Coyote Attack

[oswegatchie]

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/8833811/detail.html?rss=bos&psp=news

 

[kerry13]

Thanks for the info. This is getting close to home now. 87 is a lot of dead coyotes in 4 years. I did think you could shoot them legally? Maybe it is ok if they are killing livestock. Anyone know for sure?

 

[SAR-EMT40]

They used to be classified as vermin/varmints and could be shot on sight in many states. I don't know if that is the case in most states today.

Keith

 

[Kevin]

Fyi

See my posting already in General Backcountry about this...

Catch you later,
Kevin

 

[MikeM]

In Vermont Coyotes can be hunted 365 days a year at any hour of the day as long as you have a valid hunting license. I don't think hunting is helping to control them much. The least intelligent coyotes are killed first and the smartest coyotes continue to breed and pass their crafty ways onto their young. Where I live in north central vermont they are mostly nocturnal and you rarely catch sight of them. However they are thriving as I see lots of tracks and I often hear packs howling and yipping behind my house in the middle of the night. Very cool to hear.

 

[VFTTop'r]

What would you do if you where surrounded by coyotes?


It just may be time to start thinking about carrying some safety spray! Lead or pepper, the extra weight is worth the safety.

 

[Pat T]

Coyote attack -- additional details

The following article was printed in this morning's Worcester, MA newspaper. It gives more details about the attack.

My husband and I recently hiked to Royalston Falls (and posted a Trail Conditions report here). It is a beautiful area and we are looking forward to more hikes on the Tully Trail but this news does cause some concern.

Saturday, April 22, 2006
Coyote attacks camper

Gardner man bitten on arm

By George Barnes TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
[email protected]



ROYALSTON— The Trustees of Reservations is warning campers and hikers to take precautions after a coyote attacked a Gardner man on Monday.

The Royalston Board of Health also is advising area residents to be on the lookout for any coyote seen during the daytime that appears to be acting strangely, especially if it does not appear to be intimidated by humans.

“We are advising (them), if they are licensed to carry a firearm, to shoot the coyote immediately and call the Royalston Police, Environmental Police and Board of Health,” said Chet Hall of the Board of Health.

Mr. Hall said if the coyote is shot it will allow the Board of Health to have it shipped to a laboratory in Everett for rabies testing.

The board is hoping to find a coyote that bit John Melvin, 20, of Gardner while he was camping on the Tully Trail near Royalston Falls.

Three coyotes approached Mr. Melvin Monday night as he was cooking food over a fire, at a campsite near the Royalston Falls shelter.

He attempted to scare them off by pounding sticks together and sprayed pepper spray at them, but one of the coyotes became aggressive and bit his arm, causing several puncture wounds. He used the spray again and drove the coyote away. He then left the woods, contacting Royalston police the next morning.

Mr. Hall said there has been no sign of the coyotes; he said they may have been animals migrating through the area. There is den near the falls, he said, but he was unsure if the coyotes were using it. Mr. Melvin already has started treatment for rabies and will have to continue with the treatments until they are completed – unless the coyote that bit him is found and tests negative for rabies, he said.

The attack occurred at a site off Route 32, near the New Hampshire state line. The Trustees of Reservations owns the Falls and property surrounding it, as well as several other properties in Royalston along the Tully Trail, including Tully Lake, Jacob’s Hill and Doane’s Falls.

Mr. Hall said the coyote population in Royalston has expanded considerably even with hunting that is allowed by the state in the late fall through the winter. He said he and his son have legally shot 87 coyotes in the past 4-1/2 years, but that does not appear to have put a dent in the population.

Hunting season for coyotes ended Feb. 28 and will not open again until Nov. 1, but the Board of Health is looking to have the problem coyote shot for the public’s safety to determine if it is rabid. Rabies can only be tested if an animal is killed and its brain inspected.

Aggressive coyote attacks are unusual, but Mr. Hall said there have been several in recent years, including attacks in Greenfield and Wilmington. There have been no fatal attacks, but Mr. Hall said he believes it is only a matter of time before it happens.

The Trustees of Reservations is asking that people pack their trash and unused food after camping or hiking along the Tully Trail. Also, if they see any coyotes along or near the trail to call (978) 248-9455.

 

[forestgnome]

Thanks for the link, very interesting. I'm going camping tonight!

 

[C.Tracy]

"What would you do if you where surrounded by coyotes?"

I was surrounded by a pack of socialized wolves while attending a wolf behavior research seminar at Wolf Park, Indiana. I have a photo of the alpha male standing next to me and I think it is pretty cool. Yes, this was a wild animal, but one that has been acclimated to humans so that his flight distance was reduced and he was comfortable with my presence.

I think it is most important to understand the nature behavior of coyotes (canines)-they are opportunistic scavengers. It is far easier for wild animals to take advantage of food availability that requires little expenditure of energy, than it is to expend energy pursuing an attack. Simply said, one should not leave food scraps behind for coyotes to scavenge.

Nature takes care of itself, and randomly killing coyotes will just make them reproduce even more (as efforts to poison them has only resulted in the biological production of more offspring to compensate for the loss of the population).

Coyote attacks on people are extremely rare. There have been a small number of attacks on people in the U.S. and Canada, with most of the attacks involving small children less than 5 years of age. Since 3 million children are bitten by dogs every year, your small child is millions of times more likely to get hurt by the family pet than by a coyote.

In other words, I would be more concerned about being bitten by a dog on a trail than a coyote. I did a hike last winter in the ADK's with a group, and when I reached the trailhead there was a fox hanging around the people that were already there. A couple of the people were taking pictures of the Fox and approaching it as close as they could (they may have been giving it food, I do not remember, nevertheless, the fox was not hanging out there to get its picture taken). This incident could have turned into a possible animal bite situation also. I have a Fox den less than 500 ft from my house, and coyotes live nearby also. I have not lost a cat to one of them yet, but I know the farmer next door has lost some chickens.

 

[Jaytrek57]

I usually strap an Acme rocket to the coyote or fake him out by painting a tunnel on the side of a cliff.

beep,beep

 

[brianW]

I hike into this area on a regular basis and life within 5 miles of it also. This is the first time I have heard of coyotes attacking a human. I am wondering if they were scavenging near the shelter looking for food hikers might have thrown out in the woods. Another posiblitiy is coy dogs (wild domestic dogs) I know they were a problem in the Birch Hill area about 10 years ago.

As for the claim of 87 coyotes killed by the Halls' I would not doubt his claim him and his son are both very good hunters and would veiw them as competiotion for the other wild game the hunt and feed on.

 

[Woody]

My brother and I were hiking the M&M trail during March a few years ago. We were camping near Leverett MA and a group of what we assumed were yelping coyotes seemed to surround our tent just as it got dark. It was very freaky! We kept our trekking poles near by as we figured the sharp carbide tips were the best defense we would have. Things quieted down after about an hour and we had a peaceful night after that, but I don't think either one of us slept really soundly that night.

 

[CaptCaper]

Hunting legal here in NH as well. Year round from what my neighbor tells me. He's worried as they're in his yard more and more. He got some forms to bring us to let us know he was going to shoot them.

But what's worse is I ran into a Rottweiler on the trail that wanted to eat me,our dog and the wife up. The teen and his mom couldn't control him well. Lucky for him he didn't make it to me or he wouldn't be going down by doggie power.

This is why I bring things to give me some protection from such critters.

 

[smitty77]

Thanks for the post Pat, you beat me to it. The wife came across the article last night and I was going to post it this morning. Like Brian, I frequent that area and have not seen any coyotes during the day, but I have seen plenty of tracks. I live about 10 miles south of that area, and have heard a few at night. We even had one circling the dog kennel one night at about 2 am, with our poor Mika barking her head off trying to scare it away. It quickly vacated the area when I turned on the flood light. They're out there, especially in this section of north cental Mass. The "urban sprawl" seems to be pushing them into the few remaining open areas like the Trustees properties. My biggest fear is encountering that odd fox or coyote with rabies during the day.

 

[brianW]

One of my co-workers heard from her husband (he works for the MDC at the Quabbin) that the person that was bit is being treated for rabbies and that he did "test" positive for it. Also a lot of kids in the area use the shelter and throw out extra food into the woods.

 

[Dalraida]

Coyotes and Bison

Just up the dirt road from my house in Wentworth, New Hampshire is the Atwell Hill Farm. Up until last summer it was the Atwell Hill Bison Farm. There in the woods and rolling pastures were some of the biggest and most beautiful American Bison (Buffalo) that you can imagine. Last fall the owners sold off their herd because they were sickened by the continuous loss of almost all of their new born calves to a pack of Coy Dogs which they had tried to eliminate for years. Seems that the parent buffs did not know how to defend against the ravages of these killers. Now as I drive by the fields that formerly held these majestic animals, standing around looking like models for the Buffalo Nickle, the loss saddens me.

 

[SAR-EMT40]

One of my co-workers heard from her husband (he works for the MDC at the Quabbin) that the person that was bit is being treated for rabbies and that he did "test" positive for it. Also a lot of kids in the area use the shelter and throw out extra food into the woods.

I am aware of no "test" for rabies other than removing the infected animal’s brain and examining it under a microscope. Because rabies is virtually always fatal and by the time symptoms appear it is too late to treat. Prophylactic rabies vaccines are given until it can be proven (by finding and testing the suspect animal) that the animal doesn't have it. This requires the collection and destruction of the suspected animal. If this is required do not shot the animal in the head if it can be avoided. Wear protection (including eye or face shield) from blood and other body fluids. Use wipes with benzalkonium chloride to immediately clean any exposure to saliva or blood. There are apparently studies suggesting that this can kill the rabies virus. Make sure you report any exposure to your doctor for possible follow up.

If there is a new "test" for rabies that I am unaware of, I really would be interested in knowing about the specifics.

Keith

 

[Chip]

Just up the dirt road from my house in Wentworth, New Hampshire is the Atwell Hill Farm. Up until last summer it was the Atwell Hill Bison Farm. There in the woods and rolling pastures were some of the biggest and most beautiful American Bison (Buffalo) that you can imagine. Last fall the owners sold off their herd because they were sickened by the continuous loss of almost all of their new born calves to a pack of Coy Dogs which they had tried to eliminate for years. Seems that the parent buffs did not know how to defend against the ravages of these killers. Now as I drive by the fields that formerly held these majestic animals, standing around looking like models for the Buffalo Nickle, the loss saddens me.

I'd prefer to see a field of Bison, also, but this is troublesome on several levels. Both bison and coyote are non-native, right ? What animal gets to live and who dies ? Nature achieves "balance" through a see-sawing of predator and prey populations - it's never really in balance, just expanding and contracting.
This reminds me of the deer destroying the Audubon habitat and all the local populations of birds that have been lost. I say control the deer and the coyote, but PETA thinks nothing should be killed. So who defends the Bison and birds right to exist ?

 

[Dalraida]

Income

I'd prefer to see a field of Bison, also, but this is troublesome on several levels. Both bison and coyote are non-native, right ? What animal gets to live and who dies ? Nature achieves "balance" through a see-sawing of predator and prey populations - it's never really in balance, just expanding and contracting.
This reminds me of the deer destroying the Audubon habitat and all the local populations of birds that have been lost. I say control the deer and the coyote, but PETA thinks nothing should be killed. So who defends the Bison and birds right to exist ?

Of course the Bison were being raised commercially and not just for atmosphere. That being said, I suppose that many people would argue that raising animals for food is immoral anyway so the Coyotes were in the right to the "harvest". Lets bring back the Timber Wolf and let them drive the Coyotes out. Whoops, there goes another rubber tree plant!

WETSU!

 

[brianW]

Keith, I just repoted what I heard and she seemed pretty convinced of what her husband said. However I almost added that I was not 100% sure if this was completly true. I am not aware of any test besides examinining a dead specimen.