2 coyotes destroyed after pack attack on man, dog in southwest Edmonton

Two coyotes have been destroyed after a man and his dog were attacked on Tuesday morning near Thibault Park in southwest Edmonton.

It's believed five coyotes were involved in a pack attack against the man and his dog, Troy Courtoreille, operations manager for the animal control park ranger peace officer program, said Thursday.

Two of the coyotes that were believed to have been involved were killed. The man and his dog were treated for minor injuries.

"Park ranger peace officers attended with our contractor yesterday morning. Two coyotes were destroyed, a third was injured and fourth was chased from the area," Courtoreille said.

Courtoreille said the attack is highly unusual and believed to be the first of its kind within city limits. Killing coyotes is a last resort, he said.

Courtoreille said incidents like Tuesday's attack aren't common. 

"This is the first one where we've had a group attack scenario on a person. There's been coyote pet encounters. There's been previous attacks on citizens, but they've been relatively minor."

Officers are still investigating what sparked the attack, but there are a few theories.

It's denning season for coyotes and the animals can get more protective and aggressive, especially if pups are nearby.

Officers have also received reports someone may have been illegally feeding the animals.

Illegal feeding may be to blame

Under a city bylaw, anyone caught feeding wildlife can face a fine of $500. If someone is known to be feeding a coyote that attacks someone, the person would have to go to court, Courtoreille said.

Colleen St. Clair, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Alberta, said it's rare for coyotes to bite people.

However, she said bites are happening more in many cities across North America. She said coyote populations are growing, and the animals are adapting to cities, in turn getting more access to food.

"Lots of people feed coyotes unintentionally, not realizing that coyotes are attracted to things like garbage, pet, food, cats that are at large, birdseed, compost," St. Clair said.

Courtoreille said Edmonton's coyote population has doubled since the pandemic hit, rising from 900 to around 1,500 coyotes. 

St. Clair said it's important to keep coyotes out of neighbourhoods. 

"No. 1 is to make sure that nobody in their neighbourhood is feeding coyotes," she said, adding people should try to scare off coyotes with loud noises to teach them not to approach others.

"The goal is to make the coyotes fear people more generally and make it less likely that they will approach people, including vulnerable people like small children or people with pets," she said.

Thibault Park is off Tomlinson Crescent in the Terwillegar area.