BANFF – Parks Canada has issued a warning about a defensive coyote in the Banff townsite.
The area where special caution is recommended when travelling is the southeast side of town including Glen Avenue, Mountain Avenue, Mountain Lane, Kootenay Avenue and Spring Crescent.
“Defensive coyote in area,” states a warning notice on Banff National Park’s website, which went into effect on June 18 and will remain in place until further notice.
The Outlook requested an interview to outline the details of what was happening, but was told Monday (June 20) that Parks Canada could not meet the paper’s deadline today for the story on this important public safety issue.
Banff National Park has a complicated and lengthy media approval process.
The Parks Canada notice recommends safe practices including keeping all pets on leash, and to keep all food, garbage and dog food secured inside accommodations or vehicles.
Parks Canada asks that all coyote sightings be reported immediately to Banff National Park dispatch at 403-762-1470.
In 2020, a bold coyote had been approaching dogs at close range.
At the time, it was suspected the coyote was trying to stake out territory or defend a den.
As birthing time nears and once pups are born, coyote parents are more protective of denning areas and more active in hunting food. Their activity levels and protectiveness rise even more as the pups begin to wander out of the den in early summer.
While coyotes are rarely interested in people, they may view larger dogs as competition or a threat, and smaller dogs may be seen more as potential prey for them.
In spring 2018, a coyote family denned under a deck of a home on Glen Avenue and attacked and bit dogs in a defensive act to protect her pups.
In one case, a resident was riding her bike with her dog on leash when a coyote ran toward them and bit the dog. The coyote ran away and the dog was not seriously harmed.
The following day, the same resident’s daughter was walking the dog. A coyote sprinted toward them, but she managed to get back inside the home before it could attack the dog.
