The mother of Taylor Mitchell, the 19-year-old attacked and killed by coyotes while hiking in a national park in Cape Breton, has released a statement. It includes the following passage;
When the decision had been made to kill the pack of coyotes, I clearly heard Taylor’s voice say, “please don’t, this is their space”. She wouldn’t have wanted their demise, especially as a result of her own. She was passionate about animals, was an environmentalist, and was also planning to volunteer at the Toronto Wildlife Centre in the coming months.
Nice of her to think of others during her time of grief.
Update – This comments thread has been nominated for the distinguished SDA Best Comments Thread Ever Award, as exemplified by the following;
I concede I have lost this exchange simply because of the obvious omission on my part regarding the resourcefulness of humans as illustrated by the appropriate Star Trek reference.
Great idea, mom — let’s let your daughter’s death be a lesson.
To the coyotes, that is, who’ll now know that killing humans is easy, tasty and without consequences.
Why the hell would you want your daughter’s death to put other people, especially children, at risk of dying the same way?
This would be like MADD giving drivers one for the road.
Walt Disney?
I heard he killed off allot of lemmings to make some documentary?
Surprised no one has even mentioned rabies though. Coyotes like most wild animals are very shy when it comes to humans, like fox’s they can smell you from a km or more.
Try hunting one sometime. Clipped one with a .22 once from about .5k.
But then I learned to shoot in a armoury basement.
She’s just trying to make sense of it all. It’s hard to think clearly, when you’re in shock. People need to grieve in private. Those who step to the microphone, before the body is even cold, tend to make fools of themselves.
“I say Kill Them! Kill Them All!” – Private Johnny Rico SST
Where is all that “eye for an eye”, revenge, closure and anger stuff? Have we become so disconnected from nature by living in our cities that we do not understand the danger that nature’s predators are to all of us? Are we so used to docile creatures in captivity and documentaries that do not show the brutality but just the fun and playful wild babies that we forget how cruel and dangerous the world is?
I think this explains “wolf huggers” or in this case a “coyote hugger” they seem to forget that nearly ever thing in nature has the potential to kill us and has been attempting to do that since we appeared in the ecosystem, we are not top of the food chain naturally… not even close. Only by keeping the predators out of our territory do we carve out any sanctuary at all.
In our natural state sans technology and even using our reasoning brains we are ill-equipped to survive except as a vast herd of prey animals. We are weak, low tolerance for hot and cold, no defensive weapons (teeth/claws), slow moving, no enhanced senses, it is amazing we managed to survive long enough to evolve at all.
I would simply ask this mother this, Would you want them to be free to kill another mother’s child albeit perhaps in another town if they trap and move them, once they learn they can kill a human they will again, can you live with that?
Der sweet brainless girls in late adolescence do
immeasurable harm to the world. This time it fell
on one of them. It is very sorrowful.
Let’s hope the coyotes had a good bite to eat.
The ultimate in altruism (other-ism)where the other isn’t even human.
The only reason wild animals like these were ever “killed” was because they attack livestock, ie. chickens, sheep, goats, wolves will attack cattle.
Never because they were any danger to humans.
Except may be for some renegade bear or the odd wild cat.
Rabies is usually the cause for attacks on humans..
She should get a free membership in the Darwin Awards Committee.
“Kill them, kill them all” -Captain Hook
“Nearly everything in nature has the potential to kill us.”
Ever see Caddyshack? Like the gopher that created such havoc and chaos. When I saw that I thought, “I sure don’t want to meet up with a gopher.” But then I thought, “My boot is bigger than their head.” So I went out and stomp on one and sure enough I crushed his head. Now I feel so empowered to crush any animals head. I’ve done mice, rats, gophers, crickets. I don’t like those tent caterpillars though. There are so many and they are so gooy. Their guts get stuck in the tread of my army boot and tracks throughout the house. I haven’t tried coyotes though. I’ll test it on the neighbors cat first to see how that works.
Anyway, anyone who says I’m not on the top of the food chain just hasn’t climbed high enough to see whats up there.
“Rabies is usually the cause for attacks on humans..”
“Lack of fear” is usually the reason that wild canines attack humans. There have been numerous coyote attacks in recent years involving coyotes taking pets in close proximity to owners (including leashed dogs) and taking bites at small children.
It’s because the risk to a coyote in approaching a human has diminished to near zero in recent decades.
“lack of fear” you probably have a legitimate point there, – Colonel blanks
Illiquid Assets:
“In our natural state sans technology…”
You don’t get it do you? We are on the top of the food chain precisely because our “natural state” is to be the one creature that can fashion the raw materials around us into the tools that put us on top of the food chain. As soon as the most primitive of our ancestors learned to throw rocks at their prey and wear the skins of other animals, we achieved that level.
The grieving mother’s nutso concern for the animals is grounded in the false premise (common among life-long urban dwellers) that we kill animals that attack humans for revenge. That’s crap and is indicative of their naive and inexperienced upbringings.
Yukon Gold hit it right on the head. Animals that attack humans – from bears and cougars right on down to domestic dogs MUST die. They can’t be allowed to get away with it or they’ll do it again.
Before their first kill of a human, the overwhelming majority of wild animals would simply rather have nothing to do with us. Simply put, they don’t know enough about us (i.e. how we taste and whether or not we can fight back). So, they normally go off and leave us alone. That’s why 9 times out of 10, you can come across a black bear and live to tell the tale. Generally, you only have to fear them if they have their young nearby or they’re mad with hunger.
But the second they become unafraid of humans – either because the moronic city types start feeding them or because they tangle with a human and pull of a successful kill – they must be destroyed.
Miss Mitchell’s mother simply doesn’t understand this.
That’s why they’re called “wild animals”.
They are oblivious to any human agenda.
Pity Taylor wasn’t equipped to defend herself.
In this neighborhood, cats and poodles are taken by coyotes quite often.
Also, a Bobcat made off with a leashed poodle. When the women tried to challenge the cat, she was also threatened.
It is commonplace to see coyotes roaming the semi rural streets here – in and out of the vineyards.
If you were a coyote what would you do? Try and chase down some skinny, street smart rabbit or go for a plump, high protein pet that announces it’s presence on a regular basis.
Anyone ever check the stats. on deaths caused by non-wild animals?
A friends dad was attacked by a domestic bore hog. He nearly died from his injuries and I recall needed “hundreds of stitches”. He was a healthy strong farmer.
Domestic animals probably kill and injure more humans than any wild animals.
Are we going to therefor kill off all the domstic stock as well. – Master Sgt. Airborn
No need to be nasty. The girl suffered a horrible death.
It’s very difficult to understand her mother’s reaction, though. She should understand that coyotes are extremely adaptable and that “their space” has greatly expanded. Killing is the best way to ensure they won’t learn to prey on humans.
I didn’t know that Cape Breton Island had coyotes. They can’t be native.
A dog may be man’s best friend, but a .38 is woman’s.
Habituated animals are the real problem. A national park, regular hikers, lots of garbage and free food, why wouldn’t the coyote associate people with food? Here in BC we have problems with coyotes on school grounds either being fed or stealing kids lunches. It’s just a small step from there to taking a chunk of the kid. People have to stop seeing these animals as cute, or only reacting because we encroach on them, it’s all bull! Coyotes seek people, as do black bears, skunks, raccoons and so on because we PROVIDE habitat that is rich in food.
Sort of the same theme, those “save the polar bear” ads will probably result in a lethal attack. I watched one ad, where some people were stroking a tranquilized mother bear, while the cubs crouched beside them. It looked like the bears were so happy to interact with those thoughtful humans.
A binge of hunting coyotes won’t have much effect. It’s going to take a sustained effort to put them back in their place. A bounty would be a good start. When I was a young boy, in NS, there was a bounty on bears. I think it was around $50. When someone saw a bear, there was a posse headed to the area, immediately. Bears learned to stay the hell away from people. Think of the boost to the economy. The government could fire dozens of useless biologists, and spend the money on bounty. I can assure you, the population of coyotes would be under control.
“I didn’t know that Cape Breton Island had coyotes. They can’t be native.”
For the first twelve years of my life, I lived 20 miles from the causeway to Cape Breton and we use to go on hunting trips onto the island. I don’t know if they are native or not…but they were there then (late 70s to early 80’s). We could sometimes hear them, but I never actually saw one.
Things must have changed. We were always taught that humans had little to fear from them. “Coyotes are cowards” was the saying.
I live right in the middle of a large city (Edmonton). We have a big healthy coyote in our neighbourhood, which pretty much keeps to herself. The nice thing is that since she moved in, the occurence of cat poop in my flowerbeds and garden has gone down to zero. Coincidence?
With a little luck rural dwellers soon won’t have to go one on one with Disney’s creatures threatening them or their domestic animals. With the introduction of “green” bins into the cities it will be a wonderful buffet of meat scraps, stale granola and diaper contents for the wild life to enjoy within the cities/towns as a ready food source. Wild animals have a tendency to go where the going is easy…and the thought of coyotes munching on eco-nuts instead of my critters gives me a certain amount of pleasure somehow.
And Blanks at 11:59…domestic livestock that shows aggression towards humans meets an early demise.
turtle- I wouldn’t be so giddy about coyotes eating cats. Dogs will be next. After that, keep a closer watch on toddlers.
I used to be disgusted by coyote hunters, in southern AB. They used specially trained dogs. There were “chase dogs”, usually greyhounds, and “kill dogs”, usually Irish wolfhound cross breeds. I thought it was cruel and sadistic, but my opinion has changed. I’m not sure, but I think the practice was banned. It would be a very effective way to clean up the national park system.
I grew up in Cape Breton and I’d never seen a coyote on the island, but like bryceman, I’ve heard them while I was camping.
I now live in southern Ottawa and saw my first coyote “in the wild” within the last year. I was on my way home from work and it was in a field less than 1000 feet from some houses.
I’ve seen them a couple of times since in the same area. It’ll only be a matter of time before someone is attacked here.
And Blanks at 11:59…
for you domestic dog lovers out there.
and any domestic livestock is a danger to humans especially to children -so, Kill them All.
Pet dogs account for 31 deaths per year in the U.S. The Pit Bull is not a recognized breed of dog. There are many mutts that resemble the pit bull that kill people, so classification is difficult. The Pit bull variety is by far the largest killer of humans, followed by Rottweiler’s and Husky’s. Dozens of different breeds can kill people. Basset Hounds, Beagle’s, Dauschund’s, Labradors, and even Golden retrievers have killed humans.
Wolf deaths usually occur when people bring them home as pets. Three small children have been killed by pet wolves in the past 30 years. In the wild, there has not been a fatal wolf attack in the U.S. since 1888. (Two deaths have occurred in Canada in the past 10 years)
A 12 foot pet Burmese python recently strangled a 2 year old girl to death in Florida. http://www.examiner.com/x-15540-New-Orleans-Top-News-Examiner~y2009m7d1-12-foot-Python-kills-toddler.
turtle @12:07- Be careful. That absence of cat poop might be replaced by ‘turtle’ poop some day when you unexpectedly round a corner. 😉
Well, at least “climate change” wasn’t invoked – yet.
Wait for it.
Garth
I have coyotes in my back yard pretty much daily
My dogs do their jobs but Lately I’ve started taking pot shots at the coyotes to help them out.
They are big this year and getting bolder.
Sounds like its time for shoot to kill.
Maybe get a couple of wolf hounds, but they have to be 2 years before they can hunt.
In the wild, there has not been a fatal wolf attack in the U.S. since 1888.
~blanks
Why? This is why:
A massive extermination campaign started by early settlers and fur-traders in Washington had accomplished its goals by the 1940s, and today there are more reports of Sasquatch here than of wolves.
http://www.conservationnw.org/wildlife-habitat/return-of-the-wolf
Killing top tier predators is a good idea.
Exterminating them all, wolves, bears, cougars, coyotes, would be a good thing.
Quote:
Eating livestock *is* a danger to humans. We’re all in competition for the same food.
“Exterminating them all, wolves, bears, cougars, coyotes, would be a good thing.”
Why is it that stories like this often attract some of the most ridiculous comments??
“Beagle’s, Dauschund’s have killed humans”.
Not trying to say wild animals aren’t dangerous but just like this H1N1 flu business these things get blown way of proportion.
Probably, as someone mentioned by the “city dwellers” going into a panic first ask questions later mode.
On the other hand are the animal-hugger types that want to criminalize snail stomping. murderers
mosquito’s are apparently the most dangerous creature on earth to humans, killing over 3 million of us each year.
go back to my tin shop now
When it comes to twisted views on wildlife and nature, Disney is only half the problem. The wider problem is what I call the “Disney-Suzuki Mind-F..k”. This is partially the cause of the modern day madness that sees living humans as a subordinate component of the food chain. Think equivalence of self-detonating Jihads for Gaia.
And just in case anyone thinks this (madness) is trivial, the Green Party captured 7% of the vote during the last election and they don’t have a hold on all of the insanity by a long shot.
ChrisinMB, what is your problem?
Are you stupid?
Why shouldn’t these top tier predators be exterminated?
“Why shouldn’t these top tier predators be exterminated?”
Maybe I misunderstood your use of “exterminate” It’s one thing to control and manage, but exterminate to me is implying total elimination.
Top tier predators are required to maintain herd health and control population of lower tier wild herbivores. Preventing these tragedies (on both sides of the human wildlife equation) is best served by allowing hunts. The predators learn to keep a healthy distance and stick to their normal prey.
You can’t achieve that by killing off only the problem offenders. They need to be routinely hunted and harassed.
We are now characters in the new beast seller: The Green Revolution or “how the Left took us from top of the food chain to menu items” in one generation. Nature IS beautiful. Uncontrolled pollution IS ugly and dangerous. However the false Green path to a beautiful clean environment is being led by self-serving jet set prevaricators who are using our children’s school created eviro-mental-ism for their own purposes. The Green puppet masters do not give a rat’s patooty about what happens to anyone,any animal or anything except their bloated bank accounts and their celebrity status that they could get anywhere else but from the terminally naive.
Yeah. Totally eliminate them.
More deer, elk, moose, caribou for human hunters, both foreign and domestic.
A nice spike in revenue from domestic and tourist hunters to kill the predators.
Lower risk to hunters, anglers, hikers, climbers, picnickers, cross country skiers, and livestock would be great.
What, exactly do your objections, and ridicule, consist of or are they just empty?
Which lower tier wild herbivores would those be, Kate?
we are the top tier predator, it seems a few of you forget that.
Of course, there are those of you that will deny this horrible truth, but in a natural setting humans get very sick eating veggies alone.
Depending on the attitude I think there may be some just cause for those that consider humans to be a “top predator” and are considering their “extermination” as the cure.
Hitler isn’t the only one that’s thought about that you know.
occult 202
“Yeah. Totally eliminate them.”
ok then.. that settles it, you are crazy
Coyotes are a real menace where we live too. But I’m not sure the theories in these comments can be generally applied to all animals.
If a lion in Africa chows down on a person who wanders into the wild bush, does that mean it should be hunted down and killed? I would say not.
Some will advocate killing it because it would have acquired a taste for human flesh. But the key point is that the lion will *always* eat you if it is hungry, whether it has tasted human flesh or not. And it will never fear you because it is a vastly superior fighting machine compared to a human.
Not to rub salt in a wound but any animal that kills a human being has to be killed. I’m sure victims of animals attacks would agree.
A few years ago in North Saskatchewan, wolves killed a guy photographing them. He’d made a habit of going out to see the wolves, who were attracted by a waste dump. The wolves got used to him, sized him up and guess what they saw … supper.
In the Saskatchewan Parkland on the other hand, where wolves and coyotes are shot on sight, they just about turn themselves inside out to flee when they spot humans. Only when they aren’t hunted do they become at first brave, then curious, then “hungry”. The coyotes within Saskatoon though, are creepy … because they aren’t hunted and are often way too tame.
In the real world, you are either predator or prey and those who forget their place on that continuum end up being dined on.
As an aside, the predator/prey rule generally applies to human interaction as well … especially on a geopolitical scale when dealing with predator species like Islam and fascism. People like this girl and her mother are prey species.
The scenario envisioned when story first came out was of the young naive lady from Toronto feeding the two coyotes some of her lunch,(as she has now been ascribed status as “enviromentalist” see this lunch as tofu sandwich). when sandwich was gone the coyotes, not speaking “hugger-eese”, bit the hand that fed them, panic ensues, and with that scent comes catastrophy. The mother seems to be wanting to cash in on her daughters celebrity as singer-songwriter, look how Michael Jackson’s career has exploded since his death. Watch for a JUNO to be won posthumously. Do apologise for speaking ill of the dead and hope GOD will understand. Perhaps the career path should not have been folk-singer but rather rocker under the tutelage of Ted Nugent. Isn’t the Toronto Wildlife Center home to captured gang-bangers and paroled liberal bag-men?
there is not differnce between animal and human when it come to where they can live and immigrant in big picture look for shelter for all animal lovers but they must get under control in their population or thier behaviour
give visa for illegal immigrant animal in Canada
put board and count them and stop let them go to any place they want to go lol
Start new mission
take all wild animal in fence all of them
take them all and put fence around them
such as
coyotes
put animals who are not wild live in jungle neare big trees like rabit or cat etc.. with id around their neck to count them
there is no security if we can see in winter
any coyotes can come backyard of big house too
this is danger to young kids
Coyotes are not a danger to humans who enter the bush prepared and understanding they are in the wilderness where the rule of nature and not man applies.
Ignorance is dangerous, ignorance like that of big city dwellers who push to take the weapons away from those living in close proximity with wildlife.
When I grew up in northern BC you were considered an idiot if you went into the bush without a rifle, even just off the road a bit.
Nature is not cute and adorable, it is vicious, brutal and not for the uninitiated, without the proper knowledge your a meal on the hoof.
Bryce you are the one missing the point.
Do not be so proud of our species move to the top of the food chain via technology most of us do not have the knowledge to replicate, remove access to it and you are prey, plain and simple. Hence the sans technology preface to the comments.
We cannot defend ourselves without technology and even with it we “civilized” the instincts required to defend ourselves out of us, we feel safe as the “top of food chain” as you would see us. So safe as to enter a habitat we have little working knowlege of without any way to defend ourselves.
That is the point of the post living in cities people see wild animals as cute and cuddly because we are told they are by the various species huggers and portrayals of predators as afraid of man (see the comments section for many examples), they are not afraid of man they are afraid of man’s technology. We keep them at bay via control of our territory, just like all competitive species do.
I would put money on it that if I dropped almost anyone into a situation where you have no defense but “rocks and sticks” and a pack predator decided to kill you, trust me you would be dead. That is why we only survived by tribalism, grouping for mutual safety and survival, just like a herd animal.
Some humility as to man’s actual place in the wider ecosystem goes a long way in self preservation and a greater appreciation of nature. Acceptance of the danger is the first step in avoiding or surviving it.
blanks
you a city folk, or what
around here coyotes are big (hybrids) and damn agressive with NO fear of humans
the little guy (coyote) that I found dead in the horse shelter this spring made the mistake of wondering into occupied territory