UPDATE: Let’s get our Canidae right. I hear from the NCC that this is in fact a German Shepherd that had broken away from it’s owner the night before, spooked by fireworks and was simply trying to find it’s way home. Dog and owner are reported to have happily reunited later that same Saturday.
Original Report: David McCaw reported to XC Ottawa “I was out early Saturday (6h30) from P3 Gamlin. There was a woman skier that was trying to get out of her car – but a coyote was circling her car. She said it had been there for 30 min. She left. It did not bother me. I did not know they came in so close to the city.”
The cards that GuideGatineau has begun distributing to promote the website are considered to be highly environmentally responsible due to the fact that the paper used is 100% recycled and is produced using energy from biofuels plus the ink is vegetable based.
Seems to me there may be one or more also hanging around Huron. I have seen a bunch of tracks that I have assumed are from coyotes. ( I am no tracker but I know its not deer.) Wasn’t there a report of some kind of hybrid, wolf/coyote in that area?
There has certainly been a family of deer(including 2 – one year olds?) hanging around Huron – with daily visits to the birdfeeder. One could assume that – where there are deer, coyotes will follow.
I replied to Dave that same day that this profile (deep chest, dropped hips, short hind metatarsals) was typical of at least part German Shepard (never mind the typical ‘lost dog’ behavior!) & not at all like the ‘Eastern Canids’ we have in Gatineau Park. I’ve seen the tracks & deer kills (we do orienteering so get off-trail a fair amount) in the park, but they tend to shyness & I never saw one until just about 3 weeks ago – crossing Champlain Parkway, about a km south of P6. It was small wolf / large coyote size, typical wolf profile & behavior, but mostly grey with reddish tones along the flanks, so some would say label it ‘eastern red wolf’ others, a ‘wolf/coyote hybrid’, & I’d cop out with an ‘eastern wild canid’ label. …&… btw… that ‘hanging around the parking lot’ behaviour would be potentially dangerous from a wild canid.
People have a miss conception about coyote presence, coyotes are extremely abundant, they are city dwellers just as much open field animals. They will rarely take down a dear, it is 99% of the time not on their menu since it is much easier to eat your houseold cat… Only in deep snow situation and pack hunting will they take down large animals as most of their diet are small mammal such as prairie dogs and others. Don’t mistake a coyote for a small wolf, the two are not the same at all and one is highly opportunistic and urban if possible. There are indeed coyotes in downtown Toronto ! That picture is not a coyote, coyotes often look roughed up, pelt is uneven and they usually have a low bearing head and nose while they run side wise. You’ll know exactly what I mean when you see one… Natural space is usually at forest field borders.
Isn’t that the rogue Marshal’s K-9?
The standard case of not despite but because of so much media people are ignorant (uninformed) about things such as coyotes. The media inundates us with stories of roving packs of coyotes eating small pets in Greely and all 4 legged dog type creatures become a coyote. There must be a study showing that more media has made us stupider as a society.
To further my point what do you call Chelsea? The Glebe with more trees.