Recent reports of a man and his dog encountering aggressive coyotes in a greenspace between the communities of Panorama Hills and Hanson Ranch in northwest Calgary has some people wondering if anything similar has happened in Airdrie.

According to Municipal Enforcement Officer Maury Karch, he's been on the job for 14 years and can only recall one minor incident.  "As far as I know we've maybe had one but I can't recall the last time we've had that type of incident in the city of Airdrie."

In Calgary on Tuesday morning, a man was out walking his dog when two coyotes came up behind them with one of them showing its teeth.  One of the coyotes bit his dog but the man wasn't harmed.  The wild animals followed the pair until they reached a street. 

Karch says there are definitely coyotes in Airdrie but, so far, they haven't been particularly aggressive. 

"We've already had a couple of calls of coyotes being on Woodside Golf Course and about a month ago we had a call of a coyote being spotted in Nose Creek (Park).  I think if pet owners are responsible and try to keep their pets on a leash when they're walking in the park then that reduces the chances of your dog being attacked."

Karch thinks that one reason coyotes encountering dogs in Airdrie doesn't seem to happen is that off-leash dog parks in the city aren't very large and all but one is fenced.  "Coyotes haven't really been going in there because there's a fair amount of people and they just try to avoid that."

Karch says the best way to avoid a coyote encounter is to keep your dog leashed if you're not walking in an off-leash area.

"If you're walking your dog, keep your dog on a leash, especially if you know there are coyotes in the area.  Certain dogs might chase after a coyote which might lead to a confrontation which the dog would probably lose.  If you're out walking be aware if there's been reports of coyotes, keep your dog for sure on a leash and supervise your dog when you're out, not necessarily even out on a walk but if you're in your backyard, just supervise your dog if it's possible."

The City of Airdrie has information on its website on what to do in the event you encounter a coyote.  You can find that information here.

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