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The movie theatre isn’t the only place you can find a coyote this month. They can also be spotted lurking around Regina parks.
Scott Paton walks his dogs in Les Sherman Park everyday. He first encountered a coyote in mid-August.
“It got within probably 10 feet of us. It wasn’t aggressive. It was more curious, or maybe looking for some food or something,” he said.
Paton kept walking, warning other people in the park as he went. He said a woman at the playground told him a coyote had been hanging around for weeks.
“I haven’t seen it since, but I’ve seen scat in the area,” Paton said.
He said he’s not worried about the animal.
“It’ll naturally just go out. I mean, there’s coyotes in the city all the time. It’s just part of their habitat now,” Paton said.
Not everyone is so comfortable with coyotes in the Cathedral neighbourhood.
Area residents have been reporting sightings in and around Les Sherman Park and Kiwanis Waterfall Park via Facebook since August.
Dozens of posts describe a coyote approaching and following people and their pets.
“My dog and I were chased by a coyote in Les Sherman Park. It chased and circled us for a long period,” one woman wrote.
Other Facebook users noted the coyote seemed comfortable around people and didn’t react to loud sounds or gestures trying to scare it off.
Regina city Coun. David Froh had his own close encounter with a coyote while on a morning run in Les Sherman on Saturday.
He said it was the first he’d heard about the animal in his ward and noticed it was comfortable approaching people and their pets.
“Wildlife sightings are common and usually don’t warrant immediate response. But when we have a persistent sighting, that becomes a public safety risk, and it’s critical that city staff respond to that,” Froh said.
The City of Regina said in a statement it received reports of two coyotes in the neighbourhood and is working closely with provincial conservation officers to remove and relocate the animal.
“Removing a coyote is done safely for the community and the animal. So, it’ll be tranquilized. There’s no discharging of firearms, of course, within the city, but it’s a wild animal. So, sometimes it can take some time to do that safely, whether it’s tranquilized or trapped,” Froh said.
The city councillor said he understands coyote sightings can be worrying, but they are not unusual.
“We’re all part [of], not separate from, nature in Regina. So, these things are common. And what’s important is the safety of pets and wildlife itself,” he said.
The movie Coyote vs. Acme, starring Will Forte, is currently playing in multiple theatres in Regina. Froh said people should report sightings of real-life coyotes and other wild animals that pose a safety risk to the City of Regina.
