Posted on 10/28/2009 12:33:10 PM PDT by Borges
Taylor Mitchell, a 19-year-old Toronto singer whose debut album was released in March, has died in a Nova Scotia hospital after being mauled by coyotes in a Cape Breton park.
Mitchell was hiking Tuesday on the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park when she was attacked by two coyotes. Another hiker, who was walking nearby, heard her cries for help and called 911.
Officers arrived about 3:15 p.m., and one of the coyotes fled into the bush. The other coyote was shot and limped away.
Mitchell was airlifted to a hospital in Halifax, where she died early Wednesday.
"I spoke to her mother late last night and at one point we thought, she was stable," said manager Lisa Weitz, "but she had lost too much blood."
The singer and songwriter, who loved the outdoors, had started her East Coast tour on Oct. 23 in New Brunswick and was scheduled to perform in Sydney tonight. "She had a small break and (she) wanted to go hiking," said Weitz.
Mitchell, whose MySpace photograph has her standing in the woods with a guitar in one hand, released her debut album this March.
A website review describes her album as "a collection of mostly original songs that showcases a range of styles, from folk to country-rock to pop."
Born and raised in Toronto, Mitchell studied music from an early age and graduated in 2008 from Etobicoke School of the Arts.
She was very excited to be touring the Maritimes, said Weitz. "She was just exhilarated to be on the road and performing."
Friends and family are in shock, said Weitz.
In Nova Scotia, Don Anderson, a biologist with that province's Natural Resources Department, said coyote attacks in the area are uncommon, but they do happen from time to time.
An Ontario girl was bitten on the same trail several years ago, Anderson said.
Ethel Merry, owner of the nearby Cheticamp Motel, said the incident was unfortunate but she wasn't surprised to hear about it. She said the motel is about 10 kilometres from the entrance of the park but she often sees coyotes.
"My home is a 100 feet from (the motel) but if it's dark outside, I don't walk alone," she said. "I've seen too many coyotes."
Merry said the attack hasn't fazed locals or park visitors. "Skyline Trail is one of the most beautiful and famous trails in the park. This isn't stopping any hikers," she said.
The park is on the northern tip of Cape Breton Island.
Poor thing. Prayer bump
Biggest one I ever saw was at Area 12 at the NTS. They’d hang out near the dumpsters at Yucca Mtn. too... usually once a year some idiot would get bit trying to feed them.
Very sad, a beautiful young lady.
Predators for the most part avoid humans but are unpredictable. The environuts that want to live in harmony with them, especially in populated areas are certifiably nuts.
A decent knife would have saved her.
“According to Wiki this is the first recorded incident of an adult
being killed by coyotes.”
Very weird.
As soon as I’ve ever gotten within visual contact with coyotes in
Oklahoma, Missouri, and even at the crest of the Santa Monicas
between Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley...
the common experience has been the following.
Coyote probably sees me first.
I finally see what I think is a dog...and then after my slow brain
finally says “hey, that’s not a dog...that’s a coyote!”...
the skitterish coyote is retreating at a fast trot to avoid contact.
Maybe those coyotes in Canada were just very hungry and felt “safety
in numbers”.
That poor girl.
Unarmed is no way to live. Not in the wilderness or anywhere else.
Coyotes routinely take down deer and stray dogs in my neighborhood but they have always steered clear of humans. At least so far...
I hate the possibility that I would ever phone in and escape without offering aid or protection. I don’t want to be that kind of person.
The EASTERN Coyote is a different animal from the solitary, human-fearing western Coyote.
The EASTERN Coyote is a BIG Animal which can get over 50 lbs and is a cross between the western coyote and the eastern Grey Wolf. Unlike the western coyote, they do hunt in packs.
They are different critters entirely. Trust me.
Last winter I was walking my female Dobie here in Palm Desert Ca about daylight when one started circling us. He had his eye on her but she just stood still and rotated as he circled. She was on a leash and her hackles were up. I had a bead between his eyes with my little .380 but knew if I pulled the trigger the cops would be there quickly. He finally slinked/slunk? away. He wasn’t very big but acted hungry.
They keep the cats thinned out here in my neighborhood. They usually leave the intestines and some times the head. They take the rest to their babies (after they wean them from milk).
There have been attacks in Griffith Park in central Los Angeles. All they have to do is get her Achilles tendons and she's down for the kill. They do the same to dogs.
Coyotes aren't stupid. Any predator will test to see what constitutes prey. Once they learn, the game is on, so to speak. I have a little quote for your consideration from Leviticus 26:22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.
This is no joke; it is all about our refusal to manage nature as commanded in Genesis 1:28. Of course, the Mosaic Law doesn't matter any more and only applied in Israel...
The law doesn't care whether you believe in it or not. It works the way it always has.
Nice analysis and I agree.
Although we have coyotes in our neighborhood every night.
We can hear them yipping, but from afar.
We also have two very large dogs and so far they all have “an understanding”. If the status quo changes in any way, I would have no problem shooting a couple of the coyotes.
Another reason to go coyote hunting this week.
Coyotes are now classified as dangerous as swans. /s
There is a recorded death attributed to a swan.
(Jumped on a swimmers head and drowned him.)
A Dingo Took My Baby
“couldnt you fight them off with a walking stick or a nine iron?”
she died like a true lib. screaming & waiting for government assistance
I suspect that what she lacked most of all was the will to fight back and survive.
If she turned and ran, large healthy coyotes could certainly cause problems.
I’ve had the German shepard-sized ones in my backyard. I could certainly see them killing a small adult if they worked in concert and the adult wasn’t inclined or prepared to defend herself.
I’ve also seen a wolf pack hunt a cow elk. They take turns chasing, will not be distracted by other prey once they establish their target, and are relentless. I would not wish to be their target.
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