Aug 20, 2008 - 07:00 AM

By Crystal Crimi

AJAX -- The first time Steve Campbell heard squealing howls from his backyard, he jumped a bit.

Now when he hears the howls and looks out his bedroom window to see the grass moving near his backyard, he knows it’s the coyotes.

“At first it was like, ‘what the heck is that’,” said Mr. Campbell, who lives on Leah Crescent in Ajax.

“You kind of jump out of your seat, like, ‘what was that’,” he said, regarding the first time he heard the howling coyotes from just beyond his backyard.

The four or five coyotes he and his wife have been watching grow up from pups, howl within seconds of emergency sirens and when they’ve caught something, Mr. Campbell said.

Since June, the coyote pups and mother have been on the other side of the galvanized fence in his backyard, sunning themselves and hiding in the weeds. His home backs onto Hermitage Park, behind Lincoln Alexander Public School, on Church Street North in Pickering Village.

Although Hermitage Park is not the ideal location for coyotes, with only 12 acres of woodlot, the mom and pups have taken residence there, said Derek Hannan, Ajax’s manager of bylaw. They’ve been monitoring the situation since May or June with ministry-certified wildlife experts. Other wooded areas in Ajax also have coyotes, he said.

“They’re behaving the way coyotes should be behaving,” Mr. Hannan said. “We don’t want to hear coyotes sitting on people’s front porch... and walking through heavily populated areas in the daylight.”

The coyotes still leave the park looking for food, as many times Ajax staff have gone in and not seen them. Eventually, they may clue in that there isn’t a good food source there and leave. Really, they should be near sandy ridges, creeks and water sources, he said. 

Some residents in the area want the coyotes removed.

The park is a popular area, with trails, tennis courts and a ball diamond, Mr. Campbell said.

He’s concerned a child could get attacked while walking through the area.

“They are wild animals,” Mr. Campbell said. “Something could take place, an unfortunate incident.

“They should be picked up and taken to a more appropriate habitat,” Mr. Campbell said.

A neighbour circulated a petition to have the animals trapped and moved, he said. Residents have made numerous phone calls to the Town as well.

“There’s almost no squirrels around, nobody’s seen any rabbits, hardly any raccoons... they’ve either taken off or become prey,” Mr. Campbell said.

People have stopped letting their cats out, he said.

“We’re concerned from a safety perspective,” Mr. Campbell said.

Some residents feel not enough is being done, but when the experts feel there is an issue with the coyotes, they’ll intervene, Mr. Hannan said.

“There has to be balance between wildlife and urban development,” Mr. Hannan said.

If a fence can keep a dog in, it can keep a coyote out. He recommends keeping cats inside and added Ajax has a bylaw in place that dogs and cats shouldn’t be roaming around.

But if a yard is unfenced, it’s not abnormal behaviour for coyotes to come into the yard looking for food.

“Coyotes... they’re scavengers, they’re going to look for easy food sources,” Mr. Hannan said. “We would recommend all garbage be removed.”

He suggested putting it in a shed or garage where it can’t easily be tipped. Also utilize green bins, clean up areas underneath bird feeders, pick up fallen fruit from trees and don’t intentionally feed them. Anything that attracts squirrels or skunks will also bring coyotes, Mr. Hannan said.

“Take away the easy food sources,” he said.

Children should also be educated about approaching stray animals in general to begin with, he said. If they come across a stray, back away slowly because running could provoke an attack.

“I just want to be clear here, we haven’t dealt with any abnormal behaviour,” Mr. Hannan said. The coyotes are still backing away and going in the opposite direction when people come near.

Anyone with questions or concerns can phone Ajax Animal Services at 905-683-8275 24 hours a day or e-mail animalservices@townofajax.com.