Coyote thief makes off with Edmonton family's trail camera

EDMONTON -

Surveillance footage outside a family's home in west Edmonton captured a unique coyote visit last week.

When the Hogan family moved into the Wolf Willow neighbourhood along the river valley, they decided to set up cameras to see what wildlife happened to roam near their yard.

"Lots of deer come through here, we've had some porcupines, quite a few coyotes seem to go by every night, almost," Kevin Hogan told CTV News Edmonton.

Hogan said every now and then he reviews the footage to see if an animal approached or sniffed his cameras.

"They come by, but as soon as you come out, they take off or run from you," Hogan said.

But one morning this week, a coyote not only took an interest in the trail camera itself but took off with it.

Hogan decided to trundle through the ravine behind his home and see if he could recover it.

"It's a white camera, and I just got lucky finding it," Hogan said. "I guess it must have been something he was after."

"(I) thought that was unusual, and then next thing I know, he's starting to lick and bite at the camera unit," he added. "He must have just been chewing on it like a toy."

Hogan's dog Major spends a lot of time burying bones in the family yard. While Major's never been bothered by wildlife, Hogan says he has a theory about the coyote camera thief.

"I think he was casing the joint out and taking the surveillance out to get rid of all that and come for the bones," Hogan said.