There's no respite from wildlife in city life, Greg -- at least not in Canada. Our old tomcat got skunked a few weeks ago right in his own back yard, in the downest downtown this town has to offer. Moose are occasionally spotted in our suburbs; deer are common. Raccoons are so common the city has invested serious time, energy and public money in developing coon-proof bins for compostable waste. Bears are uncommon in city limits, but not unknown.

In eastern Ontario, coyotes are a problem mainly to farmers. I know people who raise sheep near Oxford Station, and they need guard dogs to protect their woolly investment from the wily critters. (The dogs do a good job.) Every now and then the Toronto-centred media get frantic about coyotes in the ravines that criss-cross the city, but I've never read an account of a coyote attack on a human. Maybe Torontonians are smart enough to avoid them; I think it more likely the coyotes are smart enough to avoid the Torontonians.