Ottawa, Canada is now experiencing what all North American cities(including NYC) have witnessed over the past decade---- the immigration of C.latrans(Coyote) and C.lycaon x latrans(Eastern Coyote) enjoying city living as much(or more) than country living...........The key to coexistance with all wildlife always comes back to the fact that you cannot intentionally or unintentionally FEED THEM............There are 2000 Coyotes living in Chicago in harmony with us(that is more than can be said about human to human interaction in the Windy City-- --where the murder rate on the southside of Chicago is out-of-control!)............Yes, the Coyotes now and again show up outside of Wrigley Field(seeking bleacher seats, no doubt :)))),,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but for the most part, come and go without incident..........Ottawa, learn to enjoy and live in peace with "Wily" in your neighborhood!

 

Wily coyotes adapt well to life in urban areas, biologist says

By Tom Spears, vancourversun.com

 

First it was foxes, skunks and raccoons. Now coyotes are setting up shop in increasing numbers in North American cities.

 

Though they've been mostly unseen by humans in the process, coyotes have colonized most of the sprawling city of Chicago - and biologists predict Ottawa will soon follow in the same pattern.

Coyotes, like humans, are flocking to North America's cities. They adapt so well to urban life - eating well, raising healthy pups - that they have no reason to go back.

While the animals are relative newcomers in Ottawa, biologist Stan Gehrt has studied them in Chicago as the population grew to an estimated 2,000 animals. Gehrt began studying Chicago's coyotes in 2000. He thought at first there wouldn't be enough to study, but when he trapped them and attached radio collars it became clear the animals were common, and multiplying.

"There's no conflict with humans," Gehrt said. "They're living within a few yards of people every day and every night." Others say there can be conflict. A coyote may be naturally shy of humans and nocturnal, but it's not a sheep in wolf's clothing; a girl in Oakville, Ont. was bitten by a coyote in her backyard, and a Toronto police officer shot and killed a coyote that charged at him in daylight.

In Ottawa, the National Capital Commission has put up warning signs beside trails in conservation areas. The NCC and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources agree that Rule No. 1 is never feed a coyote.

Still, the animal is blending in with skill, and usually stays hidden during the day.
"They are very good at finding food," Gehrt said. That doesn't mean scavenging garbage, like raccoons; the animals in his study eat squirrels and other rodents, some rabbits, fruit, Canada goose eggs, and the occasional deer.

"They can catch a squirrel. People's bird feeders attract squirrels and squirrels congregate around them and get a little complacent. We've watched some of our coyotes learn to hunt (squirrels) around bird feeders," even though they rarely eat squirrels in the country.

"They're not coyotes that moved in from the country any more. There is an urban population that's actually serving as a source (of population growth) because reproduction rates are higher, survival rates are higher and the densities are higher in the city."
One family in his study has lived in a territory of less than one square kilometre for 12 years.