Feeding urban coyotes is an ignorant act, not because it violates their "wildness", but because it ignores the consequences for both coyotes and people. - Lillian Ford (Geography Masters Thesis UBC, 2000)
Coyotes were first sighted in Vancouver back in 1987, and in general we have since peacefully coexisted with them. Decades worth of careless garbage control combined with direct human feeding of the coyotes in Stanley Park, finally caused this delicate balance to shift. The Stanley Park coyotes began attacking people in December of 2020; there would be 45 attacks in total leading up to September of 2021. Over that time period, the B.C. Conservation Officer Service killed seven coyotes they deemed to be involved in those attacks. Since then, there have been reported chasing incidents, but no additional attacks. Will the coyotes attack again? Will the B.C. Conservation Officer Service once again need to get involved? Time will tell.
