I was saddened to see the news this morning of a young woman killed in a coyote attack and I hope that authorities are able to track down the offending animals. Regardless of why they attacked, once any animal gets a taste for human blood, they must be put down (except perhaps endangered species). I have seen dozens of coyotes this past summer alone. They are all over the Vancouver golf courses. When I do see one, they always run away from me, and I thought that people were supposed to be safe from harm. Has the coyote population exceeded its sustainable size such that animals are now forced to hunt bigger higher risk prey? Do we need to do a coyote cull? I like how they control the squirrel population, but if they continue attacking people, we may need to remove them from our cities.
The coyote population has been flourishing, but perhaps Wylie has been flying too close to the sun. The victim in this attack was 19 years old. I have 4 nieces and nephews under the age of 19 and the last thing I want to see is one of them taken down by a wild dog. What is the best way to do a cull? Or was there something unique about the animals that attacked the young woman today? Did they have rabies, and thus the attack does not represent a predator population exceeding its natural food source and expanding its hunting parameters?
I would like more information on this incident.
Just Googled "coyote attacks". Pretty rare stuff.
ReplyDeleteEstimated 20 to 30 attacks in recorded history that resulted in injury.
Perspectively, in the US from 1979 to the late '90s, over 300 people were killed by domestic dogs.
While hunting I've come within mere yards of unsuspecting coyotes. They inevitably bolt for the nearest far away place.
Are there too many coyotes?
Probably. As long as there's ample prey (meaning things to eat), survival rates of pups are high, and they reproduce yearly.
Coyote pelts, once relatively valuable, no longer make hunting/trapping viable. Thank the anti-hunting and fur groups for that.
And usually any time the subject of "culls" comes up in the media, the granola crunching anti-everything-except-people-getting-killed-and/or-environment-being-decimated-by-critter-overpopulation crowd goes ballistic and nothing gets done.
Odds of getting hit by lightning are far greater than being attacked by coyotes. Much greater.
Springer
The young girl (she was from Toronto actually) must have been unlucky enough to come across some real nasty ones. She probably was taken by surprise and starting running away, that is the single most worst thing that one can do when confronted by an animal.
ReplyDeleteI believe one of the coyotes was hunted down and killed and they are looking for the other.
MariaS