Key Thesis Findings
This project explored how print news media in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) portrayed coyotes as well as the impacts of this discourse on possibilities for human-coyote coexistence in urban and suburban areas. Using a mixed-methods approach, a media analysis was conducted to determine how the print news media portrays coyotes. Next, surveys were distributed to analyze how these news portrayals impact people’s perceptions of urban coytoes. Finally, trail camera data was collected to determine how humans impact coyotes’ daily lives and what interactions, if any take place. The highlights of this work are displayed below.
Media Analysis Results
383 news articles from Metroland over the past five years (2018-2023) were identified and individually surveyed for content regarding coyotes, including interactions and experiences between people and coyotes. Common descriptions and words were identified that were used to describe coyotes and the overall tone of individual articles towards urban coyotes was assessed. The following keywords were identified:
Figure 2: Positive, negative or neutral articles in Metroland.
Figure 3: Word cloud depicting common words in media analysis. Larger words occurred more frequently.
Figure 1: Keywords identified that were used in the news media to describe coyotes.
Figure 4: Frequency of descriptive words in media analysis.
Survey Findings
267 Trent students, faculty and staff responded to the survey which asked about past experiences with and current perceptions of coyotes and possibilities for human-coyote coexistence in Peterborough.
Figure 5: Questions asked in the survey. The survey took an average of 10 minutes to complete.
Figure 6: Where respondents access their knowledge regarding coyotes. The majority of respondents cited nature programs and first hand experience as knowledge sources. The least amount of people selected news articles as their main knowledge source.
Figure 7: When asked if they had any concerns about coyotes living so close to campus, the majority of respondents said no. (n=267)
Figure 8: Identities of survey respondents. The majority of respondents were students. (n=267)
Trail Camera Results
8 Trail cameras were placed in the green spaces around Trent University Symons Campus in Peterborough, Ontario. The purpose of these cameras was to document a realistic version of coyote life as well as to document interactions, if any, between humans/dogs and coyotes.
Figure 9: Presence of humans, dogs, and coyotes in the areas surrounding Trent University’s Symons campus.
Figure 10: Locations of trail cameras
The most coyotes were seen in the Nature Areas (cameras 7 and 8). No interactions between coyotes and humans/ dogs were recorded, suggesting coyotes could be actively avoiding people and dogs. The Nature Areas provides a much needed habitat where coyotes can avoid humans/ dogs and achieve successful coexistence. This coexistence and coyote habitat is currently being threatened, with the development of Trent The Seniors Village, which has cleared a significant amount of the forested areas in the Nature Areas.