Sightings of coyotes in Middle Sackville, N.S., over the past few days have many living in the area on edge.
Resident Shaun Hill saw one of the animals in his backyard Monday morning. He says he still can’t believe he saw it so close to his home.
"I ran back in the house, I grabbed my video camera,” said Hill. “I was going to grab my phone, (but) I was like no, this is video camera material here."
Emma Hancock also saw a coyote in the same area on her way home from school with friends.
"I've been keeping an eye on my dog when she goes out,” Hancock said. "I was more just curious as to why it was in the subdivision that it was in, because it's a noisy subdivision, houses are being built."
The sightings come as no surprise to wildlife expert Peter MacIsaac. He says the conditions in the area are ideal for coyotes.
"You've got big blocks of forested areas, fields, I see old orchards – it's a perfect habitat that a coyote likes to get into," MacIsaac said.
MacIsaac says residents shouldn’t feed the coyotes or any wildlife. Instead, the Department of Natural Resources should be contacted.
“The coyote that we have, the eastern coyote, is actually a hybrid and all the genetic characteristics that they've been able to pattern to date indicate that there's a small mix of dog, a substantial mix of wolf, and predominant mix of coyote," MacIsaac explained.
MacIsaac said normally in warmer weather coyotes won't create a problem, but when winter falls and food is scarce, you'll see them in smaller communities looking to eat.
"It showed no aggression,” Hill said. “It acknowledged me. Kind of looked at me for a minute or so and went back to what he was doing."
But MacIsaac warns residents should be on guard as coyotes may seem harmless, but wildlife can be dangerous and unpredictable.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Suzette Belliveau.
