Council agrees to create wildlife strategy
Posted Mar 5, 2010 By Sheena Bolton
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EMC News - Ottawa city council decided last week to begin the work of developing a wildlife strategy, designed to deal with the habituated wildlife appearing throughout the city. 
Coyotes have been making themselves more visible in the city, prompting councillors to agree on the creation of a comprehensive wildlife strategy.
In the near future a meeting will be held between the agriculture and rural affairs committee and the planning and environment committee to develop a wildlife strategy for all wildlife in Ottawa.
"I really felt strongly that we need to have a strategy and address this issue because I was getting a lot more calls about coyotes and concerns from residents than I had ever gotten in past years," said Gloucester-Southgate Ward Coun. Diane Deans. "The strategy focuses on providing more information to the public about these animals, their habits and what they can expect them to do if they come in contact with them."
It will also include information residents can use in extreme situations, as well as a strategy for future development and how to cohabitate with the animals currently in these areas.
This new strategy came from the issue of coyotes appearing across the city. Regarding those concerns, Coun. Deans said the city's focus now is educating the public about the animals and their habits.
"On the coyote issue I think the focus is largely on public education and awareness and what the public can do to ensure that they are not attracting coyotes and what to do if they come in contact with one," said Coun Deans.
For the last month in the Greenboro area two coyotes have been spotted close to children's play structures. Residents were concerned with the close presence, and city staff soon consulted with staff at the Ministry of Natural Recourses (MNR).
"The coyotes have a large territory so one of the more remote sections of the area the wildlife specialist euphemized them using a firearm," said Christine Hartig, bylaw policy officer. "He was fairly close range and a good marksmen, trapping wasn't necessary in that case."
"We learned last Tuesday (Feb. 23) about what happened," she continued. "They also had frost bite pretty badly, it's unfortunate but at the end of the day it's a better way to go than mange."
Donnna DuBreuil, president of the Ottawa Carleton Wildlife Centre, said she is pleased the city is creating a wildlife strategy. She said she feels the policy should have been in place for a long time. Last Tuesday Ms. DuBreuil and a group of supporters attended a meeting of the city's planning and environment committee to stress their support for a strategy. Ms. DuBreuil was part of the original group of residents and experts who brought the concept of a wildlife strategy to the community and protective services on Feb. 4.
"If you look at some of the cities across the United States, they have education programs to cohabitate," said Ms. DuBreuil. "We've had coyotes on the greenbelt and what's happening is we now seeing them in communities like Greenboro because we are continually expanding into natural areas. Areas like Barrhaven are under massive development and have been for a number of years, so these animals are going to become more seen."
As for the current coyotes Ms. DuBreuil explained people don't need to worry if they see one and it's not uncommon in the winter months to see the animal.
"People assume that if they are coming close to your property then that's a threat to you," she said. "Well you have to understand why they are coming close to your property and particularly why we see them in the wintertime."
She explained that coyotes follow their food source, generally small animals like mice and moles. In winter, the heat emitting from houses and buildings is an attraction to mice. In the summer, both species spend their time in open fields.
"Often we hear stories about hawks flying into a window and that's because he was after a mouse going into that (heat) trail near homes," Ms. DuBreuil said. "People just need to know they should not panic if they see coyote track around their house."
Ms. DuBreuil said people who encounter a coyote should act aggressive and make themselves look big. Shout at the coyote, she said, as coyotes take their cues from humans. If we allow them to come close to us they will.
Coyotes are also hard to eliminate as they can reproduce quickly if threatened, she said.
There have only been two coyote attacks on humans ever in North America, and neither was in Ottawa, Ms. Dubreil explained. One of those attacks, she continued, was from a hybrid wolf species, as opposed to a pure coyote.
"There has been a situation that in Chicago, where coyotes are in virtually every burrow in Chicago and they have never seen an attack on a person," she continued.
"When you put that in context there are 300 dog bites every year in the City of Ottawa," she added.
The future community planning aspect of the wildlife strategy is another important part of the project, Ms. Dubreuil said, adding that she hopes to see a change in environmental assessment (EA) processes to include existing animal habitats in subdivision sites.
"It's not rocket science (that) if you are going to plan a new community in Barrhaven or Greely that some animals are going to be affected," said Ms. DuBreuil. "The (current) EA only deals with species at risk so we really need to look at the typical wildlife and what we need to make sure we provide corridors for them, or some ruminant habitat and then we need to educate the people who are moving in to co-exist."
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