4 coyotes killed so far in Vancouver's Stanley Park cull

With four coyotes trapped and killed in Vancouver's Stanley Park cull to date, officials are now saying there may be fewer coyotes in the park than first thought, according to the Ministry of Forests.

Traps placed in the park will be locked down and deactivated this weekend because of the bad weather.

The ministry says the trapping program is expected to last two weeks before being re-evaluated.

It was announced on Friday Sept. 3. after 45 confirmed instances of people being nipped or bitten by coyotes in the four-square kilometre park since December of last year.

Earlier this month the province estimated there were up to 35 coyotes living in the park, but now the forests ministry says it is re-evaluating that number based on new data and observation.

Officials have not said when the two-week trapping period began or when it will finish. They said a further update could come as early as Monday. On Friday, it reiterated that the decision to cull the animals was not taken lightly.

"The decision to lethally remove the coyotes was not the province's first choice, and only comes after considerable effort into finding other alternatives to prevent the incidents," said the ministry in statement.

"Given the habituated nature of these coyotes, relocation is not an option."

The coyote issue in Stanley Park has led to the nightly closure of Stanley Park between 7 p.m. and 9 a.m., with extensive fencing put up to keep people out.

Officials repeatedly pleaded with park-goers not to feed wildlife, which has been attributed to the coyotes becoming food habituated and losing their fear of humans.

The Park Board has not yet said when the fencing used to close the park overnight and in the morning will be removed.

The ministry said once there is no longer a risk to the public a long-term safety plan will be developed with strategies to address human behaviour and the availability of food and garbage in the park.

"The goal of all parties moving forward is to manage the coyote population so that lethal means are not required in future," said the statement.