Coyote encounter unnerves woman
An evening walk along the trails of Westminster Ponds in southeast London, Ont. turned into a frantic scene for Denise Singh and her two dogs.
“I’m obviously kind of traumatized by the situation. I’m not going to lie. It was very scary for me,” said Singh.
The walk along the path started as routine for Singh, until she noticed they were not alone.
“My dog had kind of ran into the woods and I was just kind of keeping an eye on her, happened to turn around behind me and noticed another ‘dog’ that was going into the woods after her. I kind of waited a couple of seconds, then I didn’t see any other human behind it, and that’s when I knew it was a coyote,” she said.
Singh admitted she panicked at that point and directed her dogs to run. The coyote followed.
Despite her yelling, the coyote stayed within 6 metres until Singh and her dogs reached the parking lot, and continued to watch while Singh crossed Pond Mills Road.
Brian Salt from Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre said coyotes are curious by nature.
“They’re quite playful animals as well. There’s very little danger with a single coyote. If there was a group of them, that could be a little more concerning,” said Salt.
According to Salt, one of the most common mistakes people make when encountering a coyote is running from it.
“That’s probably one of the worst things you can do, is to turn tail and run, because that evokes a response from the animal that they want to play. And so they’re going to follow you right? And that creates all kinds of problems,” he said.
For Singh, who had never encountered a coyote before, it was a moment that she went with her instincts
“Personally, I don’t know how you stay calm in that kind of a situation. I think had it not been jogging along behind me, I might not have been as frantic as I was, but I was screaming and I was running, it didn’t seem the least bit fearful of my reaction,” said Sing. “So, I don’t know if I would have done anything differently.”
Signs are posted near the entrance to Westminster Ponds indicating coyotes have been sighted in the area, and lists things you should and should not do when encountering one.
Salt also gives similar advice on how to scare off the creatures, “Put your arms in the air, wave them, yell at them, stomp your feet. That’s usually enough to let them know they’re not welcome.”
Salt also said if you are concerned about coyotes coming into your neighbourhood, it is important to not leave any food that might attract them into your yard.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.