Man and two dogs had an altercation with coyotes in Kelowna's Wilden area Sunday

Photo: File photo

A man and his two large dogs had a run-in with a pack of coyotes in the Wilden area Sunday morning.

Garrett Ainsworth was walking his husky-cross and Irish wolfhound along the trails east of Upper Canyon Drive North at about 9:30 a.m. when they came across a coyote crouching down in the grass, close to the trail.

Ainsworth says his two dogs took off after the lone coyote and he followed after them.

“It was probably a decoy-type manoeuvre because they're pretty sneaky that way,” Ainsworth said. “I went running after them, but as I'm going down the hill, three of [the coyotes] are chasing our dogs up the hill and nipping at their hindquarters.”

Ainsworth said one of the coyotes began charging at him as well, and he was forced to kick at it.

The pack scampered off, but they returned a few moments later, leading to a second altercation.

“I got them out of there as fast as possible,” Ainsworth said. “I saw a total of five but I could hear them all howling and it sounded like there was a lot more than five.

“They've probably got pups in the area so they're probably protecting them, but I've never come across that before ever.”

Ainsworth said his husky-cross is about 80 pounds and his Irish wolfhound is about 120 pounds, but the smaller coyotes ended up biting the husky-cross on the inside of the leg. Ainsworth said they're taking the dog to the vet Sunday morning,

Ainsworth has lived in the area for about a year, and he's walked his dogs in the area many times. While he's seen coyotes there in the past, he's never had any altercations with them.

“Usually we see one and it takes off and that's the end of the story,” he said. “Never had an actual counter-attack like that ... To have one turn on me was shocking.”

Ainsworth says the trail system is a popular walking area, and he wants others to be aware of the aggressive coyotes there.