyote, Groenewegen said she reached out to Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre in Ile des Chênes, about 20 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg.
The rehab centre encouraged community members to trap the coyote and bring it to the facility for treatment, she said.
CBC News has reached out to Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre for comment.
Winnipeg resident and welfare advocate Tracy Groenewegen said she became invested in the coyote’s well-being after following updates on the Lord Roberts community Facebook page over the summer. (Randall McKenzie/CBC)
Groenewegen then contacted dog-catcher Jessica McGregor, a longtime volunteer with Winnipeg Lost Dog Alert who has recently started trapping injured wild animals that have ventured into neighbourhoods.
“I recently trapped a fox in St. Vital, and then my number got spread around and I became aware of five coyotes and four foxes needing help,” McGregor said.
She has set up a wolf-sized trap, some food as bait, and a trail camera in a Lord Roberts resident’s backyard to catch the coyote. Once trapped, it would be taken to Wildlife Haven for treatment — something she’s done about half a dozen times already, she said.
Wily coyote evades capture
But the coyote has evaded capture so far.
“Foxes are pretty easy [to trap] — they’ll usually go in right away,” McGregor said. “Coyotes are a lot smarter, so it’s a waiting game until they gain enough courage to risk the trap for the food inside.”
Trapping coyotes is a “marathon,” as they often change up where they get food, she said.
Winnipeg residents are not allowed to trap coyotes without an authorized permit from the Conservation department, the Manitoba government said in a statement. A spokesperson said concerns should be reported to the Conservation tip line at 1-800-782-0076.
Janine Wilmot, a human-wildlife co-existence biologist with the province, said contact with coyotes can be dangerous. Residents who encounter a coyote should give them space and never corner the animal, she said.
She also said they should avoid offering food to wildlife, especially predatory animals like coyotes.
“Feeding coyotes is something that we would definitely discourage strongly,” Wilmot said, adding coyotes who are regularly given human-based food could become more aggressive toward people.
“Feeding wildlife is not helpful. It can be detrimental to the animal and to the people in the area.”
Under the Manitoba Wildlife Act, it is illegal to feed wildlife along provincial roads and highways. Winnipeg residents are not allowed to feed wildlife, except for birds.
Jessica McGregor is a volunteer dog-catcher who has been working with Lord Roberts community members to catch the sick coyote and bring it to a rehabilitation centre for treatment. (Randall McKenzie/CBC)
McGregor said she’s aware of that, but her intention is to help the coyote, and putting out food is the only way to trap it.
She’s been disappointed in the Conservation department’s response to mangy wildlife, she said.
“I feel like I’m doing a job they should do,” said McGregor, suggesting the province should have its own rehab centre for sick animals.
As the days slowly grow cooler, McGregor says she worries wildlife with mange could die of exposure or starvation, as their coats whittle away and food becomes more scarce.
“It’s a cruel, cruel death, mange.… It’s terrible,” she said.
“I don’t like to see anything suffer.”