I don’t know if they were coyotes or stray dogs — you’d have to show images to biologists to know for sure. But to the question of whether it is “possible” that there were coyotes so close to downtown Quebec, the answer is clearly oui. And to be honest, it would be far, very far from being the first.
A citizen of Quebec had filmed a coyote, in the middle of the city, which was doing a little “recital” in 2021, and had sent the video to the Sun. (Dominic Haerinck)
On the site iNaturalist.org, where amateur (but still usually competent) naturalists note and cross-check their findings, we can see five coyote sightings (even if only traces or feces) in Quebec since 2020 — two in Charlesbourg, one in Ancienne-Lorette, one on the Cité universitaire and one in the bay of Beauport.
And as the table below shows, for several years the SOS Poaching / Wildlife Emergency line has been collecting about half a dozen coyote reports per year in Quebec, plus a few more in Lévis. (If necessary, the number to call is 1-800-463-2191, or you can fill out a reporting form ici. For tips on what to do in the presence of a coyote, see ici.)
And it’s a safe bet that the coyote has been present in Quebec since long before this line was put in place. Laval University biologist Claude Lavoie has devoted a chapter to the coyote in a book on invasive species which will be published next year. We read that the first mention of the coyote in Quebec dates back to 1944 — the canid had arrived in Ontario in 1919, and in New York State in 1925.
“Foreign” species
Native to the west of the continent, the coyote literally conquered the eastern half of America during the 20th century, probably thanks to hybridizations with wolves which increased its size to the point of making it capable of hunting deer. Virginia. In the West, coyotes generally weigh around 10 to 12 kg; in the east, however, their weight is around 15 to 20 kg, or almost twice as much.
But both in the East and in the West, some of these canines have managed to partially overcome their fear of humans, enough to settle in urban environments.
“Cities,” writes Mr. Lavoie in his book, “are attractive to coyotes because food is abundant there (small rodents, raccoons, birds, fruits, etc.), there are numerous shelters and trapping is rarely practiced. White-tailed deer, increasingly present in the suburbs, regularly appear on the coyotes’ menu. [Les «ennemis» naturels du coyote, comme le loup et l’ours noir, sont également absents des zones urbaines, où la chasse et le trappage sont extrêmement peu pratiqués.]
“In fact,” he continues, “many large North American cities [Atlanta, Chicago, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Montréal, New York, Toronto, etc.] must deal with populations of several hundred or even thousands of individuals.”
Urban coyotes (this one was photographed in Los Angeles) are mostly active at night. (Stuart Palley/Wiki Commons)
-There are, in all likelihood, not as many coyotes as this living in Quebec, but it is clear that it is, like other cities, an advantageous habitat in many respects for them. A compelling sign that these canines are quite at home in heavily populated areas is that their mortality rates are generally lower in cities than in the wild.
A study conducted in Arizona found an annual survival rate of 72% for coyotes living in Tucson, while other work on coyotes in rural areas of Wisconsin instead observed around 55% survival over one year.
(Let us point out here that there are quite a few differences between the two studies, the results of which are not perfectly comparable, but let’s say that it gives an idea.)
Another sign that cities offer them favorable conditions: urban coyotes do not need as much space to survive as in the wild. An American study found that in the city, each coyote only occupies on average a territory of around 6.5 km², which is much smaller than in rural areas (17 km² according to some studies).
There is a lot of variation and overlap in the observations that this work has made, it should be noted, but the conclusion remains clear: there is more food per unit of surface area in the city, which allows to achieve higher population densities.
That said, however, not all parts of a city are equally attractive to the coyote. Two studies conducted in Wisconsin concluded that coyotes have a strong penchant for wooded/natural areas and appear to avoid highly developed areas, such as downtown areas. Interestingly, these two articles noted that this is not the case for the red fox, which adapts better to more densely built neighborhoods.
And all of this corresponds very well to the case presented to me by Ms. Bolduc. The Gilmour Side and the Plains of Abraham are exactly the kind of habitat that urban coyotes seek. The cape which runs along the river is largely wooded to the west of the city – just like the linear park of Saint-Charles, on the other side of the plateau.
In short, even in downtown Quebec, there is no shortage of inviting areas for coyotes!
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