‘Does a kid have to be snatched before we care?’ Downtown Toronto residents seek ‘urgent action’ amid spike in coyote attacks

Residents in the area are blaming Ontario place for the increase coyote presence in the busy downtown neighborhood.

Residents of downtown Toronto’s Liberty Village and Fort York neighbourhoods are rattled and demanding solutions after several recent negative interactions with coyotes, some of which were deadly.

On Friday, local dog owners gathered at Ordnance Triangle Park, near Strachan Avenue and Fort York National Historic Site, to share stories about their pets being confronted by the wild animals and demand “urgent action.”

They say there have been 13 reported coyote attacks in the last nine days, as well as three fatal encounters over the last several months.

Ruby Kooner’s dog Amber died in December following a coyote attack while they were out for a walk near that park.

“We were ambushed by two coyotes: one in the front and one in the back,” the Liberty Village resident told CP24.com.

Kooner said one of the coyotes then bit her 17-pound dog several times during a terrifying standoff.

She managed to grab Amber and rushed her to the vet for treatment. Sadly, Kooner’s pet ended up with sepsis, likely due to bacteria in the coyote’s saliva, and passed away about four weeks later.

“It was very traumatic. … I’m absolutely heartbroken,” she shared.

“It all happened so quickly.”

Kooner helped organize Friday’s news conference and has started documenting negative encounters with coyotes in the community in the hopes of coming up with concrete solutions to address this ongoing issue.

“It’s very dangerous,” she said, pointing to some reports of coyotes lurking in and around local playgrounds.

“It’s only a matter of time before they attack children. … Does a kid have to be snatched before we care? I think solutions are needed before that happens.”

Kooner said that one of those solutions might be to relocate aggressive coyotes to a sanctuary. If that can’t be done, she and her neighbours want the city to deploy several animal services crews to patrol the area consistently throughout the day and night for coyotes as well as step up its response and intervention to prevent further attacks and make better urban planning decisions. They also want the provincial government to undertake thorough environmental assessments before new developments to prevent the destruction of natural wildlife habitats.

“They need to acknowledge that coyotes are behaving aggressively and out of character lately,” Kooner said, adding residents do not want to see the animals killed.

“This is a man-made problem because we destroyed their habitat. These coyotes have lost their food source. They’re desperate and they’re in survival mode.”

The City of Toronto said it has extended its patrols of the areas around Ordnance Triangle Park and Garrison Common, where most issues have been reported, during peak hours from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. daily, over the next month “with further evaluation to follow.”

It said staff are also providing educational resources to the community, especially to people living in nearby buildings as well as residents’ associations, and increasing signage in parks and responding to requests for additional lighting.

The city said it has received 34 complaints about coyotes in the Liberty Village area in the last two weeks. Of those complaints, four were verified, it said, adding one involved a coyote lunging at a dog, while the three others were confirmed to be attacks on dogs resulting in two being injured and one killed.

The latest fatal coyote attack in the area happened last Friday at around 10:30 p.m. near Canoe Landing Park, by Dan Leckie Way and Housey Street.

According to the dog’s owner, Jessica, a coyote pounced while they were walking along a path, grabbing her four-and-a-half-year-old chihuahua, Chico. Jessica said Chico and her other chihuahua, one-and-half year Pedro, were both leashed at that time.

“This large coyote literally jumped out of a bush,” said Jessica, who was pulled down onto her knees as the wild canine ran off with her three-pound dog into the darkness.

“I grabbed my other dog and started chasing after him.”

Jessica said she and her partner spent several hours searching for Chico, whose jacket was found the next day.

On Sunday, they widened their search to include Fort York Historical Site. There, a worker told them that a dog’s remains had been found partially buried under a stairwell. Those remains belonged to Chico.

“This dog was like my kid. I just can’t believe this happened,” she said.

“I’m completely devastated.”

Jessica said she’s sharing her story to raise awareness so someone else doesn’t go through what she’s experienced.

The city, meanwhile, said it takes “all coyote attack incidents seriously when they occur.”

“While we do its best to support wildlife in their natural habitat, if animal behaviour changes in a way that affects public safety, we will take a range of further actions after assessing all options available,” Carleton Grant, executive director of the Municipal Licensing and Standards Division, said in a written statement.

Grant acknowledged that they are “concerned about the coyote sightings and encounters that have been challenging for those who live, work and play in Liberty Village,” and “working on a response that will have an impact.”

“We have stepped up our response to coyotes in the community and City staff have been in the area every day to monitor coyote activity. We are also educating residents on coyote behaviour, so that both the community and wildlife can coexist safely and peacefully. … We understand that community dog owners are afraid and we are doing everything in our capacity to keep them safe and informed.”

He said staff have been using “aversion techniques” to ward off coyotes they’ve encountered in Liberty Village, adding that the animals “left the area when confronted.”

“This shows that it is possible to safely coexist with these coyotes. This co-existence can be reinforced by the community keeping their dogs leashed and remaining aware of their surroundings to minimize the possibility of dogs interacting with coyotes,” he said, adding that most encounters with coyotes are the result of dogs being off leash.

Current situation can’t continue, says MPP

Local MPP Chris Glover is calling for immediate solutions to this problem.

“Obviously, this current situation can’t continue,” he told CP24.com.

“It’s too traumatic for somebody to lose their pet.”

Glover said it was “foolish” for the Ford government to destroy coyote habitat at Ontario Place as well as near the rail corridor for the future Ontario Line without properly considering the implications.

“These coyotes have been displaced they’ve lost their places where they can hunt wildlife and they’re now hunting dogs in the community and it’s a real danger,” he said during the news conference, adding coyotes in the area have also become more aggressive as they’re habituated to humans.

“We need to protect people and their pets and these animals. … We need to find a solution.”

Councillor “horrified and heartbroken” by recent dog deaths

Spadina-Fort York Coun. Ausma Malik said she shares residents’ concerns for their safety and that of their pets and is “horrified and heartbroken to learn about the recent deaths of two dogs in our downtown neighbourhoods,” adding that coyotes have been displaced from their “more green habitats, like at Ontario Place, and are entering our growing neighbourhoods.”

Malik said she and her team have “worked urgently” with animal services since they first learned about an uptick in negative coyote encounters in that area last November.

The area rep said she also wants increased staff patrols and other options to manage coyote populations in the downtown area.

A community meeting was held last fall to discuss coyote concerns in the area and the city is planning to hold another one in the near future.

Malik is encouraging residents to contact 311 and submit any videos or photos, with specific locations, so staff can “continue to track sightings and concerning behaviours to take necessary action.”

Further, she said she’s made a request in the 2025 budget for a “robust campaign to address dogs off leash, which has been identified as a contributing factor to this issue from City staff” as well as “renewed efforts to engage with local dog owner groups to share out information.”

Lastly, Malik noted that an updated Coyote Response Strategy, which was created in 2003 and last reviewed a decade later, is set to be reported back to City Council later this year.

Etobicoke Centre Coun. Stephan Holyday initiated this review after several coyote attacks in a park in his ward last July. It calls for greater clarity on the role of the municipality in addressing wildlife as well as the legal and regulatory context, the threshold of what constitutes a threat to public safety, and how to report information about coyote encounters to the Toronto Animal Services.

The city said it works closely with Coyote Watch Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) when challenges with coyotes arise and to educate the public about them.

The Ministry said it is aware of the recent incidents in the Liberty Village area.

“The MNR Aurora office has been working with City of Toronto staff to provide advice on preventing and managing human-coyote conflicts, sharing information on recommended best practices, prevention, and their legal options under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act,” spokesperson Mike Fenn said.

“The MNR does not provide removal services for problem wildlife; municipalities are responsible for taking appropriate actions under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.”

Currently, the city’s policy is to trap problematic coyotes and release them within a one-kilometre radius.