{"id":903498,"date":"2026-09-21T00:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T00:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/903498\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T00:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T00:52:13","slug":"coyote-attacks-is-the-coexistence-strategy-working-experts-weigh-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/903498\/","title":{"rendered":"Coyote attacks: Is the coexistence strategy working? Experts weigh in"},"content":{"rendered":"

Violent coyote encounters across the Greater Toronto Area have left some residents on edge and sparked debate among wildlife experts on municipalities\u2019 responses to aggressive animals.<\/p>\n

Increased coyote sightings and a string of attacks on children in the Toronto area in recent months raised alarms and questions about encounters with the wild canines.<\/p>\n

In July, a coyote approached a toddler at a playground in Whitby, Ont., and bit him on the face, just weeks after another child was hurt in a coyote attack in one of the town\u2019s public fields. These incidents followed separate coyote attacks on a child and a teenager in Markham, Ont., in May.<\/p>\n

In Toronto, data from the city shows coyotes carried out 20 attacks on humans that caused injuries, including nine biting incidents, between 2019 and June of this year.<\/p>\n

Dennis Murray, a professor of biology at Trent University, said coyotes mainly act aggressively to protect their dens and pups. <\/p>\n

\"\"Residents who encounter a coyote that lingers or exhibits concerning behaviour are encouraged to report it to the city\u2019s contact centre. Residents who encounter a coyote that lingers or exhibits concerning behaviour are encouraged to report it to the city\u2019s contact centre. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just trying to tell people, \u2018Back off, get out of here, we own the space while we\u2019re raising our young in that area,\u2019\u201d he said in an interview.<\/p>\n

But Murray said coyotes are also becoming aggressive and predatory toward humans due to habituation as they seek food in urban areas \u2013 and are even fed by some people.<\/p>\n

\u201c(A coyote) loses its fear of humans, and then as it gets hungry, perhaps it \u2026 is testing to see if the child could be prey,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Murray said predatory behaviour is \u201clargely irreversible\u201d in coyotes, so municipalities need to act quickly when they identify the animals responsible for attacks on pets or humans. Lethal removal or euthanasia should be considered in such cases before it\u2019s too late, he said, unless it turns out that the coyote is just defending its den site.<\/p>\n

City of Toronto data also shows coyotes attacked or bit 331 dogs from 2019 until June of this year, with 143 such incidents reported across 2024 and 2025. <\/p>\n

In May 2025, city officials decided to euthanize a pair of mated coyotes believed to be responsible for dozens of attacks on dogs in the Liberty Village and Fort York areas. <\/p>\n

\"\"Orl\u00e9ans park closed after coyote attack <\/p>\n

Murray, who authored an academic paper about those incidents, said his research found that four \u201cproblem coyotes\u201d were attacking humans and dogs in both neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe surmised that the municipality was delinquent, frankly, that it should have acted a lot sooner,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

The city said it continues to investigate and monitor reports of concerning coyote behaviour, and it responds to each case individually. <\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s coyote management approach is based on a coexistence strategy informed by expertise and research, and it \u201cprioritizes public safety while recognizing that coyotes are an established part of Toronto\u2019s urban ecosystem,\u201d the city said in a statement. <\/p>\n

The city said long-term prevention, public education and aversion tactics have been effective in mitigating coyote encounters, calling removal of the wild canines ineffective, costly and counterproductive.<\/p>\n

East of Toronto, Whitby\u2019s supervisor of bylaw and animal services said the town euthanized two coyotes that displayed \u201cconcerning and abnormal behaviour\u201d in July, but she couldn\u2019t confirm if either was involved in the reported attacks on children. <\/p>\n

\"\"Coyote attacks dog in Vaughan Coyote attacks dog in Vaughan <\/p>\n

\u201cThe town is committed to supporting a safe community where residents can coexist with wildlife,\u201d Kate Novia wrote in a statement, noting that Whitby has a \u201cgraduated approach, with the level of response increasing based on observed behaviour and potential risk to public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Novia said the town has received more than 800 reports of coyote sightings since January, almost three times higher than what was reported during the same period last year. <\/p>\n

But that surge isn\u2019t reflective of the number of coyotes in Whitby, she said, citing the town\u2019s communications on the topic as a reason behind the sharp increase in reporting.<\/p>\n

North of Toronto in Markham, where a child and a youth were attacked in May, the city said it received a higher-than-usual number of coyote sighting reports this year. <\/p>\n

The city said it has lethally removed coyotes that showed \u201cunprecedented and abnormal behaviour,\u201d but did not specify how many were killed. <\/p>\n

Tiziana A. Gelmi Candusso, a Toronto-based spatial ecologist, said getting rid of coyotes is a temporary solution because they are quickly replaced.<\/p>\n

\"\"CTV London: Woman attacked by coyote in London <\/p>\n

\u201cIt will appease people for a little bit, maybe create controversy, but it will not fix the problem, because we\u2019re having this recurrent issue and it\u2019s always in the same areas,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

A better solution is to change human behaviours that trigger coyotes, and that means keeping dogs on a leash all the time and not feeding wildlife, she said. <\/p>\n

Gelmi Candusso, who built a network of wildlife cameras across Toronto between 2020 and 2022 as part of her post-doctoral research at the University of Toronto, said she isn\u2019t sure the coyote population has increased in the city. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that we see more attacks is not necessarily (indicative of) the problem that we have too many coyotes,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

The problem mainly lies with people who have not yet learned how to coexist with the animals, she said.<\/p>\n

Educational programs, including sessions for children and seniors, are key to increasing awareness of how to prevent confrontation with coyotes, Gelmi Candusso said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would include outreach at schools … when kids learn something, they also like (to) tell their parents,\u2019\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2026.<\/p>\n

Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

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