Our friends Stan Gehrt(Chicago Urban Coyote Study) and Brent Patterson(Trent University wolf and coyote biologist) weighing in on whether Coyotes will purposely target humans as prey--We will look tomorrow at a study that does indicate that wolves and coyotes can decide to target people when either foodstuffs are left out around houses....................or when natural prey is at low population levels.................see below for this first perspective on possible evolving behaviors of our wild canids in response to increased human populations present in their territories

Expert stumped by recent coyote attacks on humans

Debra Black Staff Reporter

A leading wildlife expert who has studied coyote attacks across Canada and the United States is genuinely stumped by the recent attack on a 16-year-old girl as she was sleeping in Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
The attack just doesn't match up with coyote behaviour, said Stanley Gehrt, a wildlife biologist and professor at Ohio State University.
"Coyotes, when they're acting normally, should show fear of people," Gehrt said in an interview with the Star.
But in this most recent case and a number of others, including the attack on 19-year-old Toronto singer Taylor Mitchell last fall by two coyotes in the same Cape Breton park, the animals simply aren't behaving as expected.
Mitchell succumbed to her injuries and died in a Halifax hospital last October. The 16-year-old who was bitten in the wee hours of Monday morning in the head twice by a coyote survived but her head wound required stitches.
She and her family have since left the park, leaving the wardens to set up traps and hunt the coyote.
One possible explanation for the strange aggressive behaviour may be found in the coyote's genetic heritage, says Gehrt, who has been working with Parks Canada officials to try to solve the problem at the Cape Breton park.
Eastern Canadian coyotes are a mix between coyote and wolf, Gehrt said. "It has part wolf in its genetic make up. It exhibits patterns like a wolf, like hunting together in a pack or group. Some people have speculated this has contributed to these animals considering humans as prey because they're learning to kill large animals."
According to Park officials there have been between six to 10 incidents at the Cape Breton park involving coyotes and humans since last fall.
Wardens at the park have trapped or killed about eight to 10 animals since then. Genetic analysis of six of those coyotes was done at Trent University in Peterborough, where it was found that the coyotes were from multiple packs, said Brent Patterson, a research scientist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Wildlife Research and Development Section.
The results dashed one theory that the coyotes were likely from one family and trapping them would eliminate the problem.
Coyotes live in most parts of the United States and Canada and the risk of attack is very rare, Gehrt said.
When they do attack humans it is because they have been "habituated" to human beings and have lost their fear of them. This most often happens because the coyotes have either been fed by humans, directly or indirectly, by acquiring food through garbage. But Gehrt said he didn't feel this was the cause in Monday's case. In fact, the recent spate of attacks is making him "re-evaluate what kind of risks coyotes represent for people," Gehrt said. "In Nova Scotia the coyotes up there are breaking the rules."
The cases seem to come out of the blue, he said, making it very difficult to assess and manage. What is at play remains a mystery, he added. "What we're talking about here is real serious attacks in which they (coyotes) see people as prey. That's a big difference." Gehrt believes further study of the coyotes in the park is needed to figure out if they're learning new behaviour or if there is a change in their ecology, a change in their perception of humans or if this is simply an aberration in behaviour.
A study Gehrt did for Human Dimensions of Wildlife in 2009 found that there were 159 coyote attacks from 1960 to 2006 in which people were bitten. According to his study, most of the attacks occurred in the western United States. According to Patterson, a Park Canada database shows more than 60 "unacceptable encounters since 2003 with coyotes.
Incidents of coyotes striking against people seem to be increasing. Earlier this summer two little girls in Rye, N.Y., were attacked in two separate encounters with coyotes. According to Gehrt most of the victims of coyote attacks in his study were young children 5 or under. "With habituated coyotes they associate people with food, but don't associate people as prey until you start talking about small children. Then coyotes cross the line. It believes it can take down a young child."
Patterson said most coyote attacks happen because the animals become fearless of humans. That's what he thinks is at play with the coyotes at Cape Breton Highlands National Park. "The main thing is to recognize normal coyote behaviour is to be fearful of people," Patterson said. "If you see one who isn't (fearful) report it to officials. We shouldn't leave anything around our yards or properties to attract coyotes and make them less fearful over time.""Coyotes are very intelligent," said Derek Quann, resource conservation manager at the Cape Breton national park, in an interview with the Star. "They learn from their experiences and teach one another and they're always testing and adaptable.
"We're trying to understand if the habituation and the aggression is an extension of that behaviour."