Edmonton park rangers shooting plastic bullets at aggressive coyotes

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Edmonton is taking aim at the problem of aggressive urban coyotes by shooting them with plastic bullets.

Sightings and conflicts between humans and increasingly bold coyotes within city limits, including residential areas, have been rising in the last decade. Edmonton quietly started equipping park rangers with projectile launchers for coyotes causing public safety concerns last November as a pilot project, John Wilson, director for animal care and control confirmed with Postmedia.

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While attacks by coyotes on humans are rare, in some cases the methods park rangers were using to scare or “haze” wildlife such as yelling, waving their arms, using a whistle, or throwing rocks wasn’t enough, he said.

“We recognized we needed an escalated response for coyotes that weren’t responding to that level of hazing,” he said Friday.

Shooting a coyote with a plastic bullet hurts the animal. This is intentional.

Wilson said these launchers cause just enough pain to make aggressive coyotes afraid without killing them or causing lasting harm. The bullets are “inert” pepper balls instead of active ones that would burn like pepper spray.

The goal is to teach coyotes to stay away from people.

“Once the coyote starts to associate that pain with human interaction, we have aversive conditioning. The hope is that coyote would then start to avoid humans,” Wilson said.

“What we’re always looking for is how can we use aversive conditioning to prevent those conflicts from escalating. Because that’s in the best interests of our citizens, and it’s in the best interest of the coyotes. The whole point of hazing coyotes is to protect both those animals and humans around them.”

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Park rangers have used the launchers on coyotes about 40 times since November.

It is illegal for the public to shoot, injure, or kill wildlife in Edmonton. Aggressive coyotes can be reported to 311.

‘Exciting development’

University of Alberta professor Colleen Cassady St. Clair, who leads the Edmonton urban coyote project, thinks the use of launchers is an “exciting development.”

She’s been advocating for something like this for a long time — something like chalk balls or clay balls that hurt but don’t cause damage.

“Being hit in the butt with a plastic ball or chalk ball is going to cause animals to be more fearful around people, and afterwards, approach them less closely,” she said.

“I’m really pleased they have another tool in the toolbox to manage urban coyotes, something between leaving residents to just feel frightened by bold animals and (lethally) removing those animals. If we have an opportunity to train those animals to a behaviour that supports co-existence, that’s better for everybody.”

Similar methods have worked for on other animals, such as bears in some Alberta parks, she said. Calgary also started shooting coyotes with chalk balls in 2018 which was controversial at the time.

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There’s more demand from Edmontonians in recent years to take action on urban coyotes with an increase in sightings and encounters, one reason St. Clair said she’s excited about this change.

“This is occurring across North America, where coyotes seem to be becoming bolder in urban areas, and this technique of aversive conditioning is one of the tools that might maintain some coexistence between urban coyotes and people,” she said

The city also hires outside contractors to kill dangerous coyotes. Postmedia asked the city for data on how many coyotes are euthanized but that information was not provided by deadline.

Launchers not advertised

The city has not publicized the use of projectiles on coyotes by park rangers. Postmedia recently learned of the plans because it was noted in a database of memos sent from administrative municipal staff to city council.

Wilson said the the city was looking for a middle ground between lighter and more intensive hazing, and having to kill problematic animals, he said.

Memos to city council show the municipality quietly began working to get permission from the provincial government to equip park rangers with projectile launchers in the summer of 2022. This came at a time of increasing public concern about aggressive coyotes — a pack of coyotes attacked a man and his dog in Thibault Park in the Terwillegar area on June 2, 2022.

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“In response to increasing demands for public safety after a recent coyote attack on a person in southwest Edmonton, the Community Standards and Neighbourhoods Branch is changing its procedures to respond to coyote complaints,” the memo dated July 19, 2022 states.

“The Community Standards Branch has re-evaluated this current approach and concluded that there is a need to deploy more direct hazing tools and options for Park Ranger Peace Officers. As a result, Rangers will be trained and equipped with the use of non-lethal PepperBall launchers.”

According to the memo, the city initially planned to use live pepper bullets that release an “irritant powder that bothers coyotes enough for them to leave the area.”

Wilson said the plan changed because of potential negative impacts on other wildlife.

The city applied to the provincial government to get permission for park ranger peace officers to use the launchers. The application was approved by the time council received an updated memo in October 2023.

That memo states there will be a “public communications plan” and engagement “to ensure transparency, integration and good communication.”

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Postmedia could not find other public information about the use of projectile launchers on coyotes.

Hazing coyotes

Coyote sightings in the city are on the rise.

More people are reporting seeing coyotes but reports of aggression are going down, according to Wilson

He said there were 815 sightings in 2023 by the end of last September with 61 aggressive complaints compared to 925 sightings and 45 aggressive complaints this year as of September.

St. Clair said while park rangers now have this new tool there’s a role for the public in helping humans and coyotes coexist.

Cutting off sources of food that attract wildlife is the most important step, such as garbage, compost, fallen fruit and berries — and not feeding wildlife intentionally.

Edmontonians who see coyotes at a distance in the river valley or in ravine parks usually don’t need to do anything. Those sightings are typically brief and at distance.

But if someone feels threatened and a coyote gets close she has a few suggestions:

• Keep your dog close and under control or on a leash;
• Pick up your small dog if a coyote approaches;
• Carry a stick or rocks and throw them at the coyote if they approach;
• Shout with a loud, dominant voice and act aggressively;
• Do not turn around or run away;
• Keep cats indoors especially in August, September and October.

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[email protected]

@laurby

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