Wildlife

We share our municipality with a wide variety of animals that have adapted to our changing rural and urban environment. When food and shelter are plentiful, and natural predators are limited, wildlife often choose to live near us. If we learn to share the environment with wildlife we can reduce problems by getting rid of sources of food, water, and shelter on our properties and we may find that these visitors can entertain us as they make their way to a more suitable home. 

The Municipality does not provide a service to deal with, or remove, nuisance or injured wildlife on private property. Calling Police about non-emergency wildlife issues can take them away from dealing with other important emergencies. On this page you can learn more information about the best way to deal with wildlife issues that may be affecting you or your property.

Who to Call?

  • If you are in immediate danger, or if the animal is aggressive and may injure someone, call the Ontario Provincial Police (9-1-1). 
  • If you have been bitten, or had direct contact with an animal, seek medical attention and the hospital will report it to the Northwestern Health Unit. 
  • If your pet or livestock has been bitten or had direct contact with a wild animal, contact your vet.
  • If your pet has been in contact with a raccoon, skunk, fox or bat that you suspect has rabies, contact your vet.
  • If you have been in contact with a raccoon, skunk, fox or bat that you suspect has rabies, contact your primary healthcare provider.
  • If a wild animal has been in contact with a raccoon, skunk, fox or bat that you suspect has rabies, contact the MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry) at 1-807-274-5337.

By-Laws of Interest

Feeding of Wildlife By-Law

By-Law 06/09, a by-law to prohibit the feeding of wildlife within the corporate limits of the Town of Fort Frances, prohibits the feeding of wild animals within the Town of Fort Frances. This includes providing availability of food attractants. Bird feeders using bird feed only, and private vegetable gardens with related compost stations are a couple exemptions. For all information, please refer to the by-law.

Property Maintenance and Occupancy Standards By-Law

Garbage and compost are common attractants of wildlife, and as per By-Law 14/09, a by-law prescribing the standards for the maintenance and occupancy of property within the municipality, the following is mandated for these:

  • All garbage must be contained in receptacles constructed of watertight material, provided with a tight fitting cover, and shall be maintained in a clean and offensive odour free condition at all times; and
  • Compost heaps are allowable, provided that the compost pile is no larger than one square meter and 1.8 metres in height and is enclosed on all sides by concrete block, or lumber, or in a suitable container, a metal frame building with a concrete floor, or a commercial plastic enclosed container designed for composting.

For all information, please refer to the by-law.

Pest Control

Listed as active in 2024:

Nor West Pest Control
https://www.spmao.ca/directory/pro/nor-west-pest-control/#
Toll Free: 800 360 1560
Phone: 807 577 2499
Address: 430 Balmoral St, Thunder Bay, ON, P7C 5G8
Service Areas: Atikokan, Dryden, Fort Frances, Kenora, Marathon, Rainy River, Thunder Bay

Do you have a pest control business and want to be added to the directory? Please email town@fortfrances.ca

Raccoons and Skunks

When we see raccoons and skunks near our homes, especially during the day, we can quickly become concerned. It is not necessary to become overly concerned with wild animals we see out during the day. Here are some tips to understand their behaviour so you can know what to report.

Never approach wildlife. Keep children and pets away from all wildlife.

While raccoons and skunks are primarily nocturnal (they are awake at night and sleep during the day), they are often seen out during the day in the spring. During the day, babies are usually sleeping, and this gives mother raccoons and skunks a chance to look for food.

Raccoons and skunks usually hibernate and sleep for the winter months. If we see them out during the day in the spring, they may simply be groggy and disoriented as they wake from hibernation.

When we have warm and mild winters, old or infirm animals are more likely to survive, and we may see more unhealthy animals in the spring.

Be very careful around any animal that is circling, somersaulting, dragging its back end, or has discharge from its eyes or nose. These symptoms can mean the animal is suffering head trauma from being hit by a car, distemper, or rabies. Rabies can only be positively diagnosed by testing the brain of the animal.

If you are having an ongoing problem with raccoons, skunks, or other wildlife, remove sources of food, water, and shelter on your property.

Canada Geese

Interactions with Canada geese commonly occur in the Spring/Summer months. They can be protective of their mate, nest, and young, so providing them with space is important.

Residents should not feed geese as they become dependent on us for food, causing them to lose their ability to seek their own food or migrate south. Items like bread and crackers provide no nutritional value.

Under the federal Migratory Bird Convention Act, it is illegal to harass, move, harm or kill any migratory bird or migratory bird eggs. It is also illegal to disturb the nest site of a migratory bird without a migratory bird permit. Therefore, if a goose or duck is nesting on your property, you will have to be patient and leave them alone until the eggs hatch and the birds vacate the nest.

Foxes

Foxes mainly feed on insects, fruits, and small mammals, including mice and squirrels. In early spring, foxes will find a den to raise their young – this may be an abandoned burrow from another animal or an excavated den underneath a man-made structure such as a shed. Foxes are shy, intelligent animals that will not approach humans unless they are sick. They are primarily nocturnal but most active at dusk and dawn.

Coyotes

Coyotes feed mainly on small animals such as mice and rabbits. Coyotes are generally shy, cautious, and non-confrontational unless they are sick or have been fed by humans. They are active year-round but are most often encountered at dawn or dusk, especially from January to March. To avoid conflicts with coyotes, do not leave food on your property, keep dogs leashed, keep cats indoors, supervise children and pets outside (i.e., small dogs), and do not approach coyotes.

What should you do if you encounter a coyote?
- Don’t run
- Back away slowly
- Stand tall, make loud noises, and wave your hands to scare it away
- Use a flashlight if walking at night

If a coyote poses an immediate threat or danger to public safety, please contact the police by calling 9-1-1.

Bears

Take these basic precautions to avoid a confrontation:
- Never store food in your tent (some parks have bear-resistant food storage facilities).
- Do not cook or eat in or near your tent.
- Do not sleep in clothes worn while cooking (clothing absorbs food odours).
- Store and carry food (and garbage) in airtight containers.
- Do not bury garbage as bears (and other animals) can easily dig it up. The bear may then become a danger to the next group of hikers.
- Hang food packs (and your toothpaste) from a tree out of reach of bears (and other animals) and away from your immediate camping area.
- Never feed a bear.
- Stay away from a mother and her cubs.
- Make noise when you walk in the bush to advertise your presence.
- Avoid scented cosmetics - bears may be attracted to perfumes, hair sprays and soaps.
- Women should be extra careful during menstruation to take steps to eliminate odours, particularly from used materials, by storing them in an airtight container.

Bears are very intelligent and complex animals. Each bear and each encounter is unique; there is no single strategy that will work in all situations. Some guidelines:

- Stay calm. Most bears don't want to attack you; they usually want to avoid you and ensure you're not a threat. Bears may bluff their way out of an encounter by charging and then turning away at the last second. Bears may also react defensively by woofing, growling, snapping their jaws and laying their ears back.
- Immediately pick up small children and stay in a group.
- Don't drop your pack. It can provide protection.
- Back away slowly, never run! Bears can run as fast as a racehorse, both uphill and downhill.
- Talk calmly and firmly. If a bear rears on its hind legs and waves its nose about, it is trying to identify you. Remain still and talk calmly, so it knows you are not a prey animal. A scream or sudden movement may trigger an attack.
- Leave the area or take a detour. If this is impossible, wait until the bear moves away. Always leave the bear an escape route.
- Bears do not like surprises. Try to avoid such encounters by being alert and making noise.
- If you surprise a bear and it defends itself, use bear spray if you have it. If contact has occurred or is imminent, PLAY DEAD! Lie on your stomach with legs apart. Protect your face, the back of your head and neck with your arms. Remain still until the bear leaves the area. These attacks seldom last more than a few minutes.
- While fighting back usually increases the intensity of such an attack, in some cases it has caused the bear to leave. If the attack continues for more than several minutes, consider fighting back.
- If a bear stalks you and then attacks, or attacks at night, DON'T PLAY DEAD - FIGHT BACK! First, try to escape, preferably to a building, car or up a tree. If you can't escape, or if the bear follows, use bear spray or shout and try to intimidate the bear with a branch or rock. Do whatever it takes to let the bear know you are not easy prey. This kind of attack is very rare but can be very serious because it often means the bear is looking for food and preying on you.

Deer

To look for tips on how to protect your property and make it less inviting to deer and what precautions you can take to avoid conflict, see this short read on the Ontario Ministry Website, Preventing & Managing Conflicts with Deer, Elk & Moose.

It is advisable, and in fact not permissable by By-Law 06-09, to feed deer within Town limits. If you do feed the deer, they will see your yard as a food source, and they may not leave the area, increasing the risk of vehicle collisions and attracting predators.

Food attractants could be any fruit, grain, mineral, plant, salt, vegetable or pellets, and may also include pet food and pet products.

Other ideas to keep deer using your yard as a food source:

  • Keep bird feeders a minimum of 2.4 metres (8 feet) off the ground;
  • Try planting flowers that are bitter or pungent, and thorny or fuzzy to keep the deer out of your yard;
  • Consider fencing in your yard or garden to keep the deer out. 

In the Town of Fort Frances, it is the White Tailed Deer that shares our greenspace with us. Although deer appear to avoid human interactions when possible, they do easily habituate to human development and use residential areas that contain sufficient cover, such as golf courses, parklands and Shrub lines. Conflicts do occasionally occur and include things such as collisions with vehicles and damage to property. To look for tips on how to protect your property and make if less inviting to deer and what precautions you can take to avoid conflict see this short read on the Ontario Ministry Website, Preventing & Managing Conflicts with Deer, Elk & Moose.