Back up on the North Hill,as in other parts of Calgary,there are coyotes too.In fact,the one I saw creeping through the snow on Prince's Island had most likely wandered down from McHugh Bluff,the escarpment that leads up from the north bank of the Bow River.
The North Hill can be roughly defined as that part of town bordered on the south by the Bow River,on the west by Fourteenth Street,and on the east by a broad valley through which the Deerfoot Trail,Calgary's busiest road runs.The Deerfoot is bordered on the west by green space and the main set of railroad connecting Calgary with points north.The North Hill also has several sizable golf courses,cemeteries and parks.Nose Hill Park just to the north west ,while to the northeast is Calgary's International Airport.In short,the communities of the North Hill are more than accommodating to coyotes.
It's up on the North Hill that I would always see the signs.The signs were usuall made with a color printer and would be taped up to every pole and bus shelter for blocks around.Usually they were entitled"Lost Dog"or "Lost Cat",and would have a picture of the animal,usually a smaller breed,along with a description.Sometimes there would be more than one picture on each pole.
It would be good to believe that those beloved pets had just wandered of,but,in most cases,I fear that it would not be true.Nature,after all is said to be red in tooth and claw and ,over the years I've lived on the North Hill,I've seen several coyotes within a stones throw from residential areas.The unfortunate truth,most of the time is that those pets have become a commodity in the food chain.
Some people feed coyotes.Not all feeding is intentional,but all feeding encourages coyotes to view people,and the animals that are associated with people as a food source.Sometimes it's a matter of leaving pet food out in the yard for pets.But pet food is very attractive to coyotes as well,and increases the chance of pet/coyote conflict,which most pets will not survive.Coyotes can inflict serious,life threatening harm even to larger pets.Sometimes it's the careless disposal of garbage that attracts coyotes.Cans are not covered or bags are not tied at the top and this qualifies as fine,easy to access cuisine for a hungry coyote.I once awoke to see a coyote dragging an empty pizza box down the alley,having already consumed whatever contents were left in the box.
There are coyotes on the golf courses,wandering through the graveyards and even at the airport as well.While these may seem unusual places to find a coyote,they are in fact rather isolated from humans and still provide a lot in terms of food.Certainly at and around Calgary's airport there are abundant colonies of gophers and rabbits.While a coyote may well encounter planes at the airport,they seem to adapt quickly to that danger,while the very nature of an airport dictates that they find little in the way of human harassment.A good friend of mine is a licensed pilot and has landed at Calgary International.On more than one occasion he has told me he has seen coyotes on or near the runways.Having them around though is a good thing,according to him,as they cut down on the population of sometimes troublesome birds.It seems,then that the relationship between man and coyotes can be symbiotic at times.
The last thing a plane passes when it approaches Calgary International from the south is a golf course.I've often seen and heard coyotes from afar as I've walked up McKnight Boulevard,which divides the airport from the golf course,on my way to work in the early mornings.The golf course,very much like the airport can keep coyotes somewhat isolated,especially during the long Canadian winters,while still providing water and food,mostly in the form of a healthy population of rabbits.During the summer months human/coyote encounters can,and do take place on the golf course.I recall a friend of mine saying that he placed his ball on the green with his approach shot,only to have a coyote run up and carry it off,thinking perhaps that it was some sort of egg.Earlier this year,I was working at a new golf course,constructing bunkers.At this particular course they had consulted a wildlife expert who had come out,found,identified and cataloged several coyote dens,so that they could be avoided,and,if necessary relocated.
My next encounter with a coyote was to be a very close, but very brief one.It happened on a winter's morning in early 2009,along McKnight Boulevard just east of the airport.
The weather was especially bad on that morning.While is was not really all that cold,it was snowing some and there was ice fog in the air as well. The ceiling at the airport was very low and visibility at street level was less than half a block.It gave me the feeling that I was walking about in an envelope of vapors.The chill in my bones might have been from the air,or it might have been the ghostly atmosphere created by the snow and fog,combined with the fact that my eyes always seem to play tricks on me when I'm walking anyplace close to the airport at night or in the early morning.
After I pass nineteenth street,it was my custom to finish up the last leg of my trip to work by heading across country,through the corner of a light industrial park.There is a sign there that flashes the time,and,just to the west,a chain link fence.At the the sign,I start up a small berm that leads through the parking lot of a cellular phone company's building.
Just as I passed the fence and was about to make my turn from due east to southeast,the coyote appeared,dead ahead and only a few feet in front of me.
This was not a thin,hungry looking coyote at all.It was not huge,but long and well filled out,with a thick coat and not a hint of mange.It's fur was grizzled with frost,so that it appeared to be made of the winter and it's elements.It's gait was not quite a run,but a smooth,comfortable and confident trot.It's head was cocked slightly toward me,and it's forepaws slightly out of line with its hind feet,giving it the appearance of walking slightly crooked.That walk,along with it's habit of looking back over it's shoulder is what gives the coyote a sneaky look.But all of the dog tracking and off center body mechanics did nothing to slow this animal down.It gave every indication that it knew exactly where it was going.This was an adult,well fed and in it's prime,very possibly an alpha male or female.If it knew of my presence,and it must have,it gave no indication.In less than a few seconds,it was gone having never broken stride.
I'd always though of coyotes as being a western creature,but that's not exactly true.Old Western movies can stereotype more than just people.The typical image of coyotes are of a creature that sits beside a cactus howling at a full moon.I fact,they inhabit most regions of North America.But,for all the years that I had lived in the east,I'd never seen a coyote or heard of any being around.
In 2009,I visited my home town of Moncton,New Brunswick.Just to the north of Moncton,near the community of Clairville my sisters friends have a large acreage,and there were certainly coyotes there.You simply could not escape their nocturnal singing.While walking along the road in front of the house,I could hear them,and I was certain they were less than a hundred feet away.Yet I had no hope of seeing them in the dark.We awoke next morning to find that they had spent some of the night chasing the horses in the field.The horses are large enough to inflict injury on a coyote,unless one is sick or injured,so they are not really prey.Still,one of the horses had sustained a minor injury.
Coyotes in the east are said to run in packs and ,from the sound of them,that would seem to be true.People also say they are more aggressive than their western counterparts,and,that's because they are believed to have interbred with wolves.On the whole,I cannot say if that is true,but,also while I was back east,an incident took place which would indicate they are indeed aggressive.
While hiking in Cape Breton,a young folk singer from Toronto was attacked by a pack of coyotes and died from her injuries.I'm told she is only the second documented case of coyotes killing people.In the west there seem to be concerns of coyotes carrying off small children.There have been attacks from time to time,and while caution is likely warranted when it comes to children,I believe the danger of being attacked is likely low,based on my own encounters.People back east certainly worry about them though,and perhaps with good reason.
Rightly or wrongly,coyotes have a reputation.They are not really all that far removed from the Big Bad Wolf and all of the connotations that that carries.They may be an efficient cold blooded predator,cunning and resourceful,but they are hardly evil.Everything must eat.Of all of my encounters with coyotes,one of my more recent was very different from all of the others.It happened on an early fall day just a few months ago.
To Be Continued.
The North Hill can be roughly defined as that part of town bordered on the south by the Bow River,on the west by Fourteenth Street,and on the east by a broad valley through which the Deerfoot Trail,Calgary's busiest road runs.The Deerfoot is bordered on the west by green space and the main set of railroad connecting Calgary with points north.The North Hill also has several sizable golf courses,cemeteries and parks.Nose Hill Park just to the north west ,while to the northeast is Calgary's International Airport.In short,the communities of the North Hill are more than accommodating to coyotes.
It's up on the North Hill that I would always see the signs.The signs were usuall made with a color printer and would be taped up to every pole and bus shelter for blocks around.Usually they were entitled"Lost Dog"or "Lost Cat",and would have a picture of the animal,usually a smaller breed,along with a description.Sometimes there would be more than one picture on each pole.
It would be good to believe that those beloved pets had just wandered of,but,in most cases,I fear that it would not be true.Nature,after all is said to be red in tooth and claw and ,over the years I've lived on the North Hill,I've seen several coyotes within a stones throw from residential areas.The unfortunate truth,most of the time is that those pets have become a commodity in the food chain.
Some people feed coyotes.Not all feeding is intentional,but all feeding encourages coyotes to view people,and the animals that are associated with people as a food source.Sometimes it's a matter of leaving pet food out in the yard for pets.But pet food is very attractive to coyotes as well,and increases the chance of pet/coyote conflict,which most pets will not survive.Coyotes can inflict serious,life threatening harm even to larger pets.Sometimes it's the careless disposal of garbage that attracts coyotes.Cans are not covered or bags are not tied at the top and this qualifies as fine,easy to access cuisine for a hungry coyote.I once awoke to see a coyote dragging an empty pizza box down the alley,having already consumed whatever contents were left in the box.
There are coyotes on the golf courses,wandering through the graveyards and even at the airport as well.While these may seem unusual places to find a coyote,they are in fact rather isolated from humans and still provide a lot in terms of food.Certainly at and around Calgary's airport there are abundant colonies of gophers and rabbits.While a coyote may well encounter planes at the airport,they seem to adapt quickly to that danger,while the very nature of an airport dictates that they find little in the way of human harassment.A good friend of mine is a licensed pilot and has landed at Calgary International.On more than one occasion he has told me he has seen coyotes on or near the runways.Having them around though is a good thing,according to him,as they cut down on the population of sometimes troublesome birds.It seems,then that the relationship between man and coyotes can be symbiotic at times.
The last thing a plane passes when it approaches Calgary International from the south is a golf course.I've often seen and heard coyotes from afar as I've walked up McKnight Boulevard,which divides the airport from the golf course,on my way to work in the early mornings.The golf course,very much like the airport can keep coyotes somewhat isolated,especially during the long Canadian winters,while still providing water and food,mostly in the form of a healthy population of rabbits.During the summer months human/coyote encounters can,and do take place on the golf course.I recall a friend of mine saying that he placed his ball on the green with his approach shot,only to have a coyote run up and carry it off,thinking perhaps that it was some sort of egg.Earlier this year,I was working at a new golf course,constructing bunkers.At this particular course they had consulted a wildlife expert who had come out,found,identified and cataloged several coyote dens,so that they could be avoided,and,if necessary relocated.
My next encounter with a coyote was to be a very close, but very brief one.It happened on a winter's morning in early 2009,along McKnight Boulevard just east of the airport.
The weather was especially bad on that morning.While is was not really all that cold,it was snowing some and there was ice fog in the air as well. The ceiling at the airport was very low and visibility at street level was less than half a block.It gave me the feeling that I was walking about in an envelope of vapors.The chill in my bones might have been from the air,or it might have been the ghostly atmosphere created by the snow and fog,combined with the fact that my eyes always seem to play tricks on me when I'm walking anyplace close to the airport at night or in the early morning.
After I pass nineteenth street,it was my custom to finish up the last leg of my trip to work by heading across country,through the corner of a light industrial park.There is a sign there that flashes the time,and,just to the west,a chain link fence.At the the sign,I start up a small berm that leads through the parking lot of a cellular phone company's building.
Just as I passed the fence and was about to make my turn from due east to southeast,the coyote appeared,dead ahead and only a few feet in front of me.
This was not a thin,hungry looking coyote at all.It was not huge,but long and well filled out,with a thick coat and not a hint of mange.It's fur was grizzled with frost,so that it appeared to be made of the winter and it's elements.It's gait was not quite a run,but a smooth,comfortable and confident trot.It's head was cocked slightly toward me,and it's forepaws slightly out of line with its hind feet,giving it the appearance of walking slightly crooked.That walk,along with it's habit of looking back over it's shoulder is what gives the coyote a sneaky look.But all of the dog tracking and off center body mechanics did nothing to slow this animal down.It gave every indication that it knew exactly where it was going.This was an adult,well fed and in it's prime,very possibly an alpha male or female.If it knew of my presence,and it must have,it gave no indication.In less than a few seconds,it was gone having never broken stride.
I'd always though of coyotes as being a western creature,but that's not exactly true.Old Western movies can stereotype more than just people.The typical image of coyotes are of a creature that sits beside a cactus howling at a full moon.I fact,they inhabit most regions of North America.But,for all the years that I had lived in the east,I'd never seen a coyote or heard of any being around.
In 2009,I visited my home town of Moncton,New Brunswick.Just to the north of Moncton,near the community of Clairville my sisters friends have a large acreage,and there were certainly coyotes there.You simply could not escape their nocturnal singing.While walking along the road in front of the house,I could hear them,and I was certain they were less than a hundred feet away.Yet I had no hope of seeing them in the dark.We awoke next morning to find that they had spent some of the night chasing the horses in the field.The horses are large enough to inflict injury on a coyote,unless one is sick or injured,so they are not really prey.Still,one of the horses had sustained a minor injury.
Coyotes in the east are said to run in packs and ,from the sound of them,that would seem to be true.People also say they are more aggressive than their western counterparts,and,that's because they are believed to have interbred with wolves.On the whole,I cannot say if that is true,but,also while I was back east,an incident took place which would indicate they are indeed aggressive.
While hiking in Cape Breton,a young folk singer from Toronto was attacked by a pack of coyotes and died from her injuries.I'm told she is only the second documented case of coyotes killing people.In the west there seem to be concerns of coyotes carrying off small children.There have been attacks from time to time,and while caution is likely warranted when it comes to children,I believe the danger of being attacked is likely low,based on my own encounters.People back east certainly worry about them though,and perhaps with good reason.
Rightly or wrongly,coyotes have a reputation.They are not really all that far removed from the Big Bad Wolf and all of the connotations that that carries.They may be an efficient cold blooded predator,cunning and resourceful,but they are hardly evil.Everything must eat.Of all of my encounters with coyotes,one of my more recent was very different from all of the others.It happened on an early fall day just a few months ago.
To Be Continued.
Well written article,I got to know about this article while looking for medical residency in Canada.I would like to thank you for sharing it.
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