There is no easy Acme-based solution for the problem facing Jennifer Penner and her family right now. The nurse and her Akinsdale family of seven have recently received a new addition, but an unwanted one that is causing some property damage, some apprehension, and definitely a strange new facet to the season of the pandemic.
For reasons unbeknownst to them, a coyote has chosen their sunroom as the perfect place to dig a hole underneath for a den. No matter what they do to stop it, it keeps coming back.
“I feel like it's taking over our life right now,” Penner said on Thursday, after phone calls and visits with representatives from Alberta Fish and Wildlife and the City of St. Albert.
“We don't know if it's just one or if there's more than one. We’re trying to figure out if there's pups down there. Fish and Wildlife didn't think that there was, but we're getting really conflicting information. At this point, we're trying to figure out if there's a way to get a camera down there but it's quite a big space and we don't really know how far the den is underneath.”
On Saturday, CTV News reported experts had checked the area and didn't think there were pups.
The problem started a few weeks ago, with the animal first digging under the fence to gain access to their backyard. The family noticed the hole soon afterward, which they immediately covered up. A new hole appeared and not even wire fencing is stopping the critter from coming and going. The coyote simply chews at it and pushes its way through.
The canine pest problem
Akinsdale is one of the city’s hotbeds of coyote activity. There have been so many sightings and reports on the neighbourhood’s Facebook page that many have even come to use the name Hector for one of the creatures. Penner doesn’t think Hector is her coyote, but she hasn’t come up with a name for it either. She just wants it gone.
The Penners don’t live right next to the greenbelt backing onto Anthony Henday Drive, nor do they live adjacent to a park, though Attwood Park is within a block.
“The people that we've spoken to have said it's very strange for them to come in to the city so far away from the green spaces, especially because there is ample green space. There's a lot of parks; there's the area by the Henday. Their guess as to why this has happened is just because there are so many, and they don't like to den close to each other. They don't want to be in each other's territory,” Penner noted.
The city’s municipal enforcement officers have also been working with the Penners to determine an appropriate solution. Technically, coyotes are considered pests just as rodents and magpies are. As such, it is up to the homeowner to deal with them since the den is on their private property.
Aaron Giesbrecht, manager of policing services, referred to the city’s integrated pest management plan, saying its stance usually would only change if the animal becomes more of a public safety hazard than a mere nuisance to the population at large.
“Essentially, the city's position is that coyotes could live along the river and in the fields in St. Albert for a long time and they play a very beneficial role in the food chain with mice and other rodent control. The city won't trap, hunt (or) interfere with these animals unless they're sick or exhibit aggressive behaviour towards humans,” he continued. “This is where we get into whether or not it's a safety issue. When we do get reports of animal being sick or injured or aggressive, our peace officers go out there and and look at the situation.”
The city’s municipal enforcement peace officers have been in contact with officers from Alberta who assessed the situation and determined the coyote did not pose a risk to public safety.
Giesbrecht acknowledged that the Penners do indeed have an unusual problem and that is why the city will be taking an active role in helping them to resolve it.
“Because of the uniqueness of this one, the city is going to be taking on some expenses to take a peek and do a better assessment of the situation and the complexity of it because (of) how rare it is. After we get that assessment, then we'll be looking at what are the next steps.”
Those next steps couldn’t come soon enough for the Penners, who have become very tentative about spending any quality time in the fresh air of their backyard. That peace and quiet still hides an unwanted houseguest.
“We don't hear her, actually, which is a little scary because she sneaks up on us,” Penner said, adding that a neighbour did spot the coyote following her daughter along the sidewalk once without the child knowing.
She looks at the hole under her sunroom and only wishes for the animal – and any offspring it might have – to be relocated to a more appropriate place. Not even applications of bear spray or placing cloths doused in ammonia have deterred it.
“At this point, I'm feeling like this animal is pretty dang stubborn. She’s pretty determined.”
