Last updated: 2026-07-09. Wildlife activity and official advisories shift with the seasons; for real-time reports of animal sightings and closures, defer to the park authority’s notices.
Anyone who has visited Vancouver probably remembers Stanley Park — that stretch of forest right next to downtown. You might have watched a heron by Lost Lagoon, or, at dusk at the end of a trail, glimpsed from afar a figure like a small German shepherd with a bushy tail: most likely a coyote. They’re part of Vancouver’s urban ecology, usually wary of people and going their own way. But a recent study reminds us that once the distance between people and coyotes is “trained” too close, things change.
A research team at the University of British Columbia (UBC) revisited 45 incidents of coyotes attacking people in Stanley Park between December 2020 and August 2021 — an extraordinarily high spike for an urban setting. According to the study’s conclusions as reported by CBC, the key wasn’t that the coyotes suddenly turned aggressive, but “habituation”: when they repeatedly obtain food from humans — whether deliberately fed, or scavenging dropped litter and picnic scraps — they gradually lose their wariness of people, and even come to associate humans with “there’s something to eat.” During that period the park had to remove some individuals and step up patrols before the situation eased.
The meaning of this for travellers and newcomers is actually quite positive and practical: a coyote’s behaviour is, in large part, fed by human behaviour. In other words, most conflicts are preventable.
If you meet a coyote, remember: “don’t feed, don’t chase, scare it off”
The Stanley Park Ecology Society has long run its “Co-Existing with Coyotes” program, and combined with the advice from provincial WildSafeBC, it can be boiled down to a few memorable principles. Never feed them is the first and most important — this includes not leaving food scraps outdoors and not leaving pet food on the porch. If you do come face to face with a coyote and it doesn’t move off, the right response isn’t to turn and run (that makes you look like prey), but to stand tall, make yourself big, wave your arms and shout, and if necessary throw small stones or use a water bottle to make noise, so it re-learns to fear people — this is called “hazing.” Keep dogs on a leash, and keep small dogs and young children close.
If you witness a coyote showing aggression, or behaving abnormally and clearly unafraid of people, you can call British Columbia’s RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277 (Report All Poachers and Polluters), and the BC Conservation Officer Service will assess and handle it. Reporting isn’t about “taking it away,” but about letting professionals track hotspots and step in early, so small frictions don’t escalate to the point where an animal has to be removed.
Timing is worth noting too. Coyotes enter their pup-rearing season from late spring into summer, when den-guarding parents become more sensitive to people or dogs coming close — which is why parks often add warning signs, or even temporarily close some areas, during this period; come autumn and winter, as that year’s pups leave the den to explore, sightings on the urban fringe rise again. Whatever the season, coyotes are wildlife protected under BC law, and removal is never the first choice — what really needs adjusting is usually the human side. Leaving their wildness to them is, in fact, the best protection for both.
It’s worth noting that these urban wildlife encounters in Metro Vancouver aren’t limited to coyotes. Earlier this year, East Vancouver saw a rare black bear that wandered in and had to be handled by conservation officers — the same logic of “don’t leave food, keep your distance, call the hotline.” For visitors from overseas, this is actually one of the captivating sides of Canada’s outdoors: the city and the wild are close neighbours, and as long as you know the boundaries, you can enjoy it with peace of mind.
So next time you stroll through Stanley Park, cycle the seawall, or hike the North Shore mountains, keep these few things in mind: store food away, pack out your trash, keep your distance from animals. To plan Vancouver’s outdoor itineraries in more depth, see our Canada attractions overview; if you’ve just arrived and want to get the ins and outs of daily life in one place, start with our Canada life guide. Whether people and wildlife can coexist well often comes down to what we ourselves choose to do.
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