Conservation officers have killed a second coyote in Burnaby near where a three-year-old boy was viciously mauled this month.
Ayden Ramm was attacked by a coyote just outside of his Dunvegan Court townhouse near Burnaby Mountain Golf Course on May 15.
It took more than 150 stitches at B.C. Children’s Hospital to fix the gashes the animal left on his scalp.
That night conservation officers destroyed one coyote matching the description and behaviour provided by Ayden’s parents.
On May 19, the B.C. Conservation Officer Service euthanized another “emaciated sub-adult coyote” in the afternoon, according to conservation officer Clayton Debruin.
Both of the animals had been thoroughly habituated and could be coaxed closer by whistling, he said.
The investigation into whether either of those animals was responsible for the attack on Ayden is ongoing, according to Debruin.
On the day after the attack, the conservation service told media the first coyote’s head and claws would be swabbed and any human DNA found tested against samples taken from the boy.
But Debruin said DNA is only one method used to identify offending coyotes after they attack humans.
The service also measures the paws and teeth – the width of the dead animal’s canine teeth from tip to tip, for example.
“We will attempt to find a match with the injuries on the young boy and any punctures or scrapes on the clothing that was recovered from the boy on the date of the incident,” Debruin said.
As for the coyotes that still roam the neighbourhood near Burnaby Mountain Golf Course, it’s too early to tell whether the killing of the two animals has made a difference.
Sometimes removing a leader changes the behaviour of a coyote pack, making the surviving animals more fearful of humans, Debruin explained.
“I can’t tell you that we’ve made any impact on the coyote behaviour or that we’ve removed all of the coyotes that have been exhibiting problem behaviour,” he said. “It’s too soon to tell, and I do not want people to lower their guard around coyotes in that area.”
That being said, coyotes – B.C.’s most successful and adaptable carnivore – are in Burnaby to stay, according to Debruin, and it would never be a goal of the conservation service to exterminate them all, he said, so it’s up to humans to keep them in their place.
“People need to improve the way the behave around coyotes, especially asserting themselves so that those coyotes do not build a tolerance for being around people and continuing to test the boundaries and test what they can get away with.”
Residents who spot coyotes exhibiting unnatural behaviour, like walking around during the day or approaching humans, are asked to call the RAPP (Report All Poachers and Polluters) line at 1-877-952-7277.
