Edmonton using high-intensity hazing methods to control coyote population

Edmontonians are used to seeing coyotes. Areas like Victoria Park have seen an increase in sightings.

Now, park rangers are changing how they deal with the urban scavengers, using a new high-intensity hazing technique with pepper ball launchers that look like handguns and shoot non-lethal ammo to scare coyotes away from humans.

“When coyotes become comfortable using human resources, food or shelter, they lose their natural wariness of people, and these bolder animals are much more likely to be involved in conflict,” said Colleen St. Clair, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Alberta.

The city says more people are calling 311 reporting encounters, noticing a 10 per cent increase over the past three years. But the number of aggressive encounters has fallen 75 per cent.

Those at the Argyle dog park say they are used to seeing coyotes.

“I usually walk them at 5:30 in the morning, and there were several times where a coyote would just trail you or something, but on the whole, they leave you alone,” said one dog walker.

Another saying, “When I got close, there were two other dog walkers and they said just be careful, leash your dog, which I did, and we watched the coyote, and I just turned around and stayed away from that area.”

The city was unable to say how many coyotes live in Edmonton, estimating the number could be anywhere from 500 to 3,000.

Since being rolled out in the fall of 2023, the pepper guns have been used over 50 times. The city is hoping this will lead to fewer lethal coyote removals — which they’ve had to do 76 times since 2022.

As for what is causing the coyotes to act more boldly, John Wilson, the director of Animal Care and Park Rangers for the City of Edmonton, says that’s looked at on a case-by-case basis.

“Coyotes are very variable in their behaviours, and we have to treat each complaint and each investigation individually to learn what the conditions are and what the contextual factors are that are contributing to that behaviour,” said Wilson.

If you ever do meet a coyote face to face, the city recommends to scare the coyote by being loud and making yourself big. Even though you may not want to be rude to the friendly-looking ones, this will keep them fearful of humans, for their safety and yours.