The BC Wildlife Park has recently said goodbye to the coyotes it had once rehabilitated.
Glenn Grant, the park’s executive director and general manager, said the decision stems from the park’s plans to expand in the coming years.
“We just had coyotes that we relocated to Montréal,” Grant explained. “They really weren’t a good fit for us in the location that they were in the park.”
He said more room is needed for the grizzly bears — Dawson and Knute — but a raccoon exhibit is in the way.
“So we’re going to relocate the raccoons to where the coyotes were and then the coyotes had to go,” Grant said.
The coyotes were brought to the park to be rehabilitated, with at least one arriving after it was orphaned as a pup.
According to the BC SPCA, coyotes are related to wolves, foxes and dogs. Coyotes are smart and playful, but have a bad reputation for killing pets and small animals. Coincidentally, these traits make them important for the ecosystem, as a scavenger and predator of rodents.
Rodents are a big portion of an urban coyote’s diet, making them important agents of natural pest control.
Grant said many park visitors thought the coyotes were active, but the reality was they were afraid of people walking past their exhibit.
“Everybody thought they were really cool and really active, but they weren’t,” Grant said.
“They were scared. If animal welfare is our main cause, and it is, then we should do what’s best for the animals — and that was to move them some place they’ll be more comfortable.”
