By Giulia Frisina
A second coyote has been spotted in Toronto this month, two weeks after police shot and killed the first one.
The coyote was seen over the weekend checking out small front yards of homes on Hammersmith Ave in the Beach. This is the same area a little Maltese died after being attacked by a coyote in its family’s backyard on Wednesday.
“Because of the ridiculous shooting by police, the media is making coyotes out to be dangerous animals,” said Nathalie Carvonen, director of Toronto Wildlife.
Carvonen said there are over 1000 coyotes in Toronto, and the chance of anyone getting bit is rare.
“It’s been over ten years since anyone has been bitten,” said Carvonen. “If you compare that to many other animals, it’s extremely rare. It’s important to put it into perspective.”
Mary Leiher is a spokesperson for the Toronto Animal Services and gives her tHoughts on dog bites versus coyote bites.
LISTEN:Dog bits versus coyote bites
Carvonen said Coyotes are actually terrified of people, but owners of little dogs and cats need to be careful about where their animals are left out wondering.
“A small dog is the appropriate size for prey and coyotes don’t know the difference between a groundhog and a dog,” said Carvonen. “People need to be aware of areas where there are stretches of unbroken habitat.”
Leiher said people should not be afraid if they come into contact with a coyote, but if they are, there are things that they can do.
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