Sgt. Len Butler of the Conservation Officer Services is worried people are feeding coyotes in Williams Lake after his office received two separate complaints of aggressive coyotes this week.
“Both of the complaints were near the Dairy Fields where coyotes were coming at people walking with dogs and showing a lot of attention to the dogs,” Butler said Thursday. “We’ve learned over the years coyotes become conditioned to people feeding them. I have to wonder if they are coming that close to humans because they’ve been fed by humans.”
Two COs attended the area Wednesday evening to follow up on the complaints.
They didn’t see any coyotes, but will continue to monitor the situation.
There are always a number of coyotes roaming around Williams Lake, Butler said.
They frequent the green areas and the trails.
If people encounter a coyote they should stand their ground, he suggested.
“If you run, they are definitely going to chase you and please don’t feed them.”
Anyone with wildlife concerns is encouraged to call the Conservation Officer Services RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277 (RAPP).
During the May long weekend four COs assisted the district’s recreation officer with recreation site patrols and evening patrols in the Williams Lake and 100 Mile House area.
“Because of the rainy weather, people were pretty much under cover, but alcohol was huge, and some unauthorized ATV use,” Butler said, adding out on the lakes things were fairly quiet.
Fishery patrols on Quesnel Lake for the annual fishing derby resulted in about a 30 per cent non-compliance of anglers.
Charges were mostly for using prohibited fishing gear, Butler said.