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Senior Member
Coyotes' reign of terrier
March 7, 2010
By DON PEAT
Read More: http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/03/06/13138336.html
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Residents around Humber Bay Park say they’re overrun with coyotes and are howling mad the city won’t do anything about it, warning that it’s only a matter of time before a child is attacked. Jessie Morrissey literally walks softly but carries a big stick when she takes her Yorkshire terrier Fifer for a walk outside her Lakeshore Blvd. W. condo and around Humber Bay park.
The stick, along with a whistle and flashlight, are at the ready for Morrissey to use to scare or even fight off one of the coyotes that turn up almost on a daily basis in the small patches of parkland along the boardwalk. “They don’t seem to have any fear anymore,†she told the Sunday Sun this week. “I look like an idiot when I go for a walk but you know what, I don’t care. “I think it’s just a matter of time before something happens and hopefully it’s not a child.â€
For Morrissey the coyote sightings started about two years ago and over time they have crept closer and closer, appearing no more than metres from her and her neighbours and not making any attempt to hide from humans. “This year they’ve really come out,†she said, adding the coyotes have been spotted at all times of the day and night and even when residents have tried to scare away those sitting on paths, they don’t run off.
So far Fifer — who is as small as the Maltese dog snatched off a leash by a coyote in north Pickering earlier this week — hasn’t been attacked by the coyotes. But Morrissey isn’t sure how long it will be before the growingly brazen coyotes attack a dog or even a small child playing in Humber Bay Promenade Park.
While she understands wildlife has a place in the city, she wants city officials to take the problem seriously. Morrissey said if the city is going to allow development that encroaches onto coyote habitat and disrupts the wildlife, it should take measures to ensure humans and coyotes don’t come into conflict.
“You expect to see wildlife in your park,†Morrissey said. “You don’t want it at your back gate.†Neighbour Claire Normandeau said there is something “seriously wrong†with the brazenness of the coyote population and the city’s non-response.
Like Morrissey, Normandeau believes it is only a matter of time before a person is attacked. “I do not feel safe and I am concerned for not only myself but my friends, their children, the neighbourhood and our pets,†she said.
Normandeau said she can’t recall the coyotes being a problem before a strip mall was torn down across the street and condo construction started at Lakeshore and West Humber Rd. “The city is trying to take the easy way ot by blaming it on people who feed the wild animals,†she said.
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March 7, 2010
By DON PEAT
Read More: http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/03/06/13138336.html
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Residents around Humber Bay Park say they’re overrun with coyotes and are howling mad the city won’t do anything about it, warning that it’s only a matter of time before a child is attacked. Jessie Morrissey literally walks softly but carries a big stick when she takes her Yorkshire terrier Fifer for a walk outside her Lakeshore Blvd. W. condo and around Humber Bay park.
The stick, along with a whistle and flashlight, are at the ready for Morrissey to use to scare or even fight off one of the coyotes that turn up almost on a daily basis in the small patches of parkland along the boardwalk. “They don’t seem to have any fear anymore,†she told the Sunday Sun this week. “I look like an idiot when I go for a walk but you know what, I don’t care. “I think it’s just a matter of time before something happens and hopefully it’s not a child.â€
For Morrissey the coyote sightings started about two years ago and over time they have crept closer and closer, appearing no more than metres from her and her neighbours and not making any attempt to hide from humans. “This year they’ve really come out,†she said, adding the coyotes have been spotted at all times of the day and night and even when residents have tried to scare away those sitting on paths, they don’t run off.
So far Fifer — who is as small as the Maltese dog snatched off a leash by a coyote in north Pickering earlier this week — hasn’t been attacked by the coyotes. But Morrissey isn’t sure how long it will be before the growingly brazen coyotes attack a dog or even a small child playing in Humber Bay Promenade Park.
While she understands wildlife has a place in the city, she wants city officials to take the problem seriously. Morrissey said if the city is going to allow development that encroaches onto coyote habitat and disrupts the wildlife, it should take measures to ensure humans and coyotes don’t come into conflict.
“You expect to see wildlife in your park,†Morrissey said. “You don’t want it at your back gate.†Neighbour Claire Normandeau said there is something “seriously wrong†with the brazenness of the coyote population and the city’s non-response.
Like Morrissey, Normandeau believes it is only a matter of time before a person is attacked. “I do not feel safe and I am concerned for not only myself but my friends, their children, the neighbourhood and our pets,†she said.
Normandeau said she can’t recall the coyotes being a problem before a strip mall was torn down across the street and condo construction started at Lakeshore and West Humber Rd. “The city is trying to take the easy way ot by blaming it on people who feed the wild animals,†she said.
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