Posted on 05/08/2008 6:40:46 PM PDT by kingattax
LAKE ARROWHEAD, Calif. — A coyote grabbed a 2-year-old girl by the head and tried to drag her from the front yard of her mountain home in the third incident of a coyote threatening a small child in Southern California in five days, authorities said.
The coyote attacked the girl around noon Tuesday when her mother, Melissa Rowley, went inside the home for a moment to put away a camera, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said in an incident report.
Rowley came out of the house and saw the coyote dragging her daughter towards a street. She ran towards her daughter, and the animal released the girl and ran away, said sheriff's spokeswoman Arden Wiltshire.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Do you know how many times I’ve read of kids being abducted in the front yard never to be seen again? I’m sorry, but that’s just not good enough. You can’t take that chance.
For those of you not familiar with coyotes, let me assure you, they are very different from dogs in how they behave.
They are both intelligent and skilled at tactics. By this I mean they will scheme until they find and opening, and have a plan both how to attack and how to get away before they begin.
Indians noted this long ago, and nicknamed them “tricksters” that should never be trusted.
In this case, the coyote was probably hidden for some time, watching the children, and waiting for an opportunity to grab them. Their miscalculation was that they were unable to drag away their prey before being discovered.
But yes, it is only a matter of time before their plans figure out a way. If nothing else, they will figure out how to quickly kill a child, then drag it to a nearby hidden place, like under a front porch, where they will stay hidden until they can make a clean getaway.
Ironically, wolves have a lot more raw intelligence than coyotes, even if they don’t share their scheming nature. And there have been some reports in the eastern US of wolves and coyotes cross-breeding.
If this is the case, the hybrid animal could be exceptionally dangerous.
I have never watched “Seinfeld”
Sorry CindyDawg, I’m not sure what you meant by SSS.
You better disquise it better than that, or you’ll be in trouble with the neighbors.
One mad mommy on TV with pictures (preferably before and after) with a photogenic and now dead baby and the whole animal rights / reintroduction effort DIES.
I hope to god that doesn’t happen. (I have two toddlers myself.)
It’s only a matter of time before the invasion begins.
Is your brother on now?Brennan?
And the squirrels. Don't forget the squirrels.....
Watching your brother now..he is a good spokesman.
boston terriers won’t be much use for that. They have weak voices and you won’t hear them bark or growl if you are inside. And they are too small to fend off a coyote. But I suppose if you have enough of them and keep getting more, the coyotes will snatch your little dogs instead of your little children.
Let’s just call him Kevin.
I prefer a .22-250 but the .308 does a good job too.
It’s perfectly legal to shoot coyotes in California, just not with a .22. They aren’t in any way protected. Some cities like Riverside don’t like the idea, but even they have no problem with it if someone’s life is endangered.
that was a great line!
Thanks for the DFG explanation - your brother did very well. This problem sounds pretty serious.....and right now sounds like they are out to trap the offending coyote and kill it.
Sounds good to me. Needs to be done a lot more than just this once, though. Don’t you think?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.