Coyotes are around, so walk softly and carry a big stick
The headline on the short story in the Chicago Sun-Times earlier this week jumped out at me: Coyotes kill woman hiking in eastern Canada.
I've written on the coyote, known as the "song dog" by Native American Indians according to Project Wildlife in California, and I remember using the fact that there has only been one documented killing of a human (a 3-year-old California child) in the United States.
Which is why this story alarmed me and I had to find out more.
Police in the area arrived and shot one of the two animals, but both got away. She was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition and died the next day.
According to the Online Times of London, Bridgit Leger, a spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said that the two coyotes were "extremely aggressive" when rangers arrived at the scene of the attack.
"Coyotes are normally afraid of humans. This is a very irregular occurrence," she said.
Paul Maynard of Emergency Health Services said that Mitchell was already in critical condition when paramedics arrived on the scene and had multiple bite wounds over her entire body.
"She was losing a considerable amount of blood from the wounds," he said.
"There's been some reports of aggressive animals, so it's not unknown," said Helene Robichaud, the park's superintendent. "But we certainly never have had anything so dramatic and tragic."
Mitchell was a rising star, having been nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award this year in the Young Performer of the Year category.
Bob Bancroft, a wildlife biologist, said that coyote attacks are extremely rare because the animals are usually shy. Bancroft, a retired biologist with Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources, said it's possible the coyotes thought that Mitchell was a deer or other prey.
"It's very unusual and is not likely to be repeated," Bancroft said. "We shouldn't assume that coyotes are suddenly going to become the big bad wolf."
But confrontations between humans and coyotes are actually increasing, according to a paper presented at the 12th Wildlife Damage Management Conference in 2007 called, "A History of Urban Coyote Problems."
I was directed to the paper by Bob Bluett, a wildlife biologist with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. He also saw the story on Mitchell and he also was surprised. "A typical coyote weighs 30-35 pounds and you would think an adult has a good chance of fending them off," he said.
The paper by Robert Timm and Rex Baker found some attacks on pets and livestock, and encounters with humans were occurring when coyotes were about to give birth or were feeding their young. Attacks were usually against children or adults with small pets.
Mitchell was alone.
We speculated that perhaps she ran, triggering their prey response, instead of standing still and making yourself big, by opening your arms and coat, and making loud noises.
So many "What ifs."
If she had a walking stick, she could have used that to defend herself. (Our Lake County Forest Preserve was selling walking sticks as part of its Hike Lake County program where you earn medallions to hang on the stick by hiking different preserves.
"I'd still be more afraid of wild dogs than a coyote," he said. And I tend to agree. When we lived on Tiffany Road in Antioch, the kids, my four brothers and sister saw a strange group of mangy dogs walking down the roadway and we ran to tell mom. She hurried us into the house.
"The dogs followed our scent up to the front step, which was their mistake. If only we had a camera, it would have been an episode of "When Mothers Attack," because mom flew out the front door with a broom and kicked some mangy dog butt and they took off. Then, she called police."
So Timm and Baker documented that attacks are on the rise.
They also alerted the IDNR to change their Web site, which said "Attacks on humans are extremely rare, with only 16 reported in North America during a 30-year period."
"Although our database of such attack incidents is far from complete, we are currently able to document more than 215 attacks in North America, the majority of which have occurred since the mid-1990's."
They have documented coyote attacks in 18 states, with California the leader with 111 attacks, followed by Arizona with 37 attacks. The biggest problem is the coyotes become human-habituated, where they lose their fear of humans because people have been feeding them.
The conclusion of their paper reads: "It is noteworthy that coyote attacks on pets are apparently beginning to occur or increasing in frequency in a number of suburban areas throughout North America, and the incidence of coyote attacks on humans in the United States and Canada appears to have increased substantially within the past decade.
To quote an old Hill Street Blues line, "Be careful out there!"
