Hamilton Conervartion authority warning residents in Eramosa Karst area of roaming coyote

The Hamilton Conservation Authority is alerting residents in south East Hamilton to avoid walking their dogs in the Eramosa Karst area.

Staff were deployed to the area late last week after reports of sightings in the northern area of the conservation area, near the intersections of the Orange and Blue Trails, alongside the Nexus Cave area.

The agency says dogs are typically seen as a threat by coyotes.

“The HCA is asking hikers and especially dog walkers to avoid the area for now and let wildlife feel safe in their home,” said Gord Costie, director of customer services for the authority, in a release.

“At times the wildlife in our conservation areas needs space from people and their pets.”

In recent weeks, a number of Ontario communities have reported an uptick in coyote sightings, including in Toronto’s Bayview Village Park and Bradford — specifically on the trail in Grand Central subdivision.

Last November, Toronto Police had to euthanize a coyote suspected of having bitten at least two people in Bayview Village.

Esther Attard, a veterinarian and the director for Toronto Animal Services, told Global News that coyotes approach humans because of “regular and chronic feeding” or because of illness.

“They’re used to people so sometimes they would come to people for food and demand food in some cases, so it could be that,” Attard said. “The primary [reason] is feeding by people and making it less afraid of people.”