Coyotes and the challenge of coexistence
Andrew Interisano is using his platform as a celebrated amateur wildlife photographer to build an understanding of how humans can better coexist with coyotes.
During the pandemic, while staying at his parents’ house in Niagara-on- the-Lake, Interisano was spending a lot of time outdoors and observed the urban coyotes living there. He said he developed an understanding of their territory and habits enabling him to take the 2021 photo entitled Midnight Ramblers, which was deemed Highly Commended in the Urban Wildlife category of the Natural History Museum’s 2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest.
Not only did he travel to the UK for an awards gala, rubbing shoulders with the best photographers in the business, but he also got to see his photo exhibited at the Royal Ontario Museum.
“Even more cool is having it in your hometown in the ROM, where you grow up going on field trips,” said Interisano. “It was such a surreal experience to have it shown in a place that I grew up going to as a kid.”
Interisano, now a Mulmur resident, has since been striving to understand the relationship to rural coyotes.
“It’s such a complicated issue,” he said. “I feel obligated to try to educate people as much as I can.”
He will be giving a fireside talk called Coyotes and the Challenge of Coexistence at the Mansfield Outdoor Centre’s Pine River Café on Jan. 24. The talk, supported by his photography, promises myth-busting, facts, information and no finger- pointing. Interisano said humans’ relationship with coyotes is complex and his talk will endeavour to explain how European settlers developed a negative attitude towards canids, but also about displacement, human encroachment on habitat, animal behaviour, pack dynamics and some safety tips.
Interisano will illustrate how a cultural bias has been formed against coyotes. He said from religion to Little Red Riding Hood, wolves have been demonized, in contrast to Indigenous cultures where they are revered.
He said people tend to anthropomorphize coyotes when really they are just trying to survive.
“I find it surprising that people can’t relate more to coyotes… They are family oriented mammals and they are the closest thing to a dog that exists,” said Interisano. “I understand that there is angst and fear toward the unknown and that’s why I am hoping that the more people know about coyotes, through what I post or talk about, that there is some sort of knowledge or wisdom that can be garnered from that, and we can make better decisions.”
One myth that Interisano aims to bust is that coyotes lure domestic dogs. According to Coyote Watch Canada, a volunteer not-for-profit wildlife organization that advocates positive human-wildlife coexistence with a focus on canids, “Coyotes are family oriented and do not use their family members to bait or lure other animals. When a free-roaming dog chases and harasses a coyote, the coyote will flee to the safety of family members. If a dog continues pursuit, coyotes will defend their families.”
Coyotes and the Challenge of Coexistence: A fireside conversation with award-winning photographer Andrew Interisano on Saturday, Jan. 24 is from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the main lodge.
Tickets cost $20 and include a printed postcard from the artist, baked goods, coffee and tea. Register at moc. campbrainregistration.com.
For more information about the event, contact events@ mansfieldoutdoorcentre.ca. For more from the photographer follow, @theotterbiography.
Image: Midnight Ramblers by Andrew Interisano was highly commended in the urban wildlife category of the Natural History Museum’s 2024 Photographer of the Year wards.
