Podcasts about coyote watch canada

Coyotes are everywhere these days, or so it seems. Whether it's a city council debating how to deal with hungry coyotes in their midst — or joggers being followed by them — the wild canines are generating plenty of headlines across Ontario. On Episode 25 of Inside the Village, Frisco and Scott ask the question everyone wants to know: Are coyotes taking over the neighbourhood? Lesley Sampson, co-founder of the not-for-profit organization Coyote Watch Canada, joins us for some much-needed perspective.

Jane Brown is filling in for Libby Znaimer today. She is joined by

Portrayal of interactions between humans and coyotes, content analysis of Canadian Print Media 1998-2010 isn't the most enthralling of titles. But the study below it had a significant impact on my career and how I perceive and engage with media. The paper, which appeared in Cities and The Environment ten years ago, looked into how coyote interactions with people are discussed in the media; the findings floored me in when I first read the paper, and they remain a part of media sensationalism seminars I've given over the last decade. Rather than try to explain what this paper was about, I'll skip ahead to the interview with coauthor of the study Dr. Shelley Alexander of the University of Calgary. But first, I wanted to let you know that Defender Radio and The Switch are going to have an awesome giveaway starting next week! To make sure you get the details, follow me on Instagram @howiemichael and sign up to receive email updates at DefenderRadio.com or TheFurBearers.com. Links are in this week's show notes – the contest starts the first week of November, so stay tuned. Now, here's Dr. Shelley Alexander sharing her views, ten years later, of ten years of media content analysis, her own experiences with sensationalism and how they've impacted her role as a researcher and educator. Episode art: A coyote pup in the Calgary region, remote capture by Dr. Shelley Alexander. Links: Alexander, Shelley M. and Quinn, Michael S. (2012) "Portrayal of Interactions Between Humans and Coyotes (Canis latrans): Content Analysis of Canadian Print Media (1998-2010)," Cities and the Environment (CATE): Vol. 4: Iss. 1, Article 9. (https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cate/vol4/iss1/9/)  Dr. Shelley Alexander (University of Calgary) https://geog.ucalgary.ca/manageprofile/profiles/shelley-alexander University of Calgary Coexistence Research https://research.ucalgary.ca/wildlife Coyote Watch Canada https://www.coyotewatchcanada.com Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio and/or The Switch? Reach out to us at DefenderRadio@Gmail.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael), TikTok (www.tiktok.com/@howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).  Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Twitter (www.twitter.com/furbearers) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree). 

The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNROD) announced last week they would be killing up to 35 coyotes in Vancouver's Stanley Park in response to more than 45 bites and negative encounters in the preceding 10 months. The Fur-Bearers were active on this issue when it became public in December 2020 and have remained involved, advocating for long-term coexistence solutions. This podcast features two interviews. The first is with The Fur-Bearers' Executive Director Lesley Fox, in which we discuss the actions taken by The Fur-Bearers, the opportunities missed by governing agencies, and where our focus will be moving forward regarding wildlife in Stanley Park, as well as our need to grieve for the coyotes, affected people and how we can show who coyotes truly are. The second interview is with psychotherapist (qualifying) and certified wildlife rehabilitator Stephanie McMahon, who speaks to the grief many of us feel following this situation, the importance of allowing that grief and its many forms to play out, and a look at tools and experiences that may help the grieving process for animal advocates. The Fur-Bearers initial statement on the killing of Stanley Park coyotes: https://thefurbearers.com/blog/the-fur-bearers-statement-on-stanley-park-coyotes/ Science: Culls aren't effective long-term solutions: https://thefurbearers.com/blog/science-culls-arent-effective-long-term-solutions/ Stanley Park: What you can do to help the coyotes: https://thefurbearers.com/blog/stanley-park-what-you-can-do-to-help-the-coyotes/ The Fur-Bearers' Coexisting with Coyotes: https://thefurbearers.com/our-work/living-with-wildlife/solutions/coyotes/ Coyote Watch Canada: https://www.coyotewatchcanada.com/site/home Kids Help Phone: https://kidshelpphone.ca/ Crisis Services Canada: https://www.crisisservicescanada.ca/ Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Crisis Resources page: https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/crisis-resources The Fur-Bearers on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/furfree), Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/furbearers) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/furbearers). Defender Radio host Michael Howie on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/howiemichael), TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@howiemichael) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/defenderradio/.

More than two dozen incidents of coyotes scratching and biting people have occurred in Vancouver's Stanley Park since December 2020. You've likely seen media coverage of this – and yes, much of it has been wildly sensational with a great deal of guess work. But the truth is difficult to find in this series of events. Factually, we're aware of many pieces of evidence: coyotes are a natural part of the landscape in Canada and British Columbia; Stanley Park is not just a park, but a massive forest and ecosystem; prior to 2020, only a handful of bites or interactions had occurred with coyotes; and, as everyone agrees, these behaviours are concerning. In much of the media coverage, however, entire swatches of fact are left out, such as the massive shift in human use of the park following the start and progression of the coronavirus pandemic, or the apparent lack of enforcement of feeding bylaws and park use restrictions. This coverage also leaves out the nuance often necessary in a conversation about evidence and ecosystems, something that numerous advocates and experts have noted. As such, this special report is an in-depth conversation with Dr. Kristen Walker, a professor at UBC who has worked on the ground in Stanley Park recently to collect evidence and begin forming an understanding of changes to coyote behaviour. Our interview was recorded approximately one week ago – and as static media, may not include the most recent information or news. This week's episode art is a trail camera capture of a coyote in Stanley Park, provided by Dr. Kristen Walker. To learn more about Dr. Kristen Walker's work, visit https://www.landfood.ubc.ca/kristen-walker/ The Fur-Bearers' Living With Wildlife pages: https://thefurbearers.com/our-work/living-with-wildlife/solutions/ Coyote Watch Canada: https://www.coyotewatchcanada.com/site/home Find Defender Radio on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/howiemichael/) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DefenderRadio/).  Follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/furbearers/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FURfree/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/furbearers), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fur-bearers/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHxrcRm5jLnpIjvTmN9MV9Q). Want to learn more about how to listen to Defender Radio on your smart device? Check out the videos and links at www.DefenderRadio.com. 

As we press through these colder months of the winter, I’m seeing more questions about coyotes pop up on social media and traditional media. Of course, this is often in response to bad memes or misinformation designed to frighten people, rather than educate them. Check out TheFurBEarers.com for some the articles we’ve written to try and respond to these concerns. But it’s also an opportunity to talk about aversion conditioning – commonly referred to as hazing – and the role it can play in mitigating and ending human conflict with coyotes. Lauren Van Patter, a Queen’s University PhD candidate and my good friend Lesley Sampson of Coyote Watch Canada worked together to pen a paper that outlines the scientific literature on aversion conditioning, as well as the experiences of the Coyote Watch Canada Canid Response Team. Titled, Advancing Best Practices for Aversion Conditioning to Mitigate Human-Coyote Conflicts in Urban Areas and published openly in the journal Human-Wildlife Interactions, the paper also prompted an outstanding essay on TheConversation.com. Lauren and Lesley joined Defender Radio to talk about the importance of this paper, why we need to understand what is and isn’t proper aversion conditioning and how we can coexist with our essential wild neighbours. The Paper: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol14/iss2/7/ TheConversation.com article: https://theconversation.com/how-coyotes-and-humans-can-learn-to-coexist-in-cities-147738 Lauren Van Patter's Queen's University page: https://www.uoguelph.ca/ccsaw/people/lauren-van-patter-0 Coyote Watch Canada: www.coyotewatchcanada.com

Coyotes have expanded their range in the last century more so than any other mammal on the continent, and is still going. Highly adaptive, intelligent, “wily”, and resilient, Coyote is not going to stop just because our human made landscapes get in the way. In fact, Coyotes make the way for themselves within our constructed spaces, finding edges and cracks and turning them into home. But how do we c0-exist with an animal that so many have feared, hunted and sought to destroy for so long? How can we share the urban environment with a predator? When animals re-occupy the urban in novel ways, or ways that humans didn't intend, how do we make space for that? Lesley Sampson of Coyote Watch Canada, and animal geographer Lauren Van Patter take the time to share some of their experiences with Coyotes in urban environments, and share about how they are looking to help communities learn how to coexist with these wonderful animals. Coyote Watch Canada Lauren Van Patter's website Advancing best practices for aversion conditioning (humane hazing) to mitigate human–coyote conflicts in urban areas - Lesley and Lauren's paper from Human-Wildlife Interactions journal "How coyotes and humans can learn to coexist in cities" , article by Lauren and Lesley featured at theconversation.com The Anthropocene's animal? Coywolves as feral cotravelers by Stephanie Rutherford *Coyote image by Joanne Merner c/o Coyote Watch Canada

Animal advocacy is a huge community. There’s folks like us at The Fur-Bearers, who focus on wildlife coexistence, habitat issues and a specific commercial issue; there’s groups like Coyote Watch Canada or North Shore Black Bear Society who focus on specific wildlife; then there’s groups who focus on farmed animals, domesticated animals, vegan principles, international policy, local policy and more. In short: it’s a huge community. As such, when we ask the question, “How ya doing, animal advocates,” the response is a collective blurring of various voices. That is, until, you bring in the researchers. Faunalytics is a non-profit that does research, maintains a research library and directly supports advocates and organizations. In one of their latest projects, they took on the rather large task of figuring out the experiences of animal advocates in Canada and the United States. This is important work: it creates a reference point for future inquiries, shows advocacy organizations where we must improve, and highlights the absolute need for amplifying the voices of and reach to marginalized groups within the animal advocacy community. Dr. Jo Anderson, Faunalytics’ research director, joined Defender Radio to explore the study, the need for asking these questions, how to interpret the data and what solutions we can seek to improve the animal advocacy community not just to be successful for the animals, but to be good to each other. Faunalytics is hosting a Q&A about their study! Get the details and submit questions on their Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/297775314823761/ CONTEST: Share your FAVOURITE episode of Defender Radio anywhere on social media; send us a screen grab of the share along with your contact info; one listener will be selected to win a gaiter face mask from The Fur-Bearers! Email your screen grab and info to info@TheFurBearers.com or to any of our social networking channels! LINKS: The State Of Animal Advocacy In The U.S. & Canada: Experiences & Turnover -- https://faunalytics.org/advocate-retention/ Defender Radio Patreon -- www.patreon.com/DefenderRadio EMail Updates: https://thefurbearers.com/sign-save-animals This episode sponsored by AnimalStone.com. Use promocode DEFENDERRADIO to get 10% off!

How can you tell the difference between a wolf and a coyote? What’s a coywolf? Do they live alone or in packs? Are their packs like wolves, or different? We asked for questions and we got ‘em! A few weeks back, I asked on social media what your questions would be for Lesley Sampson, Founder and Executive Director at Coyote Watch Canada. You answered. And then you kept on answering! Between Defender Radio and Coyote Watch Canada’s social media, we had two packed pages of questions to go over in our recent interview. We didn’t get to all the questions – this episode is already a pretty long one. But we may be able to use some to create blogs for our websites, so stay tuned on that. And because this is such a long episode, you’ll be able to find some time codes for specific topics in the shownotes in the coming days. Coyote Watch Canada: www.CoyoteWatchCanada.com Article regarding the coyote mating meme: https://thefurbearers.com/blog/breaking-down-coyote-mating-meme Defender Radio Facebook: www.FaceBook.com/DefenderRadio Defender Radio Twitter: www.Twitter.com/DefenderRadio Defender Radio Instagram: www.Instagram.com/HowieMichael Show notes to be updated soon!

LaSalle Park in Burlington, Ontario, is a beautiful area, right on the shore of Lake Ontario. It’s a diverse area, full of wildlife, walking trails, and natural history. But it’s also where some individuals have complained coyotes are spending time, and not reacting how residents believe the wild canids should. I spent a few hours with Lesley Sampson, co-founder and president of Coyote Watch Canada, walking the trails, discussing what factors could lead to behaviour in coyotes that is received as troubling, and what we can do about it.  Following our walk, we recorded a conversation in the parking lot of LaSalle Park to review our thoughts and observations. Defender Radio Patreon: www.Patreon.com/DefenderRadio Defender Radio eNews Updates: www.TheFurBearers.com/updates  

LaSalle Park in Burlington, Ontario, is a beautiful area, right on the shore of Lake Ontario. It’s a diverse area, full of wildlife, walking trails, and natural history. But it’s also where some individuals have complained coyotes are spending time, and not reacting how residents believe the wild canids should. I spent a few hours with Lesley Sampson, cofounder and president of Coyote Watch Canada, walking the trails, discussing what factors could lead to behaviour in coyotes that is received as troubling, and what we can do about it.  Following our walk, we recorded a conversation in the parking lot of LaSalle Park to review our thoughts. This episode is a news brief edit of our interview. A full version will be available later this week at TheFurBearers.com, the iTunes store, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Defender Radio Patreon: www.Patreon.com/DefenderRadio Defender Radio eNews: www.TheFurBearers.com/updates  

Here we are – season five! I can’t think of a better way to kick off this momentous run than with coyote expert, and my good friend, Lesley Sampson of Coyote Watch Canada. Lesley and I spent some time recording in a forest in the Niagara Falls region last week, talking about building community buy-in to co-existence programs, the ups and downs of developing a plan, and why living with coyotes isn’t just possible, but preferable. That’s not all I have to share with you though – I have a few new features of the show I want to share with you. First is the 60-second advocacy bit – in less than one minute, I’m going to share with you what the primary focus of my guest’s advocacy is, what solutions they have, and how you can get involved. That way if you can’t stay for the whole episode, or it’s a subject you may struggle with, you’ll get the basics so you can still help the cause. I hear from a lot of you that there’s an interest in helping the show, too, and that’s why I’ve created a new Patreon! That’s the online way of supporting creators – podcasters like myself, artists, designers, musicians, and so on. It’s simple: visit patreon.com/defenderradio, choose a tier of giving, and click! Each tier – starting at $1 per month and going up to $150 per month – has rewards. For only $1 per month you’ll get access to exclusive behind the scenes videos, blogs, outtakes and more. Bump up to $5 and you’ll also get an additional stream of content from each interview that can’t be heard anywhere else. As the tiers go up, so do the rewards – a Defender Radio t-shirt, advocacy gear from The Fur-Bearers, and even an executive producer title are available! Check out www.patreon.com/DefenderRadio to learn more and help the show, And The Fur-Bearers grow. Of course I can’t start a new season without a contest, so here we go: register to receive Defender Radio updates and The Fur-Bearers’ eNews at thefurbearers.com/updates and you’ll be entered in a chance to win a shirt and advocacy pack from The Fur-Bearers. If you’re already signed up, you’re already in the draw! If not, just visit thefurbearers.com/updates and make sure you opt-in to receive both email types and you’ll be entered. Winner will be announced on next week’s episode!

Talking about conflict isn’t always easy. Emotions can be high – the sight of a large animal can be unnerving and cause instinctual fear reactions, and the loss of a family pet can be devastating for an entire community. Frequently, the emotional upheaval leads to a desire to find a problem – and a coyote can be an easy target. Though the science showing the lack of effectiveness of lethal control to prevent conflict is growing, as is the evidence of successful non-lethal, co-existence strategies, there is still a lot of breakdown in communications about coyote conflict. From reporters who simply don’t know there’s a difference between a conflict and an attack, to residents whose heightened fear makes it difficult to see the full ecosystem in their backyard, finding ways to talk about conflict is a challenge all on its own. Fortunately, we have advocates like Lesley Sampson, the founding executive director of Coyote Watch Canada. To discuss how to pose questions in an investigation into conflict, to considering the range of animals that could have made footprints in the snow, and why we need to see coyotes as an integral part of our communities, Lesley joined Defender Radio.

When conflict arises between coyotes and humans, the coyotes typically get the short end of the stick. Trapping, hunting and all-out culls are always on the horizon when coyotes are involved in incidents. But, it’s not always a coyote who is responsible for perceived or actual conflict; sometimes it can be predatory birds, other terrestrial mammals like bears or raccoons, and it can even be domestic dogs. Finding the truth is the ultimate goal whenever and wherever conflict exists – and that’s the speciality of Coyote Watch Canada. Lesley Sampson, founder and Executive Director of Coyote Watch Canada, is an expert coyote tracker and runs dozens – if not hundreds – of investigations into coyote and wildlife behaviour in communities each year. She joined Defender Radio recently to talk about the process of investigating wildlife conflict, the need for public education in this time, and analysis of some recent wildlife conflict events across Canada.

Despite the close relation between domesticated dogs and coyotes, there is a stark difference in the way that humans treat individuals of each species. While the former are beloved members of many human families, the latter are much maligned and vilified. Lesley Sampson of Coyote Watch Canada hopes that we can rethink the way we … Continue reading →

The news this year has all been about the cousins of our domestic dogs, wolves and coyotes. Increased sightings of coyotes throughout areas of Ontario have caused a spike in complaints, heightened fear of predators and even lethal action. Our friends at Coyote Watch Canada, however, have been working non-stop since December to show the media the truth about coyotes and how we can live with them. Further west, wolves are in the crosshairs in both Alberta and British Columbia as governments scramble to find ways to protect endangered caribou herds in both provinces. Even though science and public opinion is against them, the kills are well under way – and it’s coming down to wolf experts like Paul Paquet to speak out against them.

We can barely believe it’s been a full year since this project first started. In that year we’ve had dozens of interviews with internationally-recognized scientists and advocates. We’re heard one-on-one interviews with those who have witnessed tragedy and those who have stopped cruelty. We’ve worked with great people Psychologist and beaver believer Dr. Heidi Perryman, rock star and animal lover Bif Naked, photographer Jo-Anne McArthur and Lesley Sampson of Coyote Watch Canada. We’ve talked about issues ranging from wolf ecosystem protection and the natural history of beavers to keeping squirrels out of attics and how to talk about co-existence with your schools. And through it all, we’ve had you, our incredible supporters, listening in. And what better way to start Season Two of Defender Radio than with two of our absolute favourite guests? We’ll be hearing from Brad Gates, owner of AAA Gates Wildlife Control on raccoons in Toronto – why they’re here and how we can live alongside them, as well as Dr. Marc Bekoff, discussing his upcoming book, Rewildling Our Hearts. Let’s get started with season two!

Education is part of the foundation of a solid democracy, and in Canada we take that responsibility quite seriously. We have some of the best elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools in the world – and millions of young Canadians are back to the books this week. But every day we have important lessons to learn outside the classroom, as well. This week we’re taking a look at two different – and equally important – types of education. We’ll be joined by Tyler Jamieson, an Ottawa-area advocate who last year ran a series of successful demonstrations promoting the fur-free message at college and university campuses. Then we’ll hear from Coyote Watch Canada’s Lesley Sampson who will tell us how coyotes are going back to school, too.  

It may be warm and sunny on the west coast, but throughout much of Canada and the United States it’s howling cold – so we’re taking this opportunity to make a bad pun and bring you an episode exploring our relationships with coyotes. We have interviews with some great experts this week, including Phil Carter of Animal Protection of New Mexico; Lesley Sampson of Coyote Watch Canada; and Professor Sara Waller from the University of Montana. We’ll also be presenting a new segment of wild in the city with Brad Gates of Gates Wildlife Control. We're also proud to bring you news of our recent trip to Cornwall, Ontario.