Mission issues ‘aggressive coyote’ warning

The City of Mission is asking its residents to take precautions after it says “several” people have been bitten by coyotes in the last week.

In a statement, the city says it has received multiple reports of “aggressive coyotes” in the Fraser Corridor area, and while no one has been seriously injured, the city does not yet know how many coyotes have been involved in the incidents.

“The City of Mission is working collaboratively with the Conservation Officer Service on public outreach efforts, including canvassing areas where the initial attacks occurred to identify potential attractants, installing signage in areas where an incident occurred, mailing letters to residents in proximity of known attacks, and increasing patrols,” the city said.

The municipal council explains that aggressive behaviour from coyotes towards people is “not typical” and may be due to animals becoming too comfortable through feeding by people.

“Urban environments offer many potential attractants, including garbage, small pets and pet food, livestock, fruit, berries, compost, bird seed, and rodents. The City of Mission and the COS cannot stress enough the importance of not feeding coyotes and ensure that all attractants are secured,” it continued.

The city suggests keeping pet cats indoors, as coyotes tend to prey on small free-roaming pets.

CityNews has reached out to the conservation service for more information.