Wed., April 6, 2022
Newmarket The Era

Coyotes and humans usually live in close proximity to one another in southern Ontario.

While the animals generally avoid direct human contact, they occasionally wander into residential areas.

“Coyotes are wary by nature and will avoid humans if possible,” Ministry of Natural Resources spokesperson Jolanta Kowalski told YorkRegion.com via email in 2016. “However, a coyote that has been fed either directly or indirectly will lose their fear of humans and become habituated.”

When that happens, coyotes have been known to attack and eat small pets.

“Attacks on pets are more likely to occur when pets are left unattended in backyards or allowed to walk off leash,” Kowalski wrote.

While attacks on humans are very rare, a coyote bit a young girl in Aurora June 16, 2019.

For tips on how to avoid coyote encounters, and what to do if you see one, visit the article, ‘Don’t feed the coyotes in Aurora: Ministry of Natural Resources’.

To help you know if there are coyotes that may be entering residential areas close to you, we have put together a map to track coyote sightings in York Region.

The map includes sightings we have reported on dating back to 2018, and moving forward, we plan to keep it updated with any new sightings reported to us.

If you see or hear a coyote in your neighbourhood, email newsroom@yrmg.com or message us on Twitter @yorkregion to let us know, and we’ll add it to our map. Please include the date and approximate time of the sighting, and as much detail about the location as possible. Photos are also welcome.

Click the arrow symbol in the top left corner of the map to see the legend.

Please note that this map is meant strictly as a public service to let you know if coyotes have been spotted in your neighbourhood. We do not do anything with your submissions besides add the details to the map.

Orange stars on the map represent the most recently added sightings.

Source: The Newmarket Era