Residents of the Rose Valley area in West Kelowna are on edge due to a rise in coyote activity.
It is mating season for coyotes and several people in the community have reported sightings as well as pets being attacked, and in some cases, carried off by the wild animals.
Micheal Griffith shared a video showing a coyote lurking outside his home on Moonbeam Close in the early morning hours of Jan. 9.
Griffith says the video camera is located right above his front door. He believes the coyote showed up 10 minutes after his little dog had gone out on the grass for a quick pee.
“Do NOT let your animals out unattended. I would recommend leash only,” he wrote on a local Facebook group. He adds that the animals appear to be fearless and are attracted to the scent of pets in yards.
Unfortunately, his neighbour lost one of their pets. The cat was in their backyard when it was carried off on Monday. The woman says her dog gave chase but the cat could not be saved.
Another woman posted on Tuesday that a coyote tried to snatch her dog from the family’s yard on lower Sunview Drive while her pet was on a leash.
Coyotes are very smart predators and will go for the easiest meal possible.
“They are opportunistic feeders, so if the opportunity does come up they might go for it. So, avoiding attracting them to your area is definitely the best solution,” says Karly McMullen with WildSafeBC.
She says the BC Conservation Officer Service receives about 1,100 reports about coyotes every year. The majority of those calls are from urban areas including the Lower Mainland and Central Okanagan.
“Anyone living in an area where there’s known coyote activity, it’s important to make sure you know the safety precautions, you know their behaviour so you can adjust, perhaps, what you’re doing accordingly and make sure you are not attracting them to your area,” McMullen notes.
Some of those measures include never feeding your pets outdoors and not letting them out at night. She says removing dense shrubs from around your home and installing fencing that is at least 2 metres in height can also be effective deterrents.
Coyote mating season in the Central Okanagan generally spans from late January to mid-March. In the spring they will be busy raising their young, and McMullen says they will be very defensive of their territory.
If you come across coyotes while out walking, she says bear spray is effective, or you can carry a large stick or noise maker to scare them off.
“Making a lot of noise will help deter them. You also want to make sure you maintain eye contact. So, not turning your back while walking away," she said.
“If you have your pets within reach, pick them up, bring them inside and when you’re in the trails, if you keep pets on leash that’s going to help the situation.”