The ABC Nightline report and National Geographic Special this past Wednesday and Friday(Feb 16 and 18 respectively) aroused strong feelings in both those who advocate for and against peaceful co-existance and tolerance with Coyotes(and all Carnivores).............Our good friends Dr. Stan Gehrt and Professor Brent Patterson were the experts that ABC and Ntl Geo turned to in seeking explanations for the fatal Coyote attack on Folk Singer Taylor Mitchell that occurred in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Oct 2009.......................An apparent predatory attack, the first Coyote induced fatality of an adult human does not seem to have been caused by food induced habituation(as many other non fatal attacks have been due to food habituation)..............Stan has actually been to the Park and done an investigation himself...............Brent was called on to run tests on the coyotes alleged to have been the attackers.........Corresspondence below with both men as well as noted animal Ethologist Marc Beckoff makes for informed and provocative reading.....................Brent has told me he will check back in with me upon seeing the full Ntl Geo Special(he was not able to watch the other night) and we will continue to report on all facts, theories and speculations on whether coyotes(like wolves) can decide to prey on people...................Note that there are 20,000 hikers each year in Cape Breton Park and the number of negative encounters with coyotes are minimal(although they do occur) whereas there were 34 recorded fatal domestic dog attacks on people last year in the USA, 50,000 auto caused fatalites and hundreds of gun induced deaths................Should we kill all domestic dogs? Should be scrap all automobiles? Should we ban all guns?...............Learning and obeying the rules of the road...........taking the proper precaution with domestic dogs............not letting guns get into the hands of mentally challenged and criminal elements......... and taking the proper precautions when in locales(suburban, urban and rural) where wildlife does exist...................That is the path this reporter advocates----Respect and co-existance with wildlife, dogs, automobiles and guns!

Who's afraid of the coyote? Not many of us. But as last fall's fatal attack showed, we should be more concerned about these animals. For our sake and theirs.


Ian Merringer

It was getting late in the season when Taylor Mitchell decided to go for a hike in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Highlands National Park last October 27. But the 19-year-old musician was determined to explore some classic East Coast wilderness. Two nights earlier, when she'd played a concert in Lucasville, near Halifax, she'd mentioned to the host how happy she was to have two days off to do some hiking.

Mitchell chose the Skyline Trail, a 9.2-kilometre route that starts at the Cabot Trail and leads to a dramatic viewpoint over the Gulf of St. Lawrence before returning to the road. She was hiking alone, and—it being a Tuesday—there were few other people on the trail. That night Mitchell would be heading to Sydney, where she had a concert scheduled for the next day, but she was apparently not in any rush. On her way back to her car, she was overtaken on the trail by a pair of middle-aged hikers from the United States.

Not long afterwards, shortly past 3 p.m., the Americans were about 800 metres from the trailhead when two coyotes trotted down the path toward them. To the surprise of the two Americans, the coyotes didn't shy away but walked boldy past them as the hikers stepped to the side of the three-metre-wide trail. The hikers snapped a few pictures of the animals as they passed before resuming their hike.


A few minutes later, the two Americans heard the first screams.  Aware that there was a phone at the trailhead, they hurried out to the end of the trail to call 911. On their way they passed an incoming group of four hikers, from Europe and Australia, who ran in to investigate.

When the four hikers were almost a kilometre in, they passed some keys and a small knife on the trail. A little farther along, almost 20 minutes after the screams had started, they came to a clearing where a toilet building stood. There they found Taylor Mitchell on the ground, being attacked by two coyotes. (Apparently Mitchell had first attempted to defend herself with her keys and knife and had then retreated to this spot, hoping to get into the building.)


Shouting and hurling rocks, the four hikers scared the coyotes away from Mitchell, but the animals, probably sensing how close they had come to their objective, wouldn't leave the scene. They were highly agitated, and the larger of the two—a 42-pound male—continued to circle the group, growling.

Mitchell was in bad shape, barely conscious, lying just a few feet away from the unlocked building where she had sought refuge. When RCMP constable Pierre Rompré drove into the clearing five minutes later, he thought she was already dead. "Her wounds were very, very serious," said Rompré.
It took a round of buckshot to convince the larger coyote to slink into the woods, and Mitchell was bundled into an ambulance and eventually airlifted to Halifax.  She died of blood loss early the next morning with her mother at her side. For Mitchell's family, friends and musical community, the challenge of understanding her death would be enormous, but they weren't the only ones at a loss.

 As headline writers across the continent tried to marry some unfamiliar words—fatal, coyote, mauling—most people who spend time outdoors found it hard to believe that coyotes had actually killed a human. There's one group of individuals, though, who were less inclined toward total disbelief: wildlife biologists. Their expert opinions didn't figure in many of the news stories that week—possibly because they weren't inclined to try to sum up the issue of whether coyotes were dangerous to humans in daily-news-sized pieces. But if they'd had the chance, they would have explained that the tale of the coyote's relationship to man is a tricky narrative, and it's one that is still being written.

Brent Patterson, a research scientist for Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources, has studied coyotes in Southern Ontario and on Cape Breton Island. He also sees coyote fearlessness toward humans as an increasing problem, for the coyotes as much as for us. "It's tempting to have this romantic view that we can be kin to these predators, but we'll all get along better if we keep these animals fearful of us," says Patterson. Otherwise, we may end up with people demanding a return to mass and indiscriminate killings of coyote populations, as happened recently in Osgoode, on the southern outskirts of Ottawa.

 A few weeks after the attack in Cape Breton, a coyote lunged at 16-year-old Joey Schulz while he was picking apples in an orchard. The encounter spurred city councillor Doug Thompson to call for a widespread cull, and the Osgoode Township Fish, Game and Conservation Club launched the Great Coyote Cull Contest, in which successful hunters were to bring in proof of a dead coyote to enter a draw for a new shotgun.

The fatal attack on Taylor Mitchell was only the second documented human death attributed to coyotes. (In 1981, a coyote killed a three-year-old girl in Glendale, California.) And though it's true that the vast majority of coyotes remain fearful of humans and pose no threat to human safety, the number of attacks is growing markedly.

According to researchers Lynsey White and Stanley Gehrt from Ohio State University, coyotes bit 159 North Americans between 1960 and 2006, and the frequency of these encounters has been increasing steadily since 1985. Shelley Alexander and Michael Quinn from the University of Calgary report that from the 1970s to today, there have been 17 attacks in Alberta, 12 in B.C., 10 in Ontario, three in Nova Scotia and one in Saskatchewan, with adults accounting for more than half of those who suffered injuries. A Parks Canada database shows more than 60 "unacceptable encounters" since 2003 in seven national parks in Alberta, B.C., Nova Scotia and Manitoba.

Robert Timm, a wildlife specialist at the University of California, suggests that to maintain a healthy relationship with coyotes as a species we need to be able to recognize problems before individual animals lose their fear of humans. Timm and his colleague Rex Baker have developed a seven-point scale to measure a coyote's transition from being naturally fearful toward humans to being a safety threat. The progression starts with increases in nighttime sightings of coyotes, then nighttime approaches by coyotes, then daytime sightings, then daytime attacks on unleashed pets, and then instances of coyotes following people. The progression continues with coyotes hanging around children's areas during the day, which leads, finally, to coyotes acting aggressively toward adults during the day. Timm says this progression will likely occur with all habituated coyotes if they do not receive any negative consequences as a result of being near humans (hazing measures include shouting, pepper spray and rubber bullets).

Valerius Geist, who has identified a similar pattern in deteriorating wolf-human relationships, explains that a predator that is considering taking on a new prey species usually follows a drawn-out process of learning through careful observation and timid exploratory attacks. "The first indication of a coyote targeting humans as alternative prey is that the coyote is interested in and watching people," says Geist. "In the next weeks or months, these coyotes will come closer and closer to humans." If Geist and Timm are right, it would seem the attack on Taylor Mitchell did not happen out of the blue, but was the culmination of a prolonged process of coyote habituation to humans. The Skyline Trail, after all, is the park's busiest, seeing 25,000 hikers a year. So, were coyotes watching visitors to Cape Breton Highlands National Park?

Derek Quann, a park manager, says that Cape Breton Highlands' history of coyote encounters started only about 10 years ago. He notes the park has responded to reports of "unacceptable" coyote behaviour on an annual basis since then, sometimes up to five a year. Park staff were forced to destroy three animals prior to last year, but Quann stresses the Skyline Trail area was not a trouble spot before the attack. "People have reported being followed in the park," Quann confirms. "The fatality was an extreme extension of existing behaviour. In a national park the tendency has been to give the animals what we consider a fair shake. We may have been too tolerant. We didn't see these animals as the threat they can be."

The park responded to the attack on Mitchell swiftly, shooting a female coyote that returned to the scene shortly afterwards. A necropsy confirmed that the animal had been involved in the attack. Four other animals were caught in leg traps and shot within a kilometre of the site over the next few days and on November 4, five kilometres away, a large male was trapped and shot. Shotgun pellets found in the animal confirmed this was the coyote wounded by RCMP constable Rompré at the scene. Perhaps to the dismay of some looking for tidy answers, the necropsy table revealed that both the female and male were healthy, not driven to attack by rabies or hunger.



The investigation also raised a new question. While the photographs of the two coyotes taken by the American hikers showed that one of them had distinctive markings, neither the female killed the day of the attack nor the male killed on November 4 had similar markings. Is it possible Mitchell was being stalked by a lone coyote and that when the two approaching coyotes came on to the scene the three set upon her, with the distinctively marked animal fleeing as the four hikers arrived? It's likely nobody will ever know.

Meanwhile, in mid-November, a couple walking on the Cabot Trail just seven kilometres from the Skyline Trail was being followed by a coyote so closely that one hiker hit it on the head with his walking stick. "We need to find out how coyotes learn, how they pass on knowledge, what role people can play. And what tipped the balance in this case," says Quann. "After all, coyote sightings are common in the park." Perhaps too common.

Brent Patterson says that anytime you see a coyote, it should be at a distance, and preferably showing you its tail. If you are confronted by an unusually bold coyote, you should pose as a formidable opponent by making noise and acting assertive. Give the coyote space and retreat slowly if you can, but don't turn your back, run or do anything to trigger the animal's chase reflex. Patterson encourages hikers to report fearless or curious coyotes to the appropriate authorities, saying that reinvigorating a coyote's fear of people can be simple, if done early. He suggests dog owners keep pets on a leash, even if the dog is bigger than a coyote. Admitting he ignored his own advice with his retriever, he recalls watching his dog chase a smaller coyote into some brush near Peterborough, Ontario, only to have both animals charge out in reverse order shortly afterward, with a puncture wound in his dog's shoulder.


_______________________________________________________________________________

From: Meril, Rick
To: 'gehrt.1@osu.edu' <gehrt.1@osu.edu>
Sent: Fri Feb 18 16:13:38 2011
Subject: Re: RE: Fw: Nightline's "Coyote" airing last night.....

Thanks for your time and expertise on this discussion Stan
Happy weekend

One shoukd not hike alone is morale of story.....in bear, wolf, cougar or coyote country
_______________________________________________________________________________

From: STANLEY GEHRT <gehrt.1@osu.edu>
To: Meril, Rick
Sent: Fri Feb 18 15:59:32 2011
Subject: Re: RE: Fw: Nightline's "Coyote" airing last night.....

Are you referring to Cape Breton  or everywhere else?  Food or habituation has always been the case for coyote attacks, except for the Taylor Mitchell case and possibly some more recent cases in Cape Breton.  I can't make something up to fit the mold when there is no evidence for it.   I'm not in the camp that says that the animals had to have been habituated to attack her, when there is no evidence to support it.  I went up there expecting to find that evidence, and it wasn't there.  There were many other things that I didn't expect to find, however.  Even habituated coyotes will give ground when the numbers are not in their favor, but these didn't.  Four adults had to do everything they could to get the coyotes off her, and then had to constantly defend themselves from the alpha female. 
You are correct, humans have never been a target food for coyotes (but they have been for wolves in Europe or Asia).  That is what makes the Taylor Mitchell incident so unbelievable. 
________________________________________________________________________________

----- Original Message -----
From: "Meril, Rick" <Rick.Meril@warnerbros.com>
Date: Friday, February 18, 2011 6:33 pm
Subject: RE: Fw: Nightline's "Coyote" airing last night.....
To: 'STANLEY GEHRT' <gehrt.1@osu.edu>

 Understood………………..from what I have read, humans are not a historical target food for coyotes or wolves…………but as they get comfortable around us, they begin to observe and evaluate us a possible prey item……………does the "getting comfortable around us" just occur or is it because we make it too easy for them because of our garbage disposal habits, pets left unattended, bird baths and feeders, etc etc?_________________________________________________________________________________
-----Original Message-----
 From: STANLEY GEHRT [mailto:gehrt.1@osu.edu] ; Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 3:30 PM
 To: Meril, Rick
 Subject: Re: Fw: Nightline's "Coyote" airing last night.....

There was no evidence of habituation by the coyotes.  Suddenly viewing humans as prey is not habituation.  Also, no evidence of food provision by humans, although this might explain some subsequent attacks.
________________________________________________________________________
 ----- Original Message -----
 From: "Meril, Rick" <Rick.Meril@warnerbros.com>
 Date: Friday, February 18, 2011 11:31 am
 Subject: Re: Fw: Nightline's "Coyote" airing last night..... To: "'gehrt.1@osu.edu'" lt;gehrt.1@osu.edu

 Stan

 As always, many thanks for your full disclosure and information
 Let us hope that over time, the media can be less sensational and more science oriented in their reports  I am guessing that errant human foodstuffs(or direct human feeding) have a good bit t do with the habituation of the cape breton coyotes

 Always like to learn and whenever u have the time or inclination, would enjoy hearing from you on all topics coyote.

A good weekend to you

Rick
________________________________________________________________________


> > From: STANLEY GEHRT <gehrt.1@osu.edu>
> > To: Meril, Rick
> > Sent: Fri Feb 18 07:50:16 2011
> > Subject: Re: Fw: Nightline's "Coyote" airing last night.....

 Rick,

Thanks for sharing although I'm getting the hatemail directly.  That is nothing new, everytime an article comes out on my research that is favorable to coyotes, get the same stuff from anti-coyote people.  Been that way for the past 10 years, so this is the same stuff but from the other side.
 I don't control how the piece is edited, either Nightline or NG.  I gave a 30 minute interview and they picked out what they wanted, but I stand by my comments anyway.  The NG story changed from the original plan back when we were filming last summer, so there are some aspects I'm not comfortable with (such as the title, which was changed), and I'm sure some people will not like it.  Again, I don't control it.  However, NG used considerable restraint when editing the material, and it could be much worse, but thankfully they did not use some of the more dramatic footage from my interviews.  I asked them not to, they agreed, and they kept their promise.  If people are upset by what I said on Nightline, they clearly aren't ready to handle the full details. 
I spent 10 days last summer with exclusive access to eveyone involved, some of whom have never spoken publicly about what they saw or experienced, most of which is not in the film.  I would argue that I probably know more about all aspects of the incident than anyone else (in fact, most of the people involved had not spoken to each other, and that was/is the main reason a final report has not come out).   In fact, I just recently came back from another trip to Cape Breton last week, at the invitation of Parks Canada staff.
This whole experience was made possible through Taylor's mother, Emily, who personally contacted many of the people involved to give them permission to give me the full details without editing.  Again, some of them had never spoken about it, or provided the full details, out of respect for her.  I also had an emotional, private meeting with Emily, and we still keep in touch.  She is an amazing person that I care about very much.  I promote her Foundation whenever I can.  I made a promise to her that I would take the experience that she provided me and simply lay out the facts as they are, and to do what I can to make sure it never happens again.   As for my 'agenda' and why I 'decided to come out now', comments like that are not productive for me.   
 I've got to run,
Stan
___________________________________________________________________________

 ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Meril, Rick" <Rick.Meril@warnerbros.com>
> > Date: Thursday, February 17, 2011 1:59 am
> > Subject: Fw: Nightline's "Coyote" airing last night.....
> > To: "'gehrt.1@osu.edu'" <gehrt.1@osu.edu>

 Stan; I enjoyed seeing you Nightline interview.........but the piece does end up causing the average person to be scared of coyotes. Does the ntl geo special provide a less harsh picture of what happened in cape breton to the folk singer?
_________________________________________________________________________

A BLOGGER RESPONDING TO DR. MARC BEKOFF'S PERSPECTIVE(SEE ARTICLE DIRECTLY BELOW THIS ONE) ON HUMANS PEACEFUL CO-EXISTANCE WITH COYOTES 

 I believe that Dr.Bekoff makes some valid points especially regarding media

hype. Also I respect his research and knowledge of coyotes, but I feel I need
to provide information which he seems to be unaware of.

I have spent summers in Cape Breton where the fatal attack occurred, for 30
years, and I think its fair to say that the animals in that region are
different then those in most of continental USA.

 In a relatively small area,there have been over  40 attacks/aggressive encounters with people in the
last 10 years. I have personally witnessed coyotes "testing" people. These
were not food habituated animals but wild animals 10 miles from the nearest
road. They (three animals)approached closely (10 yards)and stared at me. I
shouted at them and one animal yielded, the other two came closer. I picked
up a rock and threw it at the animals which they easily dodged. I then
shouted and charged at them. They backed off but circled and came at me from
behind, but when I charged they yielded. After two minutes of this I slowly
backed my way down the trail and I was followed, by not attacked. In my mind
I was being tested. Two years after this incident happened Taylor Mitchell
was killed 10 miles from where I had my encounter.
____________________________________________________________________

Do animals think and feel?

by Marc Bekoff

Coyotes: Victims of their own success and sensationalist media

Coyote attacks on humans are incredibly rare, so why the media hype?

Published on February 17, 2011

Coyotes are once again in the news, portrayed as vicious predators. A forthcoming National Geographic Special titled "Killed by coyotes?" will air February 18.

 As a researcher who has studied coyotes for decades and a board member of Project Coyote I feel it essential to set the record straight about these amazing survivors so that media hype doesn't taint the picture of who these wonderful carnivores truly are.

In an earlier essay I wrote about the incredible adaptability of coyotes despite a century or more of extreme and reprehensible persecution by government agencies and others because of their supposed rampant predation on livestock. However, scientific research shows over and over again that coyotes actually do very little damage to livestock.

 Coyotes are adaptable, intelligent, socially complex, and sentient beings who deserve respect. An extraordinary amount of time, energy, and money has gone into coyote control. Nonetheless, it hasn't worked, lest coyotes would be controlled and the controllers could move on to other programs, hopefully less pernicious and more successful and economically worthwhile activities. I expect that if any of us were as unsuccessful and wasteful in our jobs as Wildlife Services and animal "controllers" have been in theirs we'd be looking elsewhere for employment.

Let's briefly consider coyote attacks on humans. The National Geographic special gives close attention to the tragic killing of Canadian folk singer Taylor Mitchell. Needless to say, I and many others were stunned and deeply saddened by what happened to Ms. Mitchell.  (To read about Taylor's mother's thanks for the support her family received and her remarks about how Taylor would not have wanted the coyotes to be killed please see this article.)

The attack on Taylor Mitchell was the first fatal coyote attack(ON AN ADULT) ever recorded. One researcher claims that the coyotes were motivated to kill and eat Ms. Mitchell but this simply cannot be known based on the reconstruction of the incident, and would be difficult to know even if someone saw it happen. Based on other reports of human-coyote encounters this is highly speculative.

 This researcher also said that we shouldn't live in fear of coyotes and that they're constantly testing us. I agree we shouldn't live in fear of coyotes, but my own experience and that of others questions whether they're constantly testing us. I'm sure that because of the increasing amount of time that people are spending outdoors in areas where coyotes live there are numerous and increasing opportunities for coyotes to harass and attack but as we know this rarely occurs despite increasing opportunities.

 Between 1960 and 2006 there were only 142 attacks on 159 victims in the U.S. and Canada. It's estimated that 3-5 people are attacked in the United States each year. To be sure, this is regrettable but hardly something worth media hysterics. Compare coyote attacks with attacks by domestic dogs. In the U. S. it's estimated that about 1000 people a day are treated in emergency rooms for dog bites and in 2010 alone there were 34 fatal dog attacks. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.

We should appreciate the presence of coyotes and educate ourselves on how to coexist with them. Killing them doesn't work for they are here to stay because they are true survivors in incredibly unfriendly situations. Let's encourage media to provide a more balanced view of coyotes (and other animals) based on what we know about them and their encounters with us rather than irresponsible sensationalism. This will go a long way toward fostering more harmonious relationships for all.

Possible contacts for National Geographic:  pressroom@ngs.org, estanley@ngs.org
_______________________________________________________________________
To: Brent Patterson
Fm: Rick Meril

Thank you Brent.................appreciate your time and insight as always...........Curious as to your one year plus later take on all that occurred
______________________________________________________________________



On Sun, Feb 20, 2011 at 7:21 AM, Patterson, Brent (MNR) wrote:

Hi Rick,

Unfortunately I haven’t seen the full episode yet – we don’t get Nat Geo channel. I’m trying to make arrangements to see the replay later today and will certainly get back to you with more informed comments once I see the show.

Cheers,

Brent

Brent Patterson
Research Scientist – wolves and deer
Adjunct Professor, Trent University, Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program
President, Ontario Chapter of The Wildlife Society
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Wildlife Research and Development Section
Trent University, DNA Building
2140 East Bank Drive
Peterborough, ON
K9J 7B8, CANADA
Tel: (705) 755-1553
Fax: (705) 755-1559
http://people.trentu.ca/brentpatterson/









From: Rick Meril [mailto:rick.meril@gmail.com]

Sent: February 19, 2011 11:32 AM

To: Patterson, Brent (MNR)

Subject: ntl geo special on Cape Breton Coyote attack on Taylor Mitchell

Brent.....................



How are you....................Iwatched the Ntl Geo Special last night and perhaps this was the most balanced reporting you can expect from a media organization on an inflamatory topic of carnivores killing human animals. I have read most of what you have previously published on the habituation likelihood of Cape Breton Park coyotes to people.........................though foodstuffs is not the habituation agent in this case..............simply a long time of coyotes being around 20,000 hikers annually and perceiving they have nothing to fear from them.



Like my periodic corresspondence with you over the past couple of years, I communicate regularly with Stan Gehrt in Chicago(Ohio State Coyote Biologist). The two of you were featured in the Ntl Geo Special.................Stan's comments to me yesterday about his feelings on the atttack a year later are below.....................Do you have any additional thoughts or feelings about the attack?..........................Another full year has gone by......................Another 20,000 plus hikers have been through Cape Breton Park................................Can you illuminate me on anything further that you now feel about coyote habituation to humans..........................Their seeing us as prey..............................We know that wolves, bears and cougars can and have stalked men as prey....................Seems likejust as you should hike with a minimum of 5 in your party when in Grizzly Country, so should that be the rule wherever any of our suite of native carnivores reside(coyotes, bears, wolves, cougars, lynx, bobcat).



Appreciate whatever insights you can provide.



All the best,



Rick