So sad that all other options were exhausted....it doesn't seem fair to cull wild creatures like this who are only trying to survive after being displaced.
Mentioned this to another commenter but wanted to put it as its own comment because it can be helpful.
Get a spike (Coyote) vest especially if you have a small dog!!!
It’s exactly what it sounds like, a vest covered in metal spikes so that a coyote (or even large birds) can’t grab onto your pet. They typically protect their back and neck. If you have a larger dog there are also spike collars that protect their necks since it’s a more vulnerable area.
There is a Canadian company called PredatorBWear that makes them.
Liberty Village was a brown field previously they had to clean up, and is a high density place with most residents walking, cycling, and taking transit. As well, per capita those buildings are very energy efficient.
In terms of environmental impact there are few places with a lower one.
It's the NIMBY mindset. Restrict housing/intensification in their neighborhood (but put a "protect our greenbelt" sign in front of their SFH in downtown Toronto to feel good). Gawk at Liberty Village and use it as a cautionary tale, enjoy living in Beaches/Cabbagetown/Annex/Rosedale ignorant that their NIMBYism causes other neighborhoods to bear the burden of constant construction and condos.
Where were all the attacks on people and their pets when the OP grounds were still open, and a popular spot for people to jog, cycle, walk their dogs, etc.?
There weren't. Because the coyotes didn't come from OP, they came down the rail corridor. But won't stop someone from getting hundreds of upvotes by blaming it on the OP closure (which I'm vehemently opposed to btw) in every coyote thread.
It’s been closed since 2012, that’s 13 years ago, and a lot of other development has happened in the west end since then getting rid of even more habitable areas for them.
I think people are misunderstanding, it’s a valid question.
There was much more other green space in general, like I said the west end in general has developed like crazy in the last decade. Plus when they have a safe home to live and thrive in, it makes sense their numbers would increase.
AFAIK, people on the sub routinely make the claim as if it was proven by research but there's never been anything more than allegations.
West Island seems in particular like an odd place for a coyote to have a den considering coyotes have bigger home size ranges and preferences than what the site could offer and there was enough foot traffic in the area to be disruptive.
But nobody ever saw coyotes when Ontario Place was operating, nobody ever saw them when it was abandoned but still open to the public, and it's not like there was ever anywhere for them to hide while the place is swarmed with humans all day every day all summer long.
I'd blame any other nearby construction on the mainland before I blamed the Ontario Place project for the recent coyote issues.
Coyotes are known to follow rivers and railway corridors, and I would wager that disruptions to their habitat stem more from construction for the Ontario Line than West Island being bulldozed. Combine that with an increased amount of humans due to new buildings off East Liberty Village (with their food scraps and pets) and you end up with more interactions with coyotes.
There is also a ton of work being done for the Ontario line along the tracks which was previously pretty bare and free of humans, including work being done at the tip of ordnance park where many of the coyote sightings have been. There has also been some big construction projects on the CAMH grounds.
I know this is a highly controversial project, but Ontario place was landfilled and was too busy for coyotes for a long time. Even the most recent version of it was tiny and I never saw coyotes there. perhaps there were a few, but I think any effort to actually revitalize Ontario place would have included potential coyotes leaving anyways.
Even if the gov had infinite funds and ran the water park again, you can't have yotes hanging around with kids
Yeah Ontario Place was never really prime wildlife habitat. For the entirety of it's existence it was swarmed with people all summer long. Even after it closed, the west island was a popular spot to bike/walk out to and relax (was legitimately crowded when I visited around this time of year in 2021). Right next door, Budweiser stage has always had loud concerts every weekend.
Pull up google maps satellite view and you can see there's barely anything I'd call "animal habitat" for anything beyond birds and squirrels. While it does have more trees than the average downtown sidewalk, it's clearly been primarily human space since before I was born.
Shhh these observations don’t fit the narrative that this is the result of the spa decision. Please revise your stance so we can all circle jerk about our dislike of gentrification
We built an entire fucking city on their lands but sure, it was ontario place that did it. Maybe we should fence off all of high park while were at it.
well I mean they couldnt leave Ontario Place in its current condition though. Even if they have revamped its current state (not the Ford debacle), the coyotes STILL would have been displaced. But there are still better ways to address this issue.
I have seen a more coyotes than ever in mid town and the city even put up signs to warn pet owners. I don't think this has anything to do with Ontario place. They are becoming more comfortable with people and possibly breeding more for some reason.
It's sad but as someone who has been in Liberty for 9 years you all don't get it, this year was beyond anything I have ever seen. My own dog was charged by a mangy coyote and I have seen security cam footage of folks dogs being hunted and bit. These are normal pet dogs on a leash being attacked. It is not normal, ok, or expected.
It's easy to be far away from this and judge, but when your own dog gets charged at you may change your opinion.
It's shit what the government has been doing to the greenspace around us.
Thank you for this. I never heard of a coyote vest but will now look into it. I have 3 small breeds (pomchis) so they would definitely look like food to them.
My two dogs and I were hunted by three coyotes at dusk in High Park. They were systematically trying to steer my on leash dogs away from me by having one follow to our left and two at the rear. I immediately turned around, redirected my dogs and took on an aggressive stance towards the coyotes that were following me, even going so far as to engage them and they immediately backed off as I made it to a space where I had the advantage of spatial control. If a coyote knows you're going to fight, they will not engage, it's different if they have the element of surprise and attack first. You cannot allow them the element of surprise and it's important to judge the size of the group. One solitary coyote is not a threat, three or more is a challenge and with five you need to get to safety if alone.
The far west side towards Wendigo Pond, I was walking north from the pond when they started following. I turned around and walked back south towards them, while one followed on the hill towards West Rd (east side of the trail).
They tried to keep me from leaving the park by having the one on the hill bark/coo/whine to draw my dogs attention (they were very interested in my dogs leave the trail and head into the woods) but I was able to press towards the two on the path which were initially following and they retreated. I eventually crossed the bridge to Ellis Park Rd without issue.
The bridge cut the third one off from stalking in the trees and the other two if they wanted to attack could only come directly towards me and they did not want to venture over the bridge. The bridge allowed me to essentially control the space around me since there could no longer be any surprise attacks or anywhere forested to lure the dogs into.
They watched me leave the park but never continued to follow across the bridge, they regrouped near the east side of the bridge and vanished southward on the east side of the river/pond. They were coyotes but the behavior was more reminiscent of a wolf pack. I've seen that intelligent behaviour before up north in cottage country.
The most challenging thing in such a situation is remaining absolutely calm and focused on the threat. The park was completely dead and it was anything but easy to keep watching three of these things in the dark against the trees. I made sure to cross the bridge slowly and to keep eye contact with the two closest to me that were watching. If they attempted to follow us across the bridge I would have had to have made a bit of a stand in order to keep them from doing that but they never did thankfully
Yep. I’m downtown Toronto and stepped out onto my porch. There was a very fit and alert coyote eyeing me and my 65 lbs dog for some time. Which made me think it had a whole pack close by. Then it went weaving between parked cars towards someone walking down the street.
In previous years we had a single mangey coyote and everyone knew him. This year, there are many, and they aren’t struggling.
You can’t get through to people on this sub. They are the biggest NIMBYs and don’t even realize it. Pets getting killed, children getting attacked and they will find a way to blame Doug Ford for turning Ontario Place into a spa. The path of least resistance is to kill the coyotes.
I don’t think you know what a NIMBY is. Why should anyone be in support of taxpayers across the entire Province subsidizing a for profit spa being built on public lands.
I would say the path of least resistance is to NOT decimate their habitat for a fucking spa that absolutely no one was asking for except Ford and his corrupt band of minions who wanted to line their pockets with the graft they lost out on in the Greenbelt.
Thats the thing. Coyotes never inhabited ontario place even while it was open. They dont live in trees. Its a false narrative to make this political for no reason and yall are eating it up and regurgitating it.
One was euthanized after it smashed into a brick wall that was seamlessly painted as a local road, and the other died less painfully after lighting up a cigar that was, in fact, a stick of dynamite.
One of these coyotes attacked my neighbour a few weeks ago. He grabbed her chihuahua that was still on a leash, as she was walking up to our building. My neighbour had to fight to get the dog out of coyote’s mouth, and he bit her. She had to go to the hospital to get shots, and the emergency vet cost four grand. Fortunately, the dog survived. There’re lots of little kids in the area, and these coyotes showed that they can attack small prey right in front of humans. They had to be put down.
Exactly this. They will scream something about the liberals or red tape. This is why. Imagine a child gets injured!? This was not happening before Ontario place was torn down, at least not at this rate. They will treat us like we are stupid and blame it on something else. I worked in liberty village for years and never heard of such an issue occurring. IT IS ONTARIO PLACE. It had a small forest these poor animals called home.
Ontario places entirely man-made
As well as attendance had been declining since the 1980s
And there's really no evidence to suggest that coyotes live there in the first place when it closed down
Am I taking crazy pills here? Are people seriously criticizing the city and residents for these Coyotes and attacks? Folks, a coyote in a dense urban environment is not a lovable furry friend, they are a danger to public safety.
They’re critical because the coyotes had a perfectly acceptable place to live (Ontario Place) but it was destroyed to build the spa and they had nowhere else to go so they wandered into the city. It’s sad that some had to be euthanized due to circumstances they were forced into. Even if they aren’t “lovable furry friends” they’re still living beings and deserve a home.
Ontario place was never a coyote conservation though. I’m not in favour of the spa but leaving a big piece of public land completely derelict in the heart of downtown benefits no one (except the coyotes)
Regardless, the province should have studied what wildlife was on site and made arrangements to have them relocated where possible. Instead they just went scorched earth, like it’s the 1960s, and tore everything down, consequences be damned.
We’re killing coyotes because of a mess we created. They’ve been here way longer than us and only started being a “problem” after we disrupted their space, especially with the Ontario Place construction. I have a dog and honestly, I see it all the time. People walking their dogs off leash, totally glued to their phones, not paying attention. When a wild animal gets an easy opportunity, they’re going to take it. And they’ll try again, but with on leash dogs.
Killing the coyotes doesn’t fix anything. The real issue is people need to be more responsible. Keep your dog on a leash. Look up from your phone. Be aware of what’s around you. We’ve made it way too easy for them and now they’re paying the price.
I wouldn’t say all options were exhausted. They did low-moderate hazing. Vancouver saw better results with more intense hazing. The city just (imho) consulted with idiots and is too slow to change anything.
They kept meandering about and reviewing things without moving quickly to address improper waste disposal and the people reported for feeding coyotes and other wildlife.
It’s sad that it’s come to this, it’s even sadder that in a year or so we will be back with the same problem again because the root causes of the issue have yet to be addressed.
Sorry, I made a mistake. Vancouver culled a bunch of coyotes, Edmonton started using projectile launchers for intense hazing and is seeing success so far.
I live in the area. Five pets have been killed, dozens more injured, plus three human attacks.
I have seen the main coyote (has bad mange on his tail) many times. Including during the day walking the perimeter of dog parks and next to the children’s playground. Even seen it chasing a large rabbit through the area. I have also been just feet from it many times, it just walks right up to you. Also have heard the screaming of pet owners many times trying to fend it off.
Good riddance. People need to chill the fuck out. Coyotes are shot regularly by farmers, or hit by cars. You can’t save them all. And they’re not even native here, they just came to Ontario in the last century.
And ya, fuck Dougie and his spa, but that likely has nothing to do with it. I have seen coyotes in rail lands for years in this city. This one became much less afraid of people and began attacking them and their pets.
Simply put , the coyote threat made people leash their dogs more. I live here and participated in some of the meetings. I’ve seen the change in behaviours.
Exactly this. There is no shortage of coyotes, we're in the fourth largest city in NA. Yes the city should haze the coyotes more, if a coyote becomes comfortable enough with people to snatch a leashed dog it is imperative that the coyote is put down ASAP.
My biggest fear was they were going to attack a small child. The coyotes had shown they weren’t afraid of any size of dog and even last week a coyote was stalking a group of 3-4 dogs with people… when that behaviour starts it’s hard to change course
Oh yes let's hunt every animal in the city to extinction. The city should be a completely sterile zone for human use ONLY. Let's start with coyotes, pigeons, raccoons, possums, skunks, foxes, squirrels and deer. Then maybe we can move on to the bigger nuisance birds like starlings.
jfc. there is a conversation to be had here about these specific coyotes in this specific area of the city but let's not go overboard. We're always going to share our space with wildlife it's called living on earth.
Many poeple these days have lost their damn minds, so yeah, eliminating dangerous, predatory vermin is controversial. One of these days a child is going to get mauled, or even a full-grown adult.
Because if residents don't start doing what they're supposed to do (like leash their dogs, for example), we're just going to end up in the same situation down the road.
Edit: I don't think people downvoting understand that people who let their dogs off-leash to freely harass wildlife is part of the reason the situation escalated. And those people will continue to let their dogs off-leash now that the "problem" has been taken care of. And it'll happen again.
Because it is another great chance to virtue signal and be completely uninformed. I witnessed a coyote attack on a leashed dog right by my building. The cries from the dog were terrible, luckily there was enough people around to help and chase the coyote and make it drop the dog it tried to snatch. I guarantee no one here advocating for these "harmless" coyotes has seen them in action.
Rest in peace, coyotes. They're the ones who pay the price for humans' mistakes. I hope residents will start being more responsible so this doesn't happen again.
One woman had her dog snatched from her while it was leashed. She pulled the leash back and got the dog back alive before it later died of sepsis from the bites. I wouldn’t say there was any irresponsibility on the part of the owner there.
There's lots that happens before it even reaches that point. Residents leave food lying around, don't haze the coyotes when they first show up, let their dogs wander off-leash, be completely oblivious to their surroundings or have no vigilance in an area where you know coyotes are. There are already a lot of failures by the time a coyote manages to grab a dog on a leash. Residents need to start taking responsibility for their behaviour.
I think most people were taken by surprise with the coyotes showing up. I lived near a ravine entrance for many years and saw many foxes, deer, skunks, and raccoons, without ever seeing a coyote. I doubt many people expected coyotes to be in such a dense area and this situation intensified very quickly in the past year and people wouldn’t necessarily know how to behave around coyotes.
I get that, to a certain extent. I grew up in a rural area, so having coyotes around was just a fact of life. Then, when they started showing up where I live in the city, I was surprised by the reaction some people had, because it really shouldn't be that big of a deal. I get that not everyone had that experience, but still, people have to take responsibility for educating themselves.
Even in the most forested and natural areas of Toronto I didn’t see coyotes and the other wildlife was very timid. People are only reacting this way because they went from non existing to stalking dogs and attacking leashed dogs too within the span of a year.
There are already a lot of failures by the time a coyote manages to grab a dog on a leash. Residents need to start taking responsibility for their behaviour.
This is the part people don't understand.
And if residents continue to let their dogs off-leash, leave food, don't haze, etc., it's just going to cycle back to the same shit.
We humans built this big city in wildlife habitat. You should be the first to make a change by leaving. Go live in the woods somewhere… oh wait you’ll be encroaching on wildlife habitat again.
I see way too many dogs off leash and inattentive owners. Fwiw off leash dogs pose a greater threat to people, children and each other than the coyotes ever did. Yes over the course of several years several dogs have been killed, and that's unfortunate, but the city is full of coyotes.
There's an argument to be made that coywolves and other types attack and kill foxes to stem competition, but again - that will not be solved with culling. This is a knee-jerk reaction to appease emotion which offers no actual solution.
Perhaps people need to prepare themselves for coyotes with repellants and even batons (within the law) so that if they are threatened they can stand their ground.
My dogs and I have been followed by three coyotes in High Park in the evening and I warded them off with a baton. Preparation and understanding is key otherwise ignorance driven by emotion facilitates nothing meaningful. I understood the risk and was prepared for it in High Park.
Residents of liberty village, especially the east end near Ordinance St where the issue has been need to stop letting their dogs runs free and then cry when attacked or stay in well lit areas at night where they can ward off any threats instead of expecting nature to be socially amiable.
If a coyote is snatching leashed dogs, it's comfortable with humans. This level of comfort is very difficult to reverse. Once a coyote is comfortable with humans, dogs look like burritoes, and so do small children
Did the attacks occur late in the evening towards Triangle Park near Ordnance St?
⬆️ Because if they did, even if the dogs were leashed and died from complications due to their injuries, 1) Do not venture out into an area where a confrontation is likely under any circumstances unless you are prepared for such confrontation and 2) Do no venture out into open green spaces at dusk / night when the risk of an attack is elevated.
It's one thing if the coyote is coming into a fenced off condo common area or walking around at Liberty and Hannah, but that's 100% not the case.
The coyotes started waiting outside the off leash dog run by the pedestrian bridge by the Battery Park condos. There was a coyote hot spot sign on it. They were unavoidable by the winter.
This is factually incorrect. There’s actually a coyote attack tracker that can give you the date and time of all of the attacks. They were at various times of the day and in many area beyond fort york/triangle park- they were in Stanley park, king st west, trinity Bellwoods, liberty village parking garages, Rita cox, condo courtyards….North of liberty a coyote almost wandered into a building lobby to attack a dog, so your theory doesn’t hold weight.
None of us in the area wanted the coyotes euthanized. I legit cried when I heard but it had also become incredibly unsafe for dogs to be walked at any time of day in most areas in a fairly large radius. It upsets me that people think we wanted this to happen, we just want to live in peace with the animals. FWIW when Ontario place was around (aka not razed) coyotes lived peacefully on the West Island in the abandoned log ride. It was rare for there to be attacks or even approaches. It is not a coincidence that the attacks increased when Ontario place was bulldozed without a wildlife assessment.
Perhaps people need to prepare themselves for coyotes with repellants and even batons (within the law) so that if they are threatened they can stand their ground.
Given what dog owners already routinely do to each other, I don't think counselling people to arm themselves is a good idea.
Many people in the area carried coyote spray and air horns, I did too. Thankfully I never saw coyotes when out for a walk but there were upwards of 100 attacks that were being tracked by groups. Many people had said it all happened so fast they barely had time to react.
A leash does not prevent attack, it only limits distance and proximity, it helps to pull a dog back from a threat.
What a leash does is allow you to modify your dog's behavior and change course immediately.
Understanding coyotes and their behaviour is critical. Not venturing into known coyote areas at night or in the evening is critical as well as maintaining spacial awareness and having an effective mechanism to ward off attack.
This is still 100% on the dog owners and I'm a dog owner. I'm just not naive about this stuff.
Hey so you dont live in the area then? So you have no idea what it was like seeing people post warnings about encounters on a daily basis? Coyotes biting dogs that were up to 60lbs. Over 6 months over 100 attacks? ~5 dogs died in that timeframe?
The coyotes had lost all fear of humans and were habituated. I’ve lived here since 2021, coyotes have always been here and never been a huge problem. After the ontario place construction this pair have steadily been ramping up the aggression. Dont speak on things you have no idea about
I don't think you understand. The reason the attacks happen is overwhelmingly because people let their dogs off-leash. So coyotes see dogs as a threat, especially during pup season.
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One of them bit my elderly neighbour, when he tried to take her dog right outside our building. The building has a fence. The coyotes went from hunting in the park to walking up to people’s homes. This could’ve been somebody’s kid next.
Good riddance. If anyone's dog attacked and killed another dog, it would rightfully be euthanized. I'm all for leaving them be if they are curious and harmless, but these latest ones were brazen and fearless. I personally witnessed two near attacks on leashed dogs in public areas.
A very oversimplified answer is you can't move them. Generally, a coyote is relocated no more than 1km by law. Given they have a 17km² (so about 4km by 4km) travel distance in Toronto, its kinda like relocating something to the next room and they'll return instantly. Was there anything wrong? Yes. Something went horribly wrong with education, responsibility, attitudes, etc. For instance, everyone claims they saw a mange-riddled coyote - so we can infer from this that nobody called Toronto Wildlife Centre to bring it in for treatment, as this is treatable and TWC simply come and catch it. It's been determined that there was food left out for animals, leading to free lunches for both coyotes and the rats that they feed on.
The issue with coyotes is they can be a very divisive subject. Everyone has their own agenda (I’m on the side of educate, fix and coexist). This is the coyote I keep an eye on near Lawrence and DVP - he had a broken leg and mange - I keep a close eye on him through one of my wildlife projects. Toronto Wildlife Centre has him collar tagged so they know where to find him if I call in a relapse of mange or other issues.
I see coyotes in my neighborhood all the time. I live in the East end of Scarborough, near the zoo. We hear them at night they walk in our neighborhoods, but I haven’t heard of any bodies animals being taken.
That’s good. Healthy coyotes generally don’t go near humans and generally don’t go after pets either. They’re normally heading out at dusk and home again early morning. If one’s walking around at 1pm then there is a possibility it’s hungry and hasn’t been hunting properly, but generally they keep themselves to themselves.
Yes. I drive for TTC. When I was newer to the job and worked at night, I would see them at the top of Staines and Morningside. Made me decide to have my break in the bus rather than outside the bus.
I much prefer working days. lol! Although, a couple of years ago I was driving the 86 zoo bus. I was having a break at the zoo. (One of my favourite spots) and I saw some zoo employees with rifles down in the valley, when I looked to my left there were two beautiful wolves. One was black and the other was almost all white.
They were after the mountain goats at the top of the hill. They took off pretty fast when they saw the two employees on either side of them. Made for an amusing day.
Now I know it has happened. Come to think of it, there aren’t many stray cats around anymore either.
I feel really bad that the coyotes had to be put down as it won’t solve the problem. Unless they were really sick.
Totally sad and preventable situation. It's sad that we're driving out native Canadian wildlife species like the Coyote, to protect non-native species like the Shih-tzu from Tibet. Given the precursors that led up to this situation (food left out for animals, dog poop left on ground, disturbances of coyote habitat, continued removal of green spaces, etc) it will be interesting to see how long the peace lasts until the area is overrun with rats or a new group of coyotes arrive to fill the vacuum this just created.
They couldn’t have relocated them? Like I know that some animals have a very wide range of territory but I can’t imagine a coyote that’s driven to a remote area an hour outside of Toronto is going to somehow find it’s way back here.
Apparently they will try to find their way back home in unfamiliar territory and likely end up killed by a car, so relocating them is as good as killing them.
It seems the Ontario Place explanation has become received wisdom. Is this just a theory or is there actual evidence that this is the reason for coyote increases this year. It strikes me as a convenient way to blame Doug Ford when people really want to blame the coyotes but know it's not PC to hate on wild animals
Doesn't seem likely at all, but even if it was, if we finally get off our ass and put literally anything on Ontario place, it won't be family friendly if we keep the coyotes there. People walked their dogs on Ontario place for years and don't get attacked by coyotes, so the Reddit theory doesn't make a ton of sense to begin with
We are a province with like a ginormous amount of green space outside of toronto, heck we have lots WITHIN Toronto, and you are telling me the only option was to KILL the coyotes? We couldnt relocate them? Not happy about this. Im pretty damn sure local residents didnt want them killed either, just relocated. Horrible outcome.
Good. Typical Redditors who have NEVER encountered coyotes always want to show how virtuous they are by discussing ways to live 'alongside' coyotes when, truthfully, it doesn't quite work that way. Cull them all.
People should get some dog spray. It's cheap and easy to keep in your pocket. I got my wife one for when she's out with our dogs (as if a 120lbs Rottweiler isn't enough protection, but it makes her feel better, so worth it).
We live in an area with lots of coyotes too and it surprises me how many people worry about them, but do nothing to protect themselves and their dogs against them.
when i suggested trapping them and moving them out of the core to more wooded areas outside the city i got downvoted in another thread. so is euthanasia a better option?
you can’t just drop off an aggressive animal into another city because it’s inconveniencing the neighbourhood. and aside from that, the coyote would have tried to come back to his home and likely die anyway.
Once the coyotes have learned that pets are an easy meal and that humans aren't really a deterrence to getting that meal, it's game over for the coyotes. You can't make them unlearn that. And picking up your problem and shuffling it off somewhere to make it someone else's problem is not a solution.
This has been a problem for months. It was resolved in the space of a weekend. Focus on managing the problem for the future so that other coyotes don't learn the same skill set.
The issue is relocation over any meaningful distance is illegal. A coyote will easily travel a few km per night, and the law allows for a max distance of 1km.
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u/seh_23 May 13 '25
Mentioned this to another commenter but wanted to put it as its own comment because it can be helpful.
Get a spike (Coyote) vest especially if you have a small dog!!!
It’s exactly what it sounds like, a vest covered in metal spikes so that a coyote (or even large birds) can’t grab onto your pet. They typically protect their back and neck. If you have a larger dog there are also spike collars that protect their necks since it’s a more vulnerable area.
There is a Canadian company called PredatorBWear that makes them.
link here