An Okotoks resident is warning pet owners to keep their animals on leash and in yards to keep them safe.
Jim Varga said he was walking his dog with his wife, Dolly, in the river valley when they saw the remains of a deer on the ice and snow nearby the children’s playground in Sheep River Park, just below the Southridge Drive bridge.
“The carcass was lying there yet with the head and legs and the rib cage all picked clean,” said Varga. “It’s just the fact so many people walk their dogs here and they don’t have them on leashes, so this is kind of like a little bit of a head’s up.”
He said the deer had been removed by Friday morning, although the area was still littered with blood as well as some hide, organs and flesh.
It’s a warning for those who let their cats roam free or walk their dogs off-leash, he said.
“Every now and then you see another cat go on the mailbox because something got it because it was left out,” said Varga. “Coyotes are opportunists. And the poor kids, that’s their pet and now their pet is gone.”
He said it’s no secret there is wildlife in the river valley, but in all the years he’s walked his dog on the pathways – always on leash, he said – there hasn’t been evidence of any attack in the middle of town.
Christa Michailuck, with the Town of Okotoks, said she had heard of a deer carcass in the river valley that coyotes were likely feeding on, but it was unclear whether the animals had brought down the deer or if it was previously injured.
“Quite often a deer may die from being hit by a vehicle and it’s injured for a long time and finally succumbs to those injuries, then that’s quite normal for coyotes and other predators to feed off the carcass,” said Michailuck.
She said coyotes aren’t reported very often, but they’re likely in the river valley on a regular basis because it serves as a major wildlife corridor through the community.
Whether they would attack a dog off-leash or not, she said she doesn’t know.
“Coyotes and other animals that are carnivorous, they tend to prefer their natural prey first, but if they are very hungry they could certainly go after pets,” said Michailuck.
She said it’s important for people walking their dogs in the valley to ensure they’re kept on-leash so as not to stir up wild animals and cause confrontation.
If aggressive animal encounters are witnessed, she said if it’s reported to the Town’s parks department, they would post signage warning others.
“A coyote feeding on a deer carcass I wouldn’t count as an aggressive encounter, that’s a natural thing to occur,” said Michailuck. “An aggressive encounter would be such as a deer chasing or kicking at people or pets, or the coyote chasing or biting at people or pets.”
