Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Coyotes Return to Aurora: February Marks Mating Season, Happy Valentine’s

I’ve been deliberating—while I don’t have pictures of coyotes, I have seen a couple, and no one seems to be emphasizing that coyote mating season starts in February. I doubt they’re looking for a dog companion; perhaps more like food for a Valentine’s dinner.

Yes, I’ve been thinking about writing down a few things I have on my mind about coyotes—after all, everyone else has, including politicians.

So, I’ve seen two coyotes.

St. Andrew’s Valley Golf Club

Not this year, but last year, I saw a coyote crossing Vandorf, which is pretty common in that area. A few months later, I spotted a second coyote in the Hamilton Park soccer field, near St. John’s Sideroad. That day, on the opposite side of the field, I noticed an unleashed dog sniffing around.

I don’t trust unleashed dogs, so Matthew and I decided to head home. I remember turning around a few times, but there was no sign of a dog owner—just that one dog, which looked like a Husky from a distance. It hit me later that it could have been a coyote.

Just a Husky dog in the off-leash park on Industrial Parkway

My neighbour once told me, about 3-4 years ago, that five or six coyotes had been killed in the same area—the Hamilton Park soccer field. There was no publicity about it. She also mentioned that she had often heard howling at night, but it eventually stopped. I guess her story about the killings was true.

A few weeks ago, my other neighbour mentioned seeing coyotes a couple of times coming out of the St. Andrew’s Valley Golf Club. I suppose with no one golfing now, they’ve got the place to themselves to hunt. She told me that one time, the coyote’s face was all bloody.

I understand that the food chain is important, but I’d much prefer vegetarian animals over the meat-eating coyotes. Just the thought of a poor rabbit being eaten… Speaking of which, my backyard rabbit is also missing.

Community Arboretum, Coyotes On The Map

My thoughts:

What can we do? Don’t kill, don’t relocate, and don’t feed. Stay alert and educate yourself. The bottom line is that coyotes will always be part of our area, and there’s not much we can do besides being vigilant and cautious.

Do I like it? No, not at all. But it’s not much different from having a large dog off-leash running around the neighbourhood. Maybe this should serve as a wake-up call for dog owners to keep their dogs on a leash at all times.

Now that there’s so much attention on coyotes in our town, I think we could benefit from a map of coyote sightings. It would be a valuable addition to any of the Town of Aurora’s printed materials distributed to the public.

COMMENTS

Marvin said: February 2, 2012 at 01:32

Then again, I’ve never seen coyotes take down a pit bull.

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