Monday, March 30, 2009

Coyotes in Toronto

Some residents want to save coyote in their midsts
Alternative Fate
Reprieve

Today I was told on good authority there are coyotes in the west end of the city too!

How interesting. So, my question of the day, is:
Should the city leave the coyote be?
Capture the coyote and move it?
Kill the coyote?

My first thought is to just leave it alone, but then I thought, what if I lived there, and my cats were getting eaten for lunch? Would I think differently?

7 comments:

Wandering Coyote said...

Ah, Neville is being relocated! Excellent! I think this is the best choice. I get all annoyed with people who think killing a wild animal because it's a threat to pets is a good idea. Look, out here in the boonies, we lose cats to coyotes or other predators all the time. It's sad and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. AND that's life in a small town in bear/wildlife country. After all, we don't necessarily get upset when our cat brings home a squirrel or a bird, right? It's nature doing what it does, and vilifying the predator really does no one any favours in the end.

I know you have a horde of kitties, Mr. A, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to them. But if you had a coyote in your area and were worried about your cats, you'd keep them inside, right? At least, that's what I'd do, and that's one of the main reasons Juno is an indoor kitteh. Too much risk around here.

mister anchovy said...

Good points WC.

Barbara Bruederlin said...

We've got coyotes in the provincial park two blocks over from us as well and I agree with Wandering Coyote that it's a grave mistake to move or kill them. As much as we want to protect our pets, we really just have to trust that they will develop their own protective instincts. It's amazing how quickly they do.

zydeco fish said...

I kinda of think they should leave the coyote where it is. I'd like to have one close to me to catch the raccoons that are nesting in my chimney.

Candy Minx said...

There are lots of coyotes in the east end. I love the Leslie Street Spit and Cherry Beach are some of my favourite places in TO. There are massive amounts of rabbits in the spit. And beavers near the lake.

the beavers chew the trees sometimes...and sometimes people put a fence to protect the bottom of the trees from the busy beaver.

The coyotes just love to eat the bunnies. Population is directly connected to food availability.

Thats why the coyotes live there because here are lots of bunnies.

In the same way much of our population growth with humans is s due to us growing food and storing it. We have an overabundance of food so population grows.

But...I did get a funny mental image of all the bunnies being caught...all the racoons trapped and all the birds in the sanctuary being hauled off out of the city with the coyotes...

I think it's a beautiful thing to have all those animals. I've seen all range of them out walking along the Don River to Cherry Beach...even seen a few deers. If we haul away the coyotes...do we haul away the deer and bunnies too?

mister anchovy said...

I've seen deer here in the west end, and I've heard there have been foxes around here as well.

sp said...

Coyotes are the reason I keep my kitties indoors. They're very common in the lower mainland and mostly don't pose a problem (that I'm aware of).
We have to learn to live with other living animals on this planet we can't just keep re-locating and culling them when we deem them "pests."

There was a story about how Grizzlies are now on Vancouver Island for the first time ever. Of course they is talk about relocating the Grizzlies back to the mainland. Why do we need to "manage" nature all the time?