Sighting on December 24th 2011

by Cindy Lee Morton
(East York, Ontario, Canada)

I was walking my dog at 9:30 am, in the neighbourhood of Dawes Road and Gower in East York, Ontario, on Glen Albert Drive.


I walked up the street and there was this large Coyote. I was about 12 feet away and I was shaking with fear because of my dog and the stories I heard on the news where the dog was grabbed by a Coyote.

The Coyote and I saw each other and as I picked up my dog I turned and walked away very carefully as not to startle the Coyote, and as I was walking away I looked back and I saw it was following me, so I tried to walk faster and remained calm.

The Coyote was on a neighbour's property just roaming around on the grass near the sidewalk.

I walk this way every morning with my dog and now I am in fear for my life and my dog and the whole community.

We live right around a school and there have been many sightings of Coyotes. I live near Taylor Creek Park and something needs to be done for everyone's safety.

This is not their territory and for all of the children and our safety, we need to protect our community and place these Coyotes in their safe environment before something drastic happens to one of us.

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starstarstarstarstar 		The Real Danger - Coyotes
by: Mary Lynn Horton

I know it must be a frightening experience to see a Coyote for the first time, and it is true, that Coyotes will grab small dogs and cats out on their own. But, I have never, ever heard of a Coyote grabbing a small dog that is with its owner.

I have often come across coyotes where I live (within a few feet) and they have never bothered me. They usually stay away from humans.

I am sorry that you think¨something has to be done. If this becomes the popular outcry in your area, then the sad result will be all the Coyotes in your area being trapped and then killed.

Please consider this: More people are killed every year in Canada by Deer and Moose than by any other animals, including Bears and Cougars (who actually stalk humans) and rattlesnakes.

That is because deer run in front of cars, smash through the windshield and people die.

There is no record of coyotes killing humans. Coyotes keep the deer populations down. Wolves and coyotes are highly intelligent animals that usually want to stay as far away from humans as possible.

Coyotes have always lived here in Niagara on the Niagara Escarpment, but because developers have started building on and near the escarpment, people now see Coyotes and tend to react hysterically.

As a result, they trapped the Coyotes, then killed them, and now more and more people, including me and my daughter have deer running in front of our cars ($5,000 damage to our car and thank God we were not killed.)

A friend had a deer run into her SUV just the other day which flipped over and she now has head injuries.

I realize that I am pro-Coyote and you are not, but there are two sides to every story and to be quite honest, there is a compelling story that Coyotes are not the dangerous animals so many believe.

For most of the year Coyotes live on mice, rabbits and other rodents.


I do not expect you to like Coyotes. Centuries of horror stories and fables about Wolves and Coyotes have demonized them unfairly, to no end.


When I walk in Conservation parks or other deserted areas, I am far more afraid of the two-legged predators than any other animal.

Mary Lynn

Thank you, Mary Lynn, for your well written and insightful article. Tomorrow, I am going to remove it from here in the "Comments" section, as I have already published it in our "Coyote" Section so that more people will see it

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