Another coyote bite added to growing tally of attacks in Vancouver's Stanley Park

Yet another person has been attacked by a coyote in Stanley Park in Vancouver.

According to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, a 69-year-old man was walking on a trail just north of Second Beach when he was bitten on the leg at about 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Conservation officers have repeatedly asked people to stay out of the park or at least exercise extreme caution because of the risk of running into an aggressive coyote.

The greatest danger tends to be around dusk or dawn, when the animals are most active.

Since December 2020, there have been at least 34 coyote attacks in Stanley Park.

Nadia Xenakis, urban wildlife programs coordinator with the Stanley Park Ecology Society, says that total is four times as many as the number reported over the last 30 years. 

"It is a very dramatic shift in behaviour," said Xenakis.

'Please report sightings'

Some reasons for the shift, she says, are people feeding the animals and visitors being in the park when they shouldn't be.

However, gathering data to know what exactly is happening — and keeping the public safe — has proven challenging. Xenakis says she regularly sees joggers jump barricades specifically warning people to stay out because of coyote danger. Trail cameras used to capture coyote behaviour have been severely vandalized. 

She'd also like some legal enforcement powers — like giving the city the ability to ticket people feeding wildlife in the park. The bylaw is being amended, but it still hasn't passed yet. 

Most of all, Xenakis says she wants people to report any wildlife feedings or coyote sightings — which can be done by calling 311 or using the VanConnect app.  

"Please, please, please report sightings of wildlife feedings or coyotes," she said. 

"The more you report, the more data I have to understand what's going on."