Humber arboretum gets into the Halloween spirit with the Creatures of the Night walk Oct 26.
PHOTO BY BIANCA BYKHOVSKY
By Bianca Bykhovsky
Humber’s arboretum is combining fright with education for its second annual Creatures of the Night walk.
“The educational factor of our evening creature walk is what makes us different from all the other Halloween events in Toronto,” Justin Schnare, social media representative at the arboretum, told Humber News.
“It is a nature walk in the dark and a deeper look into animal callings, tracks, and how animals survive in an urban setting,” said Schnare.
Coyotes, owls, deer, bats and beavers are some of the animals that can be spotted in and around the arboretum, Schnare said.
“This year we are trying something new,” said Jimmy Vincent, co-ordinator at the arboretum.
Vincent said the staff will hang a huge white sheet up with a flashlight shining onto it in the evening, just to see which animals, new or old, it may attract.
There have been reports of coyote sightings in Ontario cities, including in Ajax when a cat was killed by coyotes earlier this month.
Still, Vincent said a coyote will not attack a human unless it is sick.
A coyote’s sickness causes it to lose its predatory instincts, said Vincent. Once they are unable to catch their prey, they turn to slower and easier targets such as domestic pets and humans.
There have been no aggressive interactions between the animals and visitors at the arboretum. On the rare occasions a coyote has been spotted visitors are usually more fascinated than afraid, Vincent said.
The Creatures of the Night walk takes place at the Arboretum Oct. 26, 7 to 9 p.m.
You may visit http://www.humberarboretum.on.ca for more information.