hiring a biologist to focus on human-wildlife conflict, training more trappers, providing a pelt incentive and increasing education about dealing with the animals.

Meanwhile, in Saginaw, Texas, a 3-year old was attacked and knocked down by a coyote in the family’s driveway. Get the details of the event here.

What is being described as “extremely rare” and not “normal”, blame is laid on drought and human encroachment as the problem for increased reports of coyote/human interaction. While drought, which can cause a reduction in food supply, and human encroachment play a role, I’m not sure that describing the action of these coyotes as not being “normal” is all that accurate and may, in fact, lead people to be less concerned with educating themselves about what is normal.

People, including officials, need to better educate themselves on behavior traits and all the aspects of what influences in a coyote’s environment causes behavior to stray outside of what we want to call “normal”.

Dr. Valerius Geist, some time ago, provided us with the steps wild canines will take that lead up an attack on a human. This behavior is actually quite normal. It’s the progression of events that influence the behavior of the animal that we should all be aware of. According to Geist, drought and human encroachment in and of itself will not cause coyotes to attack.

Once we all better understand and become familiar with behavior and the influencing factors, the sooner we can recognize why coyotes and other wild canines do what they do. From this we can be better prepared, which will result in increased public safety.

On a recent coyote hunt on Morrison Beach in Framboise, I witnessed an amazing thing. A deer ran past my truck 20 feet away with a coyote in hot pursuit. After the deer passed by me, I got out of my truck and shot the coyote. Upon examining it I found out that it was missing 8 inches off it’s right front leg, with the bare bones exposed. On further examination I found that it also had lost 13 inches off its left rear leg and it had grown over. I was amazed that it could even run let alone chase a deer. In conclusion I’d say that coyotes are a very tough breed in Cape Breton.

An up and coming musician and young Canadian woman, Taylor Mitchell, who was solo hiking in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia on Tuesday, was attacked by two coyotes and died from her injuries.

AOL News has more of what has happened. My prayers go out to the family and friends of Ms. Mitchell.

*Update*12:20 p.m. 10/29/09

As pertains to this coyote attack on the woman, Dr. Valerius Geist, professor emeritus University of Calgary, has offered some commentary, tips and advice.

In view of yesterday’s fatal attack on a 19 year old lady by two coyotes in Cape Breton National Park, please allow me a commentary, which I ask you to distribute to your affected colleagues.

1.Both coyotes and wolves have an identical manner of targeting alternative prey, and this process is drawn out and specific, so that one gets fair warning well ahead of the first attack by wolves or coyotes on people. This targeting process proceeds in steps. Please see the appended file Appendix B (from Will Graves 2007 Russian Wolves. Anxiety through the Ages. Detselig, Calgary, Alberta, Canada) for the process in wolves. (Also see “When Wolves Become a Problem to Humans” by Dr. Geist)
Please note, according to interviews with hikers and park staff, coyotes in the park had reached stages f to h. In short, if you are aware of this targeting process you would have been highly alarmed by coyotes showing stage f behavior. The coyotes were, clearly, on the way to attacking humans.
Note also the study of coyotes in urban parks targeting children (Baker, R. O. and R. M. Timm 1998. Management of conflict between urban coyotes and humans in southern California. Pp. 229-312 in R. O. Baker and A. C. Crabb eds. Proc. 18th Vertebrate Pest Conference, University of California, Davis). Also, the pattern of wounding as described by the press indicates that this attack was an exploratory one.

2. The coyotes in question were a colonizing, fringe population characterized by large size. This is a give-away informing that the coyotes in question have assumed the Dispersal phenotype, an epi-genetic adaptive syndrome of species during colonization. Such individuals are characterized by very bold assertive behavior and rapid learning. (See Chapter 6. How genes communicate with the environment – the biology of inequality. pp. 116-144. In Geist, V. 1978. Life Strategies, Human Evolution, Environmental Design. Springer Verlag, New York; Geist, V. 1989. Environmentally guided phenotype plasticity in mammals and some of its consequences to theoretical and applied biology. pp. 153 176. In M.N. Bruton (ed.) Alternative Life History Styles of Animals. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Or if you have my 1998 Deer of the World, please see pp. 3-8).

3.. I am all too keenly aware as a practicing ethologist that North American biologists have hopelessly muddled the understanding of habituation and its consequences, in part by our Yellowstone colleagues in their “disneyfication” of wolves. And I am afraid that some of our parks Canada colleagues may also be under that spell. You do not need feeding of coyotes to habituate them to people. Although it certainly helps and hastens the process of the coyote exploring people. Habituation is unconsummated exploration. I am appending a lengthy paper I gave in 2005 to the Wildlife Society, but for various reasons of no concern here have not published (excepting what is referred above to Appendix B).

Best regards, Val Geist

*Editor’s Note* If I can get that “appending”, I will post it here for you.

Tom Remington

According to officials in Nova Scotia, many of the farms that extract the fluids aren’t well regulated. Officials say Nova Scotia has no known cases of chronic wasting disease and are setting their goals to do whatever they can to make it doesn’t happen.

Tom Remington

Francis Langille 52, of Liscomb and his son Trevor, 24 or Halifax both pleaded guilty. Each had to pay a fine of $8,100, lost their rifles and privileges to hunt – the younger Langille for 20 years and the elder for 10 years.

I guess if your dumb enough to shoot at a robot, your dumb enough to pay the fine.

Tom Remington

If you haven’t applied, here’s a chance to get it done. Hunters can apply by calling 1-900-565-3337 or by writing to Moose Draw, Wildlife Division, 136 Exhibition St., Kentville, B4N 4E5.

Tom Remington

Robert Lee McLaren, 49, of Pugwash Junction was driving down the road with his wife and child when he spotted Bullwinkle in the field. He stopped his car, took out his .30-06, rested it across the hood of his car and pulled the trigger. Officials moved in. It was not said whether he hit the moose or not.

McLaren pleaded guilty and lost his right to hunt for twenty years, had the car he was driving in confiscated, lost his rifle and has to pay a fine of $4,025 or face 72 days in jail.

There are eight more local residents awaiting their day in court as well.

Tom Remington

Go ahead! Make my day!

Tom Remington