Canada: Coyote pups surprise visitors at Fort York community garden

A coyote pup, thought to be seven or eight weeks old, stands in the grass at Fort York. (Grant Linton/CBC)

Local gardeners say coyotes have helped control rodent population

By Nick Boisvert
CBC News
May 10, 2018

Excerpt:

Gardeners in the area say the animals’ parents were a welcome addition to the area when they showed up last spring, cutting down on the local groundhog and rabbit populations, which were damaging the garden.

“Last year we had no problem at all,” said Joe McReynolds, who’s been gardening at the site for the past five years. “The coyotes had cleared out most of the animals that were eating our plants.”

While the garden’s new residents have become the talk of the fort, wildlife experts say there’s nothing unusual about the pups, which have been hanging out just metres from the nearby railway tracks.

“What’s going on in the Fort York area sounds like a normal situation for urban coyotes,” said Nathalie Karvonen, executive director of the Toronto Wildlife Centre.

Karvonen said there are coyotes to be found all over Toronto, especially in corridors such as railway tracks, ravines and hydro lands.

Read the complete article here.