Now that the moose is loose in and around Cochrane, the timing couldn’t be better for the subject matter of the Cochrane Ecological Society’s (CEAC) latest instalment of their free information series – coyotes.
One of North America's leading canid experts will give a presentation providing her insights on coyotes on Dec. 7 at the Frank Wills Memorial Hall.
In her presentation entitled Living with Coyotes, Dr. Shelley Alexander will explore coyote behaviour and our everyday encounters with them to educate people on how to co-exist with the cagey canids.
CEAC president Tim Giese says in light of the recent appearance of a cow moose in Heartland and other areas of town, and increased “chatter” on social media, Dr. Alexander’s talk is timely.
Coyotes and wolves are natural predators of moose. So where the moose go . . .
“Based on the same premises that led CEAC to create/form Wildlife Co-existence-Cochrane, i.e. to raise awareness and knowledge of living with wildlife in our town and surrounding areas, this talk is a continuing extension of our efforts,” Giese said.
Wildlife Co-existence-Cochrane (WCC), a new group, was formed a few months ago, to provide a resource for just such topics as this. Henrik Bosch is a leader of that effort.
Giese is looking forward to an enlightening event.
“We're very excited to be able to have Dr. Shelley Alexander, a world renowned expert on wolves and coyotes, come and speak to residents. This will be a very interesting talk," Giese said.
"Although we hear only the occasional news of coyotes and wolves, there are quite a few that live around here and some do come through town,” he said.
“It was only a few weeks ago where Bragg Creek experienced several encounters with coyotes. It can certainly happen here and so it is a great opportunity to gain some understanding about coyotes and their potential interactions within our urban framework."
Alexander is a professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Calgary and a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. She has over 30 years of experience studying wild canids, specializing in wolves and coyotes. Her research engages non-invasive methods, and spans disciplines of ecology, ethology, ethics and human-wildlife coexistence (including aversion conditioning).
Alexander’s research and science outreach span the globe. She has developed guidelines for human-coyote coexistence nationally, and provided expert review and testimony internationally.
The talk is Saturday, Dec. 7 at 10 am at Frank Wills Memorial Hall, 405 First Street East in Cochrane. Admission is free but CEAC asks participants to register at cochraneenvironment.org.
