Coyotes kill 19 year old woman

[Goose]

Don't know if you all saw this or not but thought it was something worth posting.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091028/ap_on_re_ca/cn_canada_coyote_attack
A lot of us deal with coyotes so please keep this in mind.

[nhdeerchaser]

They make me nervous when I'm sitting on the ground in the pre-dawn if I'm not in my treestand if I hear them around.

Mike

[reeper0697]

Thats too bad to hear. I worry about them turkey hunting on the ground as I have called them in a few times and I have a cousin who was turkey hunting and he heard a noise on the other side of the tree, so he turned around and said one had lunged at him, but as soon as it found out he wasn't a turkey it took off and he shot at it.

[vipertech]

Wow! Interesting.  And I just got done posting in this thread....
 
http://forum.deeranddeerhunting.com/tm.aspx?m=56362
 
 

[buckfarmdude]

Wow, that's crazy. Anytime I have encountered coyotes they seem so skittish. Was their any evidence of rabies (the inevitable question)?

[hereley]

That is pretty sad, I couldn't imaging going out that way.  Its really odd timing though too.  I am actually reading a novel right now set in my hometown about how coyotes take over after the DNR eradicates most of the deer for CWD.  Its completely ridiculous that this would happen but a fun read.  Its called "Coyotes" by Ron Roberts.

[msbadger]

That is horrible ....I'm not surprised...as I was circled on the way to my stand one morning...scared me so bad I forgot I had my gun for a moment....When I regained my scenses..I shook gun action and they dispersed and I ran for the stand...at day light went home and called DEC...they said I was breakfast!...the yotes send in a couple from pack to circle prey before attack...the were 5 in total...2 circled me....yotes are changing ...more aggressive and bigger....perhaps due to interbreeding with feral dogs....

[Squirrelhawker]

Tragic no question. But you can be sure there is much to this story that we don't know, and may never know. When these rare encounters happen, there are always reasons. And my experience tells me it is often a combination of things.
 
Since speculation and mystery solving is often part of my job:
 
Since Brown's Law dictates the farther north-the larger the body size, I'm willing to bet they were good size yotes to begin with.
 
A hiking trail would be a premier area for wildlife to become habituated to humans, especially in a huge park like Banf.
 
I know nothing of the deceased, but upon looking at her photos she appears as somewhat of a waif of a girl, not much over 5ft and perhaps less than 120 pounds. And,was she carrying food? Was she feeding wildlife? Was she carrying anything like a hiking staff, walking stick etc?
 
Was she one of those folk singers who sang about, and wanted to become one with all of God's creatures?
 
With two animals involved, rabies would seem unlikely but hasn't been ruled out.
 
People do really, really dumb things when it comes to the wildlife and the outdoors.
 
I hope we hear of a good investigation, where we can all benefit, even the coyotes.
 
I have treated a few injured brush-dogs over the years. To give you an idea of how ferocious they can be, when we have to manipulate one, we just toss a blanket over them and pick them up like puppies.

[Squirrelhawker]

ORIGINAL: msbadger

That is horrible ....I'm not surprised...as I was circled on the way to my stand one morning...scared me so bad I forgot I had my gun for a moment....When I regained my scenses..I shook gun action and they dispersed and I ran for the stand...at day light went home and called DEC...they said I was breakfast!...the yotes send in a couple from pack to circle prey before attack...the were 5 in total...2 circled me....yotes are changing ...more aggressive and bigger....perhaps due to interbreeding with feral dogs....

 
While biologially possible, interbreeding with dogs is little more than urban legend. Any female coyote that would choose to breed with a dog would get none of the vital help she needs in raising the pups and guarding the densite. Coydogs simply do not exist. DEC officers are really good at enforcing conservation law. They wouldn't however be my first choice for detailed natural history and behavior. Minus the badge, they are just people with same predilections, foibles, and often mis-information as a lot of the rest of us. If I were to worry about a coyote, it would not be the one that I could see.

[69Viking]

ORIGINAL: msbadger

That is horrible ....I'm not surprised...as I was circled on the way to my stand one morning...scared me so bad I forgot I had my gun for a moment....When I regained my scenses..I shook gun action and they dispersed and I ran for the stand...at day light went home and called DEC...they said I was breakfast!...the yotes send in a couple from pack to circle prey before attack...the were 5 in total...2 circled me....yotes are changing ...more aggressive and bigger....perhaps due to interbreeding with feral dogs....

I hate to say but I think it's only a matter of time before we see more instances like this. While humans keep the deer population in check with hunting not much is being done to control the coyote population and all around the country you are hearing more and more reports of coyotes and them getting close to humans. As the coyote population grows and humans keep the deer population and other game animals in check we take away from the coyote's food source while their population grows. If they have a tough time finding food it only makes sense they would attack humans just as any other predator would and does.

3 years ago our camp never had coyotes but in the past two years they have shown up and more and more I hear of other stories where coyotes never existed in places but now they do. Coyotes are the one animal I won't hesitate to shoot if I'm on stand deer hunting. Not only am I going to remove a predator of the game animals I am hunting I feel I'm also helping to protect the young kids we have running around the camp during the hunting offseason. Sorry, that's just how I feel, don't tell PETA!