Coyotes, unhoused people sharing river valley creates health crisis, study warns

Unhoused people and urban coyotes competing for the same secluded inner-city landscapes in Edmonton's river valley create a dangerous dynamic with risks to both human and animal health, a new study cautions.

The research, published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, is the first to examine the relationship between homeless encampments and urban coyotes. It used Edmonton's river valley as a case study.

The study from the Edmonton Urban Coyote Project — led by the University of Alberta — found that the competition for space and resources increases the risk of human-coyote conflict and the spread of infectious diseases from animals to people.

"This is a lose-lose-lose situation," said Sage Raymond, the study's lead author. "We've got coyotes accessing food and encampments, which is not good for them, and we've got people being exposed to potential disease agents."

People sleeping rough near coyote dens face increased risk of dangerous encounters and higher risk of contracting infectious diseases, including a parasite currently spreading through Alberta's coyote packs. Coyotes living near encampments could become displaced or habituate to human food, raising the probability they grow aggressive and become a nuisance to nearby neighbourhoods.

Raymond said the findings should not instigate crackdowns on homeless people or urban coyote culls. Instead, she said, there needs to be more targeted conservation efforts, awareness campaigns, and improved accessible medical care among vulnerable populations.

The Edmonton Urban Coyote Project has monitored the city's coyote population since 2009. According to the project, as many as 3,000 coyotes are in Edmonton. Homeward Trust estimates there are as many as 5,000 unhoused people in Edmonton, with 1,000 — one fifth — sleeping rough every night. The City of Edmonton cleared more than 5,600 encampments last year.