Coyotes

Here is a thread where we can talk about coyotes. They thrive everywhere, from downtown Toronto to the remotest wilderness. But we don't often think or talk about them. That's because they pretty much leave us alone and we leave them alone. But this recent tragedy in Nova Scotia reminds that almost any animal can be dangerous:

HALIFAX, N.S. - A young Toronto singer-songwriter who was a rising star in the folk music industry died in hospital Wednesday after being mauled in a rare coyote attack in Cape Breton.

Taylor Mitchell was touring her new album on the East Coast and decided to stop off in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park for a hike before a performance scheduled Wednesday night in Sydney, N.S., her manager said.

Lisa Weitz said the 19-year-old singer was excited to take her new album on a three-week tour through the Maritimes, just after earning a Canadian Folk Music Awards nomination.

"She was absolutely pumped about her first tour on the East Coast and to take her songwriting craft
to new audiences," Weitz said from Toronto.

"She just had a wonderful joy of life and sharing music."

Police said Mitchell was hiking alone Tuesday when a pair of coyotes attacked her on the popular Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Officers said other hikers heard her screams for help and rushed to her aid, calling 911 at around 3 p.m. and trying to scare off the animals that are often spotted in the park.

She was taken to a hospital nearby and airlifted to a Halifax hospital in critical condition, but succumbed to her injuries Wednesday.

Paul Maynard of Emergency Health Services said she was already in critical condition when paramedics arrived on the scene and was bleeding heavily from multiple bite wounds over her entire body.

"She was losing a considerable amount of blood from the wounds," he said.

RCMP spokeswoman Brigdit Leger said officers shot one of the two animals, apparently wounding it, but both managed to get away.

An official with Parks Canada said they have barricaded the entrance to the trail where Mitchell was attacked and were trying to find the animals to determine what prompted such an unusual attack.

Helene Robichaud, the park's superintendent, said there have been a handful of reports of aggressive coyotes over the last 15 years, but they have not seen any attacks on people.

"There's been some reports of aggressive animals, so it's not unknown," she said. "But we certainly never have had anything so dramatic and tragic."

Mitchell's MySpace site shows the singer standing in the woods with her guitar and a suitcase at her side, along with the cover photo of her album, "For Your Consideration."

Her biography says Mitchell was born and raised in Toronto, and studied music and dance from an early age at the Etobicoke School of the Arts.

"She was a beautiful, dynamic, young, talented woman and we're all so saddened and shocked," Weitz said through tears.

"She was such a young and old soul at the same time. She just knew how to beautifully craft a song."

_________________

"The monkeys are throwing stuff at me again."
-Survivorman in Costa Rica

Whoa.

I'm speechless.

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Using dial-up is like riding a tricycle at Indy.

Ya i just read that story this morning, .... thats sad. And it strikes me as so wierd that coyotes would attack a human ?.
were they sick ?,...

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A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

Apparently that area has had coyote problems before, but not this severe. If sickness is a problem, I would think it would have been noted before now. It could be that the coyotes in that area have become used to humans and lost their fear of them, though that alone would not seem to account for such attacks. In Toronto, coyotes live in very close proximity to humans without incident. (Unless you are a very small dog. The most notorious coyote problem to hit the news this year involved a coyote snatching a chiuahua from its owner's back yard.) Possibly the coyotes in that area have interbred with domestic dogs, messing up their natural instincts.

I don't remember hearing of that singer before, but the way her career was going, I'm sure I would have.

_________________

"The monkeys are throwing stuff at me again."
-Survivorman in Costa Rica

Here's Taylor Mitchell singing. Boy, she was good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LqW3DzkDeY&feature=related

_________________

"The monkeys are throwing stuff at me again."
-Survivorman in Costa Rica

There are coyotes all around here, there are lots of farmers fields etc that they can run through, catch mice rats rabbits.
Any time i have seen one they bolt ! ... are are for the most part scruffy & skiny.

Ive heard of this Girl before, not to long ago. Didnt hear any of her music.
You would think a person would just go nuts on small coyotes like that ? and injure them.
1 hard kick to the hind leg or head. Maybe she just wasn't that kind of person. Sad way to go.
I would assume she lost to much blood ?.

_________________
A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

Yes, when I first heard the story, she was in hospital suffering from many bites and loss of blood. It was the second time I came across the story that she had died.
We don't know what kind of wilderness knowledge she had. She might have panicked and tried to run when she encountered two coyotes that become aggresive.

_________________

"The monkeys are throwing stuff at me again."
-Survivorman in Costa Rica

Ya, running just fires up there Preditor instinct.
She sounds good Cool

Im sure many sales will follow.

_________________
A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

Here's the latest on the coyote/human/dog situation in my town. The Rouge is a very large
area of basically wilderness on the east boundary of Toronto. Many of the photos I have posted
here are from there. The Beach (also known as "Beaches" because it is a series of beaches)
is a trendy neighbourhood on the waterfront of Toronto's east end. I have yet to see a coyote
anywhere in Toronto.

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Locking eyes with a 70-pound coyote would put most people on edge – especially if the wild
animal is not afraid of your two 90-pound dogs.
"He basically has no fear of us," said Rick Shanahan, describing repeated encounters with a
coyote he said attacked his dog in Glen Rouge Park in the spring.
Shanahan is 6 feet tall. His dogs – King, a Bernese mountain dog mix, and Rocky, a Labrador
retriever mix – each weigh about 90 pounds.
"I heard him yelping in the bush," he said, describing the afternoon King was attacked in a
wooded area. "He came running back with his tail between his legs with the coyote following him,"
said Shanahan, who was close to Sheppard Ave. E. and Port Union Rd. He estimated the coyote
weighed between 60 to 80 pounds, but thick fur made it hard to tell, he said. "He was a big boy."
Shanahan's dog was not injured.
Coyotes have long been spotted in wooded areas in and around the city, but the fatal mauling of
a Toronto folk singer in Nova Scotia and reports of aggressive behaviour by other coyotes have
escalated fears lately. City officials say the number of reported sightings have jumped to 68 this
year from 15 last year.
Last month, Taylor Mitchell was attacked by two coyotes as she walked through Cape Breton
Highlands National Park. She died in hospital.
Last week, Parks Canada staff tracked and destroyed a healthy female coyote they believed was
involved in the attack. They are still searching for the second.
In February in Toronto, a coyote snatched a small dog in front of its owner in broad daylight. The city
tried in vain to catch the animal. Beach-area residents spotted a coyote wandering the neighbourhood
again on Sunday.
In areas of Durham region, which borders the Glen Rouge Park in parts, a hybrid animal labelled the
coywolf, a mixture of western coyote and eastern wolf, has been linked to livestock deaths. A biologist
from Trent University described the animal to the Star as possessing the size and aggression of wolves,
combined with the lack of fear demonstrated by coyotes.
Carl Bandow, supervisor with Toronto Animal Services, said the jump in coyote sightings could be tied to
reports of aggressive animals in the news.
"I would suspect with the Beach-area coyote that people were more aware," Bandow said.
Between late February and early March, after the dog snatching, the city received 23 reports of coyote
sightings. Shortly after Mitchell was mauled, the city logged five calls from south Etobicoke.
After Shanahan reported the incident at Glen Rouge Park, animal services workers patrolled the area
but failed to spot a coyote. He said the coyote, which got within 60 metres, was not frightened away
by yelling.
He has since seen the coyote three more times and carries a baseball bat when he walks.
One man who has used the park and surrounding area for 70 years said he has never seen a coyote
act aggressively and there is nothing to fear.
"If (walkers) are in an area less travelled, the coyote will stop and look at you and try to figure out
who you are," said Bill Lewis, 82, program director at Rouge Valley Conservation Centre. He also said
there have been no reports of coywolves, but said only experts could tell the difference.
Lewis said dog owners must use common sense. If a larger dog startles or confronts a coyote, the
coyote could bolt but could also attack. Smaller dogs could be considered a food source, so all dogs
should be leashed, he said.
Shanahan said he loves coyotes, but feels this one should be removed.
"At the end of the day we have always put human safety ahead of animals. Especially after what
happened out East."

With files from Canadian Press

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Here's a link to the newspaper site, where the above article includes a photo of dog
owner Rick Shanahan, and a video of the notorious chihuahua chomping Beach coyote.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/724075--coyote-fears-grow-in-gta

_________________

"The monkeys are throwing stuff at me again."
-Survivorman in Costa Rica