coyotes... Nova Scotia

[spider solo]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/100809/canada/canada_novascotia_ns_coyote_attack_cape_breton_1

This should link to the story a girl who also got bit up in Cape Breton.
When all is said and done they will put a bounty on coyotes and expect to kill 4,000 this next season.

It's a tough call, the story of the woman getting killed a while ago and now another girl getting bitten.
It's just killing so many as retribution...

I'm sure others have some thoughts on the subject ?

 

[TCD]

Too bad someone got bitten. There are more and more coyotes, and they are losing fear of humans. Hundreds of years ago we extirpated many of these types of species, for our safety. I don't know if we have to do that; I'm in the middle on that debate.

But I'm not sure why you characterize Nova Scotia's action as "retribution," which would suggest that we're seeking "revenge" on the coyotes? It looks like, rightly or wrongly, it's intended to be a public safety measure.

 

[csprague]

I don't really have a lot to contribute to this thread except for a couple of observations, none of them really related.

In addition to hiking, another way in which I enjoy the outdoors is through hunting deer and grouse with my father. Last fall was literally the worst deer season I've ever experienced (in Eastern Maine where he lives, and where we hunt). All season we saw very few deer signs, but increasing numbers of coyote signs. With nothing more than these observations in hand, we theorized that the lack of deer might be directly related to the abundance of coyotes. If so, it's a cycle that will probably take a few years to reverse.

When camping at Baxter State Park this June (at South Branch Pond), a coyote casually walked literally through our campsite one evening while we were occupying it, changing out clothes after our day's hike. It didn't threaten us in any way, or seem to mind us at all, but as it continued onto the campground road, a couple from Rye, New York saw it and freaked the hell out. They started shouting at other campers (somewhat obnoxiously, I might add), and my girlfriend and I just chuckled and said "city hicks" under our breaths. I learned a couple days later that someone had been recently attacked by a Coyote in Rye, NY, so we sympathized a bit more with their reaction.

We later did tell the ranger of our encounter, and he just told us that if it came back to shoe it away, as it's just looking for a handout, and if it persistently fails to get one, it might just stop coming by.

But it definitely had a surprising lack of fear of people...I've certainly never had such a close encounter with one. I was also surprised by how big it was!

Chris

 

[DougPaul]

Too bad someone got bitten. There are more and more coyotes, and they are losing fear of humans. Hundreds of years ago we extirpated many of these types of species, for our safety. I don't know if we have to do that; I'm in the middle on that debate.

Wolves compete with coyotes and kept their population in check in the NE. Our removal of the wolves set the stage for the current coyote population increase. Coyotes also live among people much better than do wolves.

More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote

Doug

 

[injektilo]

When camping at Baxter State Park this June (at South Branch Pond), a coyote casually walked literally through our campsite one evening while we were occupying it, changing out clothes after our day's hike. It didn't threaten us in any way, or seem to mind us at all, but as it continued onto the campground road, a couple from Rye, New York saw it and freaked the hell out. They started shouting at other campers (somewhat obnoxiously, I might add), and my girlfriend and I just chuckled and said "city hicks" under our breaths. I learned a couple days later that someone had been recently attacked by a Coyote in Rye, NY, so we sympathized a bit more with their reaction.

We later did tell the ranger of our encounter, and he just told us that if it came back to shoe it away, as it's just looking for a handout, and if it persistently fails to get one, it might just stop coming by.

But it definitely had a surprising lack of fear of people...I've certainly never had such a close encounter with one. I was also surprised by how big it was!

Chris

We were at the paddle in lean-to on the lower pond in July and he came through our site as well. I made a bit of noise and told him to get lost but he seemed unconcerned with my presence. He poked around for probably about 15 - 20 seconds and then casually left. He was surprisingly big but showed no signs of aggression. Luckily our food was already hanging so there was really no reason for him to hang around. May also be the reason he didn't make an appearance the following night. I mentioned it to the Ranger on our way out and he just chuckled and said that the coyote had been hanging around the campground for some time.

 

[spider solo]

.....But I'm not sure why you characterize Nova Scotia's action as "retribution," which would suggest that we're seeking "revenge" on the coyotes? It looks like, rightly or wrongly, it's intended to be a public safety measure.

I'm not sure it's the right word either, but I couldn't come up with another yet.
So I'm undecided as well.... but the thought that there is some "pay back" could figure into the whole thing might be a contributing factor, I suppose there are others who know more about how our logic is affected by such things as animal attacks on people..

 

[DougPaul]

I'm not sure it's the right word either, but I couldn't come up with another yet.
So I'm undecided as well.... but the thought that there is some "pay back" could figure into the whole thing might be a contributing factor, I suppose there are others who know more about how our logic is affected by such things as animal attacks on people..

Perhaps fear-driven might be what you are looking for. Historically, humans have a long track record of trying to eliminate any organism that can harm them (eg any large predator). And, of course, any publicized attack stirs up said fear.

Ranchers in the American West have been trying to eliminate coyotes by hunting, trapping, and poisoning for many years with little success. They are incredibly adaptable and breeding rates go up when the population goes down...

Doug