Residents say they're living in fear after coyote attacks in Liberty Village, Fort York

Residents in Liberty Village and Fort York are calling on city officials to take action after several coyote attacks against pet dogs in recent days.

The residents say they are living in fear of coyotes chasing them and biting their dogs. 

On Friday, scores of residents gathered in a field with their dogs to demand the city step up its response to prevent further attacks and relocate the coyotes from residential areas.

Ruby Kooner, a Liberty Village resident, said her dog Amber died of sepsis after a coyote attack in November.

She said two coyotes came out of nowhere and while she was trying to fend off one, the second one bit her dog and left it with deep puncture wounds. Bystanders helped her and the dog get to safety. Amber died in December.

"We are terrified when we are going on walks," Kooner told reporters.

Kooner said the attacks happen at all hours. She said several residents have been chased by coyotes. She said she witnessed four attacks last Monday, between 6:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., from her kitchen window while working at home.

In a news release, residents said they want the city to update its safety guidelines to address coyote behaviour and develop a plan to work with their communities to solve the problem. They also want patrol officers to monitor and deter aggressive coyotes.

According to residents, there have been 13 reported coyote attacks against pet dogs in nine days.

The city said it has received 34 complaints about coyotes in the Liberty Village area in the past two weeks. Of that, one involved a coyote lunging at a dog and three involved attacks on dogs. Two dogs were injured and one died, the city said.

'Every walk is just terrifying,' resident says

Johanna Fox, another Liberty Village resident, said she and her husband have been chased by coyotes three times since last September.

The first time, she was with her son who was in a stroller and her two dogs. The second time, the coyote bit the back leg of her smaller dog and she had to kick it to let the dog go. The coyote chased her all the way to her condo building door, she said. The third time, a coyote tried to sneak up on her husband while he was walking the dogs.

"Every walk is just terrifying because I have to be hyper-alert all the time. Where are the two dogs? Where's my son? Looking all around my surroundings. And it's outside my condo."

Marika Rea, owner of 14-year-old Kara, said a coyote attacked her dog on Dec. 7 at about 6:45 p.m. outside her condo. She said she only took her eyes off her dog for a second.

"I heard her scream and I turned around and the coyote had grabbed her from the back by her neck and it had dropped her when she screamed, I guess," Rea said.

"It was just staring at us like a few steps away. And I had to pick her up for it to back away. I was screaming and it wasn't fazed at all. There were even people around and it didn't care."

City says it has stepped up response to coyotes

In a statement on Friday, Carleton Grant, executive director of the city's municipal licensing and standards division, said the city is concerned about the "coyote sightings and encounters"  and it is "working on a response that will have an impact."

Grant added: "We have stepped up our response to coyotes in the community and City staff have been in the area every day to monitor coyote activity. We are also educating residents on coyote behaviour, so that both the community and wildlife can coexist safely and peacefully. We understand that community dog owners are afraid and we are doing everything in our capacity to keep them safe and informed."

The city has been working in the community since November to address the issue and plans to hold another meeting soon to let residents know what it's doing to keep them safe, he added.

Chris Glover, NDP MPP for Spadina-Fort York, said his office is receiving a lot of calls about coyote attacks. He said the coyotes need to be relocated.

Glover added that he wonders if the Ontario Place redevelopment, which involved the destruction of hundreds of trees, may have displaced the coyotes in the area.

"These coyotes have lost all fear of humans. Normally, coyotes would keep a distance. And they are now actively hunting the dogs on leash as prey. It's a real danger. It's a danger to the dogs, it's a danger to the pet owners and it's a danger to children."

In a statement on Friday, Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources said its Aurora office is working with the city on the problem and providing advice on preventing and managing human-coyote conflicts. 

It added that it doesn't provide removal services for "problem wildlife."