© Rory Merry
Six coyotes have been put down but none have tested positive for distemper or rabies, which could explain the aggression.
Six coyotes have been put down but none have tested positive for distemper or rabies, which could explain the aggression.
In the roughly nine months since December 2020, 40 coyote attacks in Stanley Park have been reported, including one last week where a 69-year-old man was bitten on the leg while walking on a trail. None have so far been fatal.
The figure is four times the number of attacks recorded over the last 30 years combined.
"In a normal year, there is no contact between a coyote and a person," said Nadia Xenakis, urban wildlife programmes coordinator with the Stanley Park Ecology Society. Even in years in which some aggression is seen, the behaviour is typically attributed to the animals' breeding season.
