Coyotes in Kanata?

I live in a condo in Kanata, earlier this week I was about to let my dog out into the yard for morning rituals when I spot what I believe was a coyote in my yard killing a squirrel. As soon as I opened my door it looked at me and then jumped the 4 foot high yard fence in one easy leap and took off. I have a beagle that is very territorial and this would not have ended well for her if she had bolted out to confront this animal.

I was a bit bewildered , at first I thought it was a fox but it was too big after I thought about it for a bit. I live not far from the greenbelt, Timm road so I can bet that is where the critters are coming from.

Has anyone else had similar experiences ?

I live in the south end near the airport and coyotes are quite prevelant around here, had them walking down our street before. I've seen them on the drive home as well, crossing the median with not a care in the world. We're encroaching on their habitat so it's really us getting close to them.

Article from the Sun on Feb 2
http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/02/02/...-across-ottawa

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Originally Posted by cleek

I live in a condo in Kanata, earlier this week I was about to let my dog out into the yard for morning rituals when I spot what I believe was a coyote in my yard killing a squirrel. As soon as I opened my door it looked at me and then jumped the 4 foot high yard fence in one easy leap and took off. I have a beagle that is very territorial and this would not have ended well for her if she had bolted out to confront this animal.

I was a bit bewildered , at first I thought it was a fox but it was too big after I thought about it for a bit. I live not far from the greenbelt, Timm road so I can bet that is where the critters are coming from.

Has anyone else had similar experiences ?

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I live in the same neighbourhood as jeffc and used to hear them every night when I first moved here. Not so much the last few years - as jeffc said it is us humans that are taking over their habitat.

I suspect that a single coyote would have still taken off if your beagle had bolted out the door. They prefer flight to fight, and beagles are feisty. A squirrel is nothing more than a glorified rat.

I live in Morgans Grant in Kanata North and one day I was driving down the street near my house and I see what I thought was a loose German Sheppard walking down the sidewalk. I was about to stop to see if it had tags on it when I realized it wasn't a pet. It got spooked by the car and took off not the hydro lines. I got a pretty good pic of it with my phone before it took off.