Slain singer’s mom says leave coyotes alone
By Alexandra Heilbron on November 2, 2009 | 28 Comments
Emily Mitchell, whose 19-year-old daughter Taylor Mitchell was attacked and killed by two coyotes last week while hiking in Nova Scotia, has issued a statement asking authorities not to go after the animals: “We take a calculated risk when spending time in nature’s fold — it’s the wildlife’s terrain,” she wrote. “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.” A Parks Canada conservation officer has already killed one coyote and a police officer who arrived on scene after Taylor’s attack shot and injured a second one. Chip Bird, Cape Breton field superintendent for Parks Canada, said that in 30 years, he knew of only one minor incident involving a coyote in the area before last week’s incident. Taylor, a folk singer from Toronto, was touring the Atlantic provinces.
although its nice of her to think that way, why wouldnt she want justice for her daughter? and why would she want them to live when they could attack and kill someone elses child?
Well, these are animals. They are wildlife. Killing a pack of coyotes is not going to send a message to other animals who have the natural instinct to hunt. Justice is not really part of the equation, it’s the circle of life. It’s sad there was a death that stemmed from the attack, but obviously the mother & seemingly the daughter have a respect for nature and it’s inhabitants.
I tend to agree, josh….this is such a horrible, tragic incident and I feel so sorry for this young woman and her family…
i still stand by my comment. if i lived in an area where a pack of any kind of animal killed my daughter, id want them either taken to a zoo or put to sleep because then it would be my fault if someone elses child died because i was the one fighting to keep them alive. im not saying lets kill them to send a message to other animals, im saying lets do whatever we need to do to keep our children safe and alive.
Mandee..I definitely agree with your comment. It may be the circle of life, but my child’s life would come first or any one’s child for that matter.They should be moved or dealt with accordingly.
this is the coyotes home. its not their fault if their home is being destroyed and homes are being build up in its space, so they get hungry and go to any circumstances to find food. i really think its peoples fault for taking away their home and forcing them to go out of their boudnaries and look for food. also, if she was hiking alone in the wilderness, she probably wasnt taking precautions, so its her fault too. pce
I agree that something should be done, not necessarily to “kill” them but, at least do something before this happens again.
I believe this young woman was hiking in a wilderness area, not in an urban area, so where exactly should the coyotes be moved to? A zoo? I feel terrible for her family, but that is the risk one takes when hiking in a wilderness environment. Let this be a lesson to over-confident young people to NEVER hike alone.
how do you know where she was hiking? and you should be able to hike without being eaten. if there was her and someone else, do you really think the PACK OF coyotes wouldnt have eaten them BOTH? i do think being moved to a zoo would be more appropriate than killing them, at least they would be fed regularly and taken care of. why would that be such a bad thing? then theyd have no reason to eat someones child.
As someone who lived in Cape Breton, it’s interesting to read all these comments. Everyone so far has made some good points. I don’t think killing a pack of coyotes is necessarily the way to go. However, there are things I have to ask. Did this happen because of a boom in the coyote population? If so is it wrong to kill a few for population control? Is it possible that this was even a freak occurrence that had an extremely slim chance of happening?
I’m leaning towards more Park Patrols and better monitoring of dangerous wildlife so hikers can be informed.
From what I’ve just read, the one they killed was healthy and NOT hungry, so it is very odd that it would attack, it’s not in their nature to attack unless it is sick, hungry, or feeling threatened. Maybe she was too close to their den? Who knows. But apparently a lot of coyotes have been spotted close to residential areas and are not running away from people, which they normally would do. Also, from what I’ve read, the coyotes in eastern Canada and USA ALL have some degree of wolf in them, unlike central and western North America, so I’m wondering if that might have something to do with it?
Killing them won’t send a message to other packs, so that won’t really work unless they kill them all. I think they need to find out exactly why this happened, if that’s even possible, and then take measures to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Earl 101, agreed, people should be more educated before stepping into the wilderness, and travelling alone is not a good idea.
Earl 101..Very well said!!!I agree with all points made!
early and tg you both made some really good points, but im still looking at this from an emotional view point. if that were MY CHILD i would have no sympathy for the animals that caused her death.
TB – I just found out about the fact that many of the coyotes in Cape Breton are breeding with wolves as well. Man, I didn’t even think there were wolves back home.
Mandee – It’s totally fair to look at this emotionally. It is a horrible thing that happened, however, can’t the energy be put to use in a better way than killing the coyotes or putting them in a zoo? (Maybe relocate to another area if they are dangerously close to inhabited areas. Even that is iffy.)
I have a feeling I’ll get blasted for this analogy but lets try this. Please bear with me. Imagine I own a fully stocked yacht. I can sail anywhere in the world. I go swimming in an area teeming with sharks. If I get attacked and killed should the sharks be made to suffer?
Also if anyone would like to see my analogy come true (minus the being eaten part) please fell free to donate to the Earl 101 needs a yacht fund.
Hahaha Earl! I hate sharks so yes, they should all die! But, in all reality, they are here for a purpose as is anything else so… swim sharkey…and don’t eat Earl!
grr sorry lol i meant earl ! i love sharks!!! heres what im thinking, if she went hiking alone perhaps she didnt realize there would be anything that was capable of eating her where she went. its a different story if she KNEW she had the potential of becoming supper. if you swim in shark infested waters, you risk the chance of being eaten. but, if it was one shark terrorizing everyone (like in jaws lol) yes, i would suggest taking them to an aquarium somewhere where people were not the main course. i understand that its their habitat as well, but they shouldnt be eating our children. imagine if we ate one of their children? theyd be pi*ssed and want to eat EVERYONE lol.
Mandee – I understand what your saying and agree to an extent. If the animal is a threat to survival. Sorry Mother Nature but I have thumbs… BLAM BLAM BLAM. (I say this as a pack of wolfoytes are waiting for me to get home and find the shark they put in my shower.)
Please donate to the Earl 101 needs a new address and shower fund.
Earl, I meant the entire Eastern seaboard, Canada and US, apparently they ALL have some wolf in them, which I find odd, but that’s what I’ve read, and that in central and Western North America, NONE of them have wolf in them. If it’s true, I guess it’s only a matter of time before they all do all over the continent.
mandee, I totally get what you are saying, if it was my child, I would want revenge in any way I could get it. Even if I knew it wouldn’t do any good.
TG – Wow. I think back to one night when my car broke down and I had to walk back to my dad’s place along what’s called Horns Road. It was a dimly lit 2 km stretch at midnight. I thought I kept hearing things in the ditches but I was telling myself, �there are no wolves in CB and coyotes would be too small to attack.�� I suddenly feel like I was nominated for a Darwin Award but didn’t show up to the ceremony.
I also want to shout a Thank You to Nancy for supporting the Earl 101 Foundation. It may not have been with money but not wanting Earl 101 to get eaten by sharks is still a nice gesture and I say Thanks.
No problemo, Earl. I already have the winning $50 million Lotto Max ticket. YEE-HAW! With that kind of cash, I can lounge on the beach in Waikiki “whilst” Stephen King narrates his own books to me. Ahhh, the life!
Say…you know a meager $1 million dollar donation to the Earl 101 Foundation can help make the world a better place..uh..better for Earl 101 that is.
i genuinely enjoy your sense of humor earl.
Echoing sentiments already expressed..kudos to Emily for her outlook and respect for wildlife after such a loss. Attacks such as this are extremely rare. People can take all precautions, but can still occur.
As tg pointed out, it’s very possible these coyotes had a den w/young nearby to protect.
Nance, why hate sharks?
I think sharks are totally disgusting looking creatures….snakes too. I can’t stand snakes. At least with sharks, I can avoid going anywhere near the ocean but snakes, those damn things can come outta nowhere! Both scare the hell out of me, hahahaha. A friend of mine stopped at a small island on the French River and she jumped from land to one of the rocks on the waters edge….man! A whole bunch of big fat juicy northern water snakes came out from between the rocks! She had to stand very still until they retreated and then have someone carry her. I’d have freaking had heart failure! DEFINITELY!!!
Oooops, for “someones” pleasure, that should be “definAtely”.
man lol i would have freaked out too even though i love sharks. im terrified of snakes, but i love them in movies ! like snakes on a plane lmao.
we are invading their area, and they will react. It’s hard to say. My home is in a wildlife sanctuary, there is no hunting here, and I do walk around knowing that there are bears and coyotes around where I live. I’ve never seen them, but my neighbors have. And honestly, I wouldn’t want anything done to them either if I’m really on their turf.