Human Coexistence and Conflict with Coyotes
When humans and large carnivores such as coyotes live in close proximity to one another there is potential for coexistence, but also conflict. Conflict occurs when coyotes negatively impact people by damaging property, injuring or killing pets, and injuring or killing people. Alternatively, conflict can also occur when people negatively impact coyotes by killing or maiming them directly (ex: poisoning campaigns) or indirectly (ex: vehicle collisions). Coexistence is simply the co-occurrence of humans and coyotes with minimal conflict (Madden 2004, Nyhus 2016). The behaviour of both humans and coyotes will determine whether the outcome of co-occurrence is conflict or coexistence, as outlined in Figure 2.
Figure 2. A conceptual model of how the behaviours of humans and coyotes can lead to either conflict or coexistence. It is important to note that the behaviours of coyotes and humans can influence each other and affect the outcome, and that different observers may perceive conflict differently than others. It is also worth noting that conflict and coexistence can both occur, but the extent to which each occurs will define the perceived net effect. This figure was created using information from Lischka et al. (2018), Baker and Timms (2017), and Fox (2007).
Coyotes in Edmonton
As evidenced by a recent unusual and widely publicized example of human-coyote conflict (Figure 3), coyotes and humans are living together in Edmonton. The Edmonton Urban Coyote Project was initiated in 2008 to study urban coyote behaviour in order to best facilitate coexistence and deter conflict. Previous work by members of this project has identified examples of both human-coyote coexistence and conflict. Coyotes in Edmonton navigate primarily between dawn and dusk to avoid conflict, but also consume more anthropogenic food which increases the potential for conflict (Murray et al. 2015a, Murray et al. 2015b). Coyotes also prey on feral and domestic cats, which many residents perceive as a source of conflict (Nation and St. Clair 2019).
Figure 3. Human-coyote conflict in Edmonton. Although rare, coyotes do occasionally attack humans. In April 2020, the Edmonton Journal covered the story of a coyote attack on a young girl in Edmonton (left), which resulted in public outcry against coyotes (right).