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02/06/2007 05:24:54 PM · #1
I have been watching/following a mating pair of coyotes for about 1.5 yrs. They frequent the side of the highway on routeto the town where I live. Today I had my camera and I got off the hwy and tracked them and was watching them in a farmers field. I was watching from my car thru my lens one of them when I heard a shot and the coyote was dead. A yahoo in a pickup shot him right in front of me.

I am so sad and angry I can't take it.

I did take pix of him throwing the carcass in the back of his truck and his plate and reported him. While apparently killing coyotes is ok where I am you are not allowed to do it from your vehicle.

I am really tired of humans taking over wild spaces and desimating every living thing that exists there.

sorry needed to rant
02/06/2007 05:26:56 PM · #2
That's horribly sad. I'm so sorry :(
02/06/2007 05:30:24 PM · #3
He sounds like a pretty tough dude.

Sorry to hear.
02/06/2007 05:31:42 PM · #4
Isn't it illegal to shoot coyotes? Maybe depends on which state you are in, but friend of mine got in big trouble for that.
02/06/2007 05:32:11 PM · #5
yeah thanks, they were just looking for rodents in the field, they were not eating chickens or cats. I know they are a pest to a lot of people. I am just mad I did not see the guy with the gun, I thought he was getting mail at the mailbox. I would of scared of the coyotes or got in between him and the coyotes.

02/06/2007 05:34:24 PM · #6
they can shoot them, certain times of the year apparently, but not from cars. Not from the drivers seat without even turning off the car. I am just hoping the female got away and that she is already pregnant. Maybe the pups will have a chance. I am going to try and find some people to help me find and move the remaining one. I just hope I can find someone who can help me before the guy finds the other one. I think I scared him off from getting the second one.
02/06/2007 05:50:18 PM · #7
Just maybe this is the guys property and he is having problems with them...........

I know if it were me and I had problems with them and my family was involved my family would come first.
02/06/2007 05:56:09 PM · #8
yeah, but coyotes killing people is virtually unheard of.

sometimes, they kill pets if they have had THEIR habitats taken over and they have no other food choices.

If a persons life was endangered in this scenario it would of been extremely unlikely. I also think if people do not want to 'risk' living near wildlife they should live in urban areas. If you want to live in the country (where this was) then accept that the animals were there first. Build a fence around your property, keep better watch on your pets and kids but don't kill creatures for just being the creatures they were created to be.
02/06/2007 06:14:05 PM · #9
ellamay That must of been a shocking trauma for you to witness. Sorry you had the misfortune to witness that. I love coyotes and have several here by me. They are always on the move and I have no fear of them. Love hearing them call to each other.
02/06/2007 06:14:15 PM · #10
Originally posted by rex:

Just maybe this is the guys property and he is having problems with them...........

I know if it were me and I had problems with them and my family was involved my family would come first.


I could see that, but i think i would call animal control first. unless they were in immediate danger of course
02/06/2007 06:16:33 PM · #11
Well yeah animal control would be better if no danger I admit. It appears to me though this guy owns this property and is frustrated with them and had decided to take matters into his own hands. Otherwise he would not have loaded up the dead animal.
02/06/2007 06:19:03 PM · #12
Not at all defending him, but in this case he looks like a farmer. I personally know some farmers who have lost hundred of sheep and young cattle from coyotes. Too bad ya had to witness it, as a farmer he may have had a very valid reason. There are places around cities in the US where coyotes and even mountain lions have killed pets, and even people. Wildlife and people really don't mix well around cities and people. It's ashame. Sorry
02/06/2007 06:25:11 PM · #13
I saw you are in Canada so rules might not apply there like here. But in Missouri (USA) depredation by wildlife can be dealt with under special circumstances. If you can prove to the appropriate official that a certain species is damaging or threatening to damage your property, safety, or living you can step around most rules and regulations to remove that animal...shooting from a vehicle is one.

Sorry about the coyote. They are funny little creatures, and should only be removed as a last resort...most are easily scared away.

-Drew
02/06/2007 06:27:27 PM · #14
Let's hope karma kicks his ass threefold.
02/06/2007 06:28:32 PM · #15
I'm sorry you had to see that. I would have been pissed. But like Rex said, it might have been a property thing. But then again, it's sad to say, that there are people that go out of their way to kill anything they can. And those kind of people make me sick.

I'm a firm believer that you kill what you need, not for the fun of it.

Message edited by author 2007-02-06 18:28:49.
02/06/2007 06:30:10 PM · #16
Ellamay, what a horrible thing to have witnessed. It's one thing to turn up for your regular watch and find one coyote missing - that would be sad enough - but to actually watch it being shot and dying after following the pair for so long must have been hugely traumatic.

I totally understand where you are coming from in terms of the cavalier way humans wantonly destroy the habitat and it's wildlife without a second thought. I do accept that protecting one's livelihood is important, of course it is, but it's often the case that there ARE other solutions to just killing problematic predators.
02/06/2007 06:36:14 PM · #17
Ellamay, I'm with you. IMO, If we humans want to continue to live on this earth in the midst of rich biological diversity, we need to value our co-inhabitants and change the belief that we have the right to kill other species.
02/06/2007 06:44:57 PM · #18
Let's hope karma kicks his ass threefold.

with ya : )
if he had not taken off when I yelled at him he'da gotten some right then and there : )

thanks everyone for the sympathy, I do feel it is a loss.

As far as livlihoods go, I might agree...how about mine as a 'wildlife photographer' one of my subjects is forever lost....maybe my great Nat'l Geo shot, was just shot...dead!

I live on a farm, and have kids and pets, and coyotes in my yard frequently. I still do not see the need for supposedly smarter humans to kill as a solution. I have seen several farmers come up with ideas of how to prevent loss of livestock without killing them.

02/06/2007 06:59:20 PM · #19
Look at that gas guzzling monster the guy drives... he's just a walking environmental disaster.
02/06/2007 07:14:42 PM · #20
Originally posted by pineapple:

Look at that gas guzzling monster the guy drives... he's just a walking environmental disaster.


Heck it's alot smaller than mine ;). Looks more like a toy than a real truck.
02/06/2007 07:33:52 PM · #21
Wow, what a sad story. I love to watch coyotes play. I grew up in the country and you could hear them everynight howling at the moon. From the ranchers perspective, they do frequently kill lambs, calves, cats, other dogs, etc. It's unfortunate that this had to happen, but maybe it was in some wierd way justified in the mind of the rancher.

Sorry you had to watch all of this go down. :(
02/06/2007 07:40:27 PM · #22
Aww Ellamay :( I'm so sorry to hear that. I've been a volunteer out at a wildlife center here in Alberta for 6 years now and we deal with the exact same neanderthals. We had a Moose cow and her calf hanging out near the center this past summer and we're all invested in watching how well the cow took care of her little one etc.. Then one of those shotgun out of the truck windows hunters drove by and got them both. Cut off both their heads and left the bodies to rot. We were all devastated.

We also came across a pile (30 or more) of skinned coyotes.. the stories abound. People can just be so wrong.

I feel your loss, it sickens me. Thank you for reporting him and his lazy hunting habits. That type of hunting doesnt give the animal the slightest chance.. and I fail to see the sport in that.. and it certainly wasnt necessity based on the desire for food.. not a lot of meat on those wee ones.
02/06/2007 07:48:58 PM · #23
Originally posted by PhantomEWO:

Not at all defending him, but in this case he looks like a farmer. I personally know some farmers who have lost hundred of sheep and young cattle from coyotes.


not to start a rant or get nitpicky.. but coyotes dont kill cattle.. not even calves. They are simply too big and its a common misconception. They could perhaps RARELY take out a lamb. But the most farmers really contend with are the loss of chickens, perhaps small pets and a lot of mice / gophers. I've had more than a few conversations about this, been to many presentations given by biologists / enviornmental groups and its something that many people are trying very hard to re educate the public on ;)

Coyotes are given a really bad rap sadly. They truly do add to our universe.
02/06/2007 07:56:41 PM · #24
I am sorry you witnessed the killing but I can sympathize with the farmer. I lost two highly trained cow dogs to a pack of five coyotes. Killed right before my eyes. I shot one of them but the others got away, free to ravage my cattle another day.

Shecoya....you better do more research.

Message edited by author 2007-02-06 19:57:53.
02/06/2007 08:44:42 PM · #25
If coyotes eating farm animals is the problem, then perhaps we could re-locate the coyotes to non-farming areas.

But when are people going to start building up instead of out. When are we going to leave these beautiful creatures some land and habitat?

I am not sure the guy today WAS a farmer or if he lost anything to the coyote.

Shecoya...your stories make me feel just as sick. Coyotes and Moose are my 2 most wanting to photograph animals

Someday I am going to buy a big parcel of land and god help the man who comes on it with a gun I just may do some huntin of my own...maybe not to kill ...but maybe a little fun just so they can feel what it is like to be the hunted one : )

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