ARE WILDLIFE PUSHING BACK IN REGARDS TO HABITAT LOSS?

Yesterday's Waterloo Region Record carried an article titled "Guelph trail users warned about coyotes". This of course comes on the heels of sightings of a black bear at the north end of Floradale Rd. which runs northwards on the west side of Elmira. This by the way is not the first such sighting of a black bear in Waterloo region in recent years.

Apparently the two coyotes spotted along a walking trail (Niska Trail) on Guelp's west side ie. the Elmira side behaved aggressively in attacking a dog and attempting to attack a hiker wlking two dogs. Of course this aggression from the coyote's point of view may simply have been people getting in the way of them getting a meal. The on-line Record had a photograph of an alleged "coyote". It was no such thing as a pure breed coyote is a small, skinny critter rarely more than fourty pounds. This animal may well have been a wolf-coyote cross or even a dog-coyote cross and was much taller and stockier probably closer to 75 or 80 pounds.

I'm wondering what exactly is going on. Certainly coyotes in urban areas have multiple sources of food and no natural predators. Normally coyotes are very careful to stay out of sight but when cross-bred with dogs seem much less afraid of human beings. When cross-bred with wolves they are bigger and stronger and more capable of taking down larger game such as deer. If they get the chance as opportunistic hunters they will grab cats or smaller dogs.