If you see a coyote wandering around the city, don’t worry — it’s normal.

On Monday morning, the City of Toronto issued a notice to residents who live near ravines and forests that they can expect an increase in coyote sightings.

“It’s been so cold and we’re inside a lot more,” said Mary Lou Leiher, program manager at Toronto Animal Services. “Coyotes feel a lot more free to come into spaces where they may not otherwise come into if there’s less people around because they really are very afraid of people.”

In order to minimize adverse encounters with coyotes, the city says to avoid feeding them and make sure they can’t access household garbage, avoid feeding their own pets outdoors, and to supervise pets outdoors at all times.

Statistics on the City of Toronto website says Animal Services received 118 complaints and service requests related to coyotes in 2017.

The coyote response strategy includes public education, a bylaw prohibiting feeding wildlife, and criteria for removing coyotes. For example, if a coyote is injured or sick and can’t recover on its own, it will be brought to a rehabilitation facility and released upon recovery.

However, the criteria also notes that an attack on another animal is not grounds for removal as it is “normal coyote behaviour.”

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Leiher’s advice to pet owners is to always be near them, especially in areas coyotes visit frequently, because coyotes don’t like to come close to humans.

“Coyotes have become a natural part of the urban landscape in Toronto and are an important part of the ecosystem as they control rodent and rabbit populations,” the city’s notice read. “They thrive in urban areas because of the abundance of food and shelter available to them.”

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