Ottawans Keep Getting Attacked By Coyotes & Now It's A 'Cause For Concern'

If you didn’t already have enough to worry about, now you’ll have to watch out for coyotes, too. Ottawans in the Riverside South area have been warned to be wary of coyotes, after a number of locals have been chased and attacked. These Ottawa coyote attacks and the animal's increasingly brave behaviour is now being called a “cause for concern.”

Over the last couple of weeks, Ottawa has seen an alarming increase in the number of people reportedly being chased and attacked by coyotes.

While residents of Riverside South are no strangers to coyotes, who have been spotted in the area for years, their recent behaviour is becoming increasingly worrying.

In a statement to the Ottawa Citizen, one man described having his leg “chewed” by the animal while he was attempting to deliver a newspaper.

After bleeding “profusely” and having to pay a visit to the hospital, the man was surprised to see the same coyote the following night. The canine then followed his car for a kilometre. 

On the same night, another newspaper delivery person reported being chased by coyotes. A woman also reported almost being attacked on May 25. 

Several more people told CBC News they’d had similar experiences in Ottawa recently, with the animals becoming bolder and braver than ever before.

Gloucester-South Nepean Councillor, Carole Anne Meehan, admitted, “We’ve got a problem.”

While she says the Ontario Ministry of Nature Resources and Forestry should be dealing with the issue, it’s been left to city bylaw officers to combat the problem.

“Yes we know we’re living with (coyotes),” she said. “But there’s a point where we have to draw a line in the sand and say an animal that is prone to attack obviously has got a problem and has to be moved because somebody is going to be seriously hurt.”

Speaking to the Ottawa Citizen, environmental consultant Holly Bickerton noted that the coyote’s boldness was unusual and worrying.

“They mostly are doing their own thing and not terribly concerned about people. So this kind of behaviour that has been occurring I would say is cause for concern,” she explained.

This coyote-issue is not limited to Ottawa, it seems. In Toronto last week, a pet dog was actually snatched from a backyard by a coyote.

Stay safe, Ottawa.