CAMBRIDGE -- A video of a coyote in a Cambridge neighbourhood has been making its rounds on social media, but one critter control business says there might be some good reasons for more animals on the run.

Amy Loeters posted the video of a large coyote running down her street to social media earlier this week.

“I actually heard the coyote in the middle of the night, I heard it just beside our house. It woke my dog right up,” said Loeters. “I looked out and was just shocked to see like two quite large coyotes just right in front of our home."

She first spotted the two coyotes down the side of her house. One took off right away down the street, while the other lingered for some time before joining its companion.

Living in such a densely populated area, she says she was surprised to see them.

“We’re used to sort of looking for skunks and that sort of thing, but a large coyote is definitely out of the norm,” said Loeters.

A mild start to winter combined with people being home more and noticing wildlife in their area are a few of the reasons Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control is getting more calls.

“Every area in Canada, and in North America for that fact, has an issue with coyotes,"said Bill Dowd, the founder of Skedaddle. "We’ve been in business for 32 years and it seems like our calls for coyotes have increased every single year.”

He adds that coyotes can look and sound intimidating, but generally don't pose a significant threat to people unless sick or injured.

“You don't want to be running or turning your back on and running [if you encounter a coyote],” said Dowd, “You focus on it, make eye contact, make yourself as big as possible, yell at it, and bang your hands together trying to scare it away as much as possible."

He also advised against approaching or feeding the animals, limiting how often pets are left out unattended, and covering up any areas that they could use to make a den, like openings under a deck.

If a coyote does make a den on a property, the team at Skedaddle removes them by hand and releases them back into the wild.

Sightings can also be recorded on the City of Cambridge website.