Kamloops woman warns of coyotes following attack in Aberdeen

Photo: Kristin Nicole/Facebook

A local resident is asking people be mindful of coyotes when out on the trails after witnessing an attack.

In a Facebook post shared today (July 10), Kristin Simkins says she frequently takes her dogs on walks in the Pineview/Aberdeen area, specifically on a trail at the end of Howe Road past the Aberdeen Glen Village mobile home park.

Yesterday, around 11 a.m., she did what she's always done; this walk included her friends' dogs too (three coonhounds and one lab retriever in all).

At the end of the walk, her friends' dogs "went nuts barking," Simkins writes in the post. 

"For some reason, I just felt there was something around," she tells Castanet in an interview.

Two of the dogs took off; Simkins could see one in the distance, but not the other. 

"I was able to get them all, except for one, back to me. When the one came up, behind the dog there were two coyotes. From there, they started to walk towards me and I started immediately screaming and then I started even barking at them... doing anything I could. They kept approaching me further and baring their teeth and growling, and then my dogs and my friends' dogs went into protective mode... and started to chase them," Simkins recalls.

Luckily, her friend and her friend's boyfriend were close by and came running to help.

"I had one dog right by me and all the other three dogs were gone," she says. "We veered into the bushes and that's when my friend found two coyotes nipping and trying to attack my lab Scout."

The friend threw sticks and rocks at the animals to try to get them off.

"They backed off... they then started to try to nip at her and they actually bit her. From there, she came back and she brought my dog and her two dogs were still missing."

In the meantime, the boyfriend had run up the hill to look for the missing coonhounds.

"He got up the hill and he saw six coyotes and they had all swarmed the dog, so immediately he started yelling. Before he could grab the dog, one of them bit the dog's nose. From there, he grabbed the dog and they started trying to bite him and chase him."

The encounter has left Simkins pretty shaken up.

"I still feel really anxious. I keep thinking about it. I know it could have been way worse if they (my friends) weren't there. I don't think I could have been able to save all the dogs... I may have been attacked myself," she tells Castanet.

Simkins reached out to a conservation officer immediately after the incident and was told there are a lot of coyotes in Kamloops this time of year, as it's their pupping season.

"They actually called them 'suburban coyotes,' so they're in town, not rural coyotes. ... They will try and protect their pups and get whatever they can for themselves food-wise. They said it's very common to see them at night or first thing in the morning, but not common during the day."

She was then instructed to pack bear spray whenever she's on a walk anywhere in the city.

Castanet has reached out to the BC Conservation Officer Service for further comment. We'll update this story when we hear back. 

According to WildSafeBC's online wildlife tracking map, coyotes have recently been spotted in downtown Kamloops, around city hall, and in Barnhartvale as well.

A Kelowna woman's dog was attacked by a pack of coyotes on Canada Day.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 12 p.m. to include more comments from Kristin Simkins.

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