Coyotes are roaming the streets and parks of Boyle in search of food, with residents being warned to lock up their trashcans and not leave food scraps lying around in a bid by village authorities to discourage scavenging before Fish and Wildlife officers can catch the marauding beasts.
A small group of coyotes spotted over the past two weeks have turned over a jackpot of garbage and food remains around the Boyle School playing fields, although there have been no sightings yet in the playground itself, according to village public works superintendent Dennis Tomuschat.
“If people do notice any wildlife that poses a danger, then call Fish and Wildlife or notify the Village Office,” said Tomuschat.
Meanwhile, Boyle’s students are being encouraged to clean up after themselves when on the school fields to avoid attracting coyotes and other wild animals in the first place.
While hungry coyotes are attracted by the easy pickings of Boyle’s trash, they are not usually dangerous to humans unless cornered or otherwise provoked.
“It’s a common thing in any town. We live right in the wilderness where the valleys meet and Boyle is the first stop for coyotes out of the bush,” said Fish and Wildlife district officer Darcy Boucher in Athabasca.
Along with small towns like Boyle, Boucher said coyotes are known to scavenge food in large cities including Edmonton and Calgary, underscoring the Alberta-wide extent of the problem.
“You’re going to find them in an urban setting as feeding is quite easy.”
The plan is to set non-lethal cage traps around Boyle using food as bait, and once the coyotes are locked inside, they will be driven to a completely new area to prevent their return before being released.
Boucher said lethal force would not be used on the animals unless the coyotes were aggressive.
“I don’t think it’s that big. There’s only a few coyotes and we can get them removed shortly.”
Nonetheless, Boucher warned that the more coyotes associated humans with easy food, the less afraid they would be, and habituated animals could in future be more dangerous.
