"Residents need to understand that if you do see wildlife and you want that interaction to be successful, you need to do what you can to leave it alone. Sometimes we get caught up in getting a photo or, telling our neighbors and sometimes the best thing to do is to leave it alone so that it can return to the forest," said Johnson."
The City of Ottawa released the results(opens in a new tab) of its Wildlife Strategy Survey showing the majority of people are in favour of protecting wildlife and want the city to take a more proactive, instead of reactive, approach to human-wildlife conflicts.
"Residents appear to be more concerned about making sure that the wildlife is protected versus protecting property," said city councillor, Laine Johnson.
"Which I think is a shift from what we saw, perhaps in 2013 when the original policy was released."
The city concluded Wildlife Strategy Review surveys last year and released the results to the public this week. The city is in the process of updating its 2013 Wildlife Strategy(opens in a new tab), which has been delayed twice now.
"We are going to see it this spring which is great, but I think the delays have been somewhat inevitable as resources have been stretched," said Johnson.
The current wildlife strategy has been met with significant controversy over the years.
Last year, police shot and killed a black bear in Kanata. Several other animals including moose, beavers and elk have also been killed since 2010.
"There is a role for obviously city bylaw, for police, for the National Capital Commission. The National Capital Commission has really well trained conservation officers so we want to see more of a collaborative approach," said Donna Dubreuil, president of the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre.
It’s an approach the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre would like to see in the updated strategy, but it says so far the city hasn’t responded to its position papers.
"I think implementing any kind of strategy is going to take partnership. It's not going to be done by simply the city sort of electing to do certain things or not do certain things on their own," said Dubreuil.
In addition to wanting to see large animals like bears protected, survey respondents also expressed concern over the city’s approach to beavers, trapping and killing approximately 150 a year.
"I think it’s outrageous to most people. We really need to protect our wetlands and beavers are probably the most influential species in maintaining our wetlands," said Dubreuil.
In 2013, it was also recommended the city hire a dedicated wildlife officer. But that hasn’t happened, stirring up frustration among residents who have wildlife concerns.
"If you are interested in seeing that happen, I think the pressure has to be on your own city councillors and make sure that they vote in the right way," said Johnson.
Johnson says education for residents is key when it comes to co-existing with wildlife.
“Residents need to understand that if you do see wildlife and you want that interaction to be successful, you need to do what you can to leave it alone. Sometimes we get caught up in getting a photo or, telling our neighbors and sometimes the best thing to do is to leave it alone so that it can return to the forest," said Johnson.
The survey found that residents are highly concerns over the risk of coyotes, despite statistics showing dogs pose a higher risk.
According to the city’s current wildlife strategy, there are approximately 350-400 injuries to residents by domestic dogs each year. But in the 46 years between 1960 and 2006, there were 142 documented coyote injuries, mostly in the western United States.
"We need to take some perspective on this and just understand. But people do need information. They need to know when to react and when not to react, or what's a threat and what's not," said Dubreuil.
The updated wildlife strategy is expected to come to council in June.
People are still getting bounced from one level of government to another when they have a question or concern about wildlife, said Johnson. It happened to a member of her staff earlier this month when the staffer had concerns about a sickly-looking coyote repeatedly sighted in the City View neighbourhood.
“Many jurisdictions have a finger in the pie of our green space. They all have some, but not all of the responsibility,” she said. “It should be easy to make one call and ensure that the correct responding agency knows about the situation. We have a wealth of expertise.”
By Emma Weller, CBC
April 1, 2024
Dan Brunton was shocked when he came face-to-face with a bear at his home a few years ago near Mud Lake.
He was curious when he heard rustling in his garbage can, presuming it was a raccoon. As he walked up to scare it away, the head of a roughly 90-kilogram black bear popped out of his garbage.
"We get young bears coming into the city fairly regularly, but this adult was a real surprise," said Brunton, a retired ecological consultant.
These kinds of encounters may be more common this year.
Earlier this month, the province issued a warning that bears might be coming out of hibernation early this spring due to warmer temperatures.
And with a lack of natural food sources available this time of the year, they'll be on the hunt for other meals.
"The problem there is that if [an animal] doesn't go away and there's some interaction with people, which is almost always the people's fault … the animal dies," Brunton said.
"That's the most common outcome of these things."
In his scenario, authorities safely got the bear back into its habitat, Brunton said — but that's not always the case.
Weaved throughout Ottawa's neighbourhoods, the Greenbelt and the Ottawa River have created homes for urban wildlife, right next to some people's backyards.
While residents reap the benefits of the city's green space and ecosystems, they also at times struggle to coexist with that wildlife.
Given Ottawa's amount of greenspace, the city has a greater responsibility when it comes to managing the city's relationship with urban wildlife, said College ward Coun. Laine Johnson.
Last year, a bear wandered into the Bridlewood neighbourhood looking for food after coming out of its hibernation and was killed by Ottawa police.
"We were all deeply disappointed," Johnson said. "If we had been able to respond in a different way, I think we could have saved that bear. And unfortunately, that was not the case."
Bears and other animals often saunter into nearby neighbourhoods in search of food, with garbage, bird feeders and vegetable gardens all serving as tempting options.
People who live around areas where urban wildlife thrive need to be educated on how to respond appropriately when animals roam onto their streets, Johnson said.
Johnson said her office will be releasing a wildlife strategy plan in September. She's also urged the City of Ottawa to invest more money to help harmonize the relationship between humans and wildlife.
Another issue that contributes to wildlife around Mud Lake and other densely populated parts of the city is that people tend to feed them, said Chris Myles, a conservation officer with the National Capital Commission.
In his experience, Myles said, when there are conflicts between humans and wild animals, that's almost always what they're about.
"They come to look at us as food sources. So rather than scuttle off, when they see somebody coming up the trail, they may start to associate you with food."
Thank you to those of you that found the time to provide feedback on the proposed permanent traffic calming plans for Moodie Drive. 167 respondents completed the online survey, which was posted online in late 2023. Residents were advised about the survey through Councillor Johnson’s email newsletter, social media platforms, and flyers which were delivered to nearby homes.
The proposed plan includes the installation of 4 speed humps on Moodie Drive between the school site and Anwatin Street. Additional measures between the school and West Hunt Club Road include the relocation of the speed display board (further south toward West Hunt Club) and dashed pavement markings which are intended to provide a visual cue for drivers to decelerate prior to entering the 40km/h zone and approaching the first speed hump when travelling northbound.
Overall, 63% of residents responded that they were very comfortable or somewhat comfortable with the plan as proposed. There was strong support from residents living on Moodie Drive, with 72% indicating that they are very comfortable with the proposed plan. Staff have compiled the survey findings into an ‘As We Heard It’ Report (link below).
I’m pleased to announce that the permanent traffic calming project on Moodie Drive will proceed, with construction taking place as early as summer 2024. We will continue to share updates about the construction timeline as they become available.
