A COYOTE MOMENT

by Bernie Steininger

As a West Ender for the past 45 years one of big pluses is the proximity to Stanley Park.

For all of those 45 years I have enjoyed the park first as a runner and walker and now as a biker and walker. The park is my sanctuary! I am retired and it is a rare day that I am not on the trails.

In my past, the users of the park and coyotes have coexisted in peace.

This year things have changed and several runners have been bitten and at least one very seriously. I became aware that things had changed as early as last September.

I was walking on Rawlings Trail, just past the Hollow Tree, and approaching a blind corner. Much to my surprise, I saw a coyote walking toward me. I reached for my phone to grab a couple of photos before the coyote ran into the bush, as that was consistent with the behaviour I had seen in the past. Much to my surprise, the coyote did not run into the bush and I found myself two feet from a coyote who had stopped, facing me. His head was down and he stood in my path and appeared to focus on my legs.

I stood there frozen for some seconds as I have never witnessed this behaviour from a coyote. Realizing this was a dangerous situation, I slowly slid over to the other side of the trail. With that, the coyote moved in a fashion that would suggest he was turning to approach me from behind.

With that, I turned to face him and raised my arms and shouted. He then walked slowly ahead and away down the trail.

Since then I have had around six sightings. All of those sightings suggested coyotes that were much less afraid of humans than they had been in the past. It took considerable effort to move them into the bush.

In March I looked over my shoulder on Tatlow Trail to see a coyote following me. It took several attempts of turning to face him and making a lot of noise before I could discourage him.

On Good Friday a coyote was sunning himself around Lost Lagoon, unconcerned about all the strollers and runners going by. On Friday, April 9, around 3 p.m., I was in the trails and I turned from Lovers to Tatlow, headed up toward Rawlings Trail. I had not gone far when I noticed movement in the bush and a coyote came onto the path. He gave me a look but was totally unconcerned or wary of my presence. I made some noise but he only moved into the bush after I picked up a large branch and moved toward him.

Feeling confident the encounter was over, I continued walking ahead, keeping an eye on the area of the bush where the coyote had retreated. Seconds later the coyote appeared and was walking toward me and the path.

I turned to face the coyote as I grabbed another stick and I screamed as loud as I could with my arms raised in the air. The coyote retreated once again.

At this point, it was becoming clear to me that this coyote was not easily scared and his persistence was a matter of concern to me. I was walking rather fast by then, realizing the importance of keeping my eyes peeled for the coyote.

Once again in a very short time, he was moving in the bush at an angle towards where I was on the path. My scare tactics were not as effective as I had hoped. I had no choice then but to stand my ground again and turn to face the coyote, arms raised and screaming blue murder.

The coyote retreated and I walked on as fast as possible.

The inclination is, of course, to run. That is the worst thing you can possibly do as their prey instinct kicks in and you are inviting an attack. You can’t ever turn your back to a coyote. Nothing good comes from that.

I was walking very quickly, hoping I had seen the last of him, when I glanced over my shoulder and saw him on my trail stalking me. The good news was he was not running after me. Once again I turned to face him and screamed and charged towards him waving my stick in the air like a madman.

He, I assume, calculated he didn’t want to deal with a madman and he slipped into the bush. After seeing him retreat into the bush my adrenaline gave my walking a significant boost and I was moving along very well.

I couldn’t have been far from Rawlings Trail and the road and was feeling confident I had left him behind in the bush, but I had to keep an eye on the trail. Keeping my eye on the trail I recognized that there was no good news this time, for the coyote was running after me!

Now it was more important than ever to stop dead, turn and face him, raise my arms and charge the coyote like I meant serious business. This is the last thing I really felt like doing but was the only thing to dol

Thankfully the coyote retreated once again.

Had I not turned to face the coyote I am convinced he would have run me down and bit me. That was the last I saw of him as a few minutes later I reached the road and went down to Third Beach.

The conservation people said my response was exactly what should be done and was “textbook”. I have no idea why this coyote was coming after me. The Stanley Park Ecology Centre indicated that I could have been close to a den with young.

The coyotes seem to be really habituated to people this year and the thinking is that it’s because some people are feeding them. Other than that, we just don’t know.

One coyote expert in the US believes an alpha dominant pair could exist in the park and that they are not afraid of people. Two coyotes were taken out of the park this year, but were they the two that were doing the biting? The answer to that is unclear, but the biting continues and as I write this (late April) a woman was bitten on the seawall in the evening.

I don’t think this behaviour will stop and I believe that there will be more bites in the future. I have noticed fewer people in trails and many regulars do not feel comfortable there anymore. One thing is clear - when people enter the trails they are looking for a relaxing walk in nature and not a ten-minute turf battle with an aggressive and persistent coyote.

While this situation is being studied and monitored, it is my hope that others are not bitten and attacked in the park. We are blessed to have one of the best city park’s in the world. What a shame it would be if people fear using the trails because of a coyote attack. I am told that all of the attacks so far have been on runners.

Let me assure you that gave me no consolation that Friday when I had a determined coyote chasing me up Tatlow Trail. In my world you should be able to go for a walk in the park without looking over your shoulder.

I hear the coyotes some mornings and it’s an awesome wild sound hearing them howl. I love the idea of humans sharing the park with wild animals.

Clearly, something significant has changed this year and I, for one, would love to know what it is.