Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Canadian folk singer killed by coyotes, park official says

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/29/canada.singer.killed/

(CNN) -- A rising Canadian folk singer was killed by coyotes this week in a national park in Nova Scotia, a park spokesman said Thursday.

Taylor Mitchell, 19, was at the beginning of the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on Tuesday afternoon when she was attacked, according to Chip Bird, the Parks Canada field unit superintendent for Cape Breton.

Bird said hikers saw the coyotes attacking Mitchell and called 911. She was airlifted to a hospital in Halifax, where she died about 12 hours later, he said.

Mitchell was recently nominated for Young Performer of the Year honors by Canadian Folk Music Awards. She was touring the Maritime provinces and had a break between gigs to go hiking Tuesday, her manager, Lisa Weitz, said in an e-mail.

"She loved the woods and had a deep affinity for their beauty and serenity," she wrote.

"Words can't begin to express the sadness and tragedy of losing such a sweet, compassionate, vibrant, and phenomenally talented young woman," Weitz said.

"Her warmth, loving nature, astounding artistry, and infectious enthusiasm will be so missed and forever remembered."

Mitchell, who was originally from the Georgian Bay area in Ontario, lived in Toronto, Weitz said.

Bird said the area where the attack occurred is popular and well traveled. It remained closed, and park authorities had shot one coyote believed to be involved. A pathologist will test the animal's body for diseases that might have triggered the attack, he said.

Searches for other aggressive animals in the park continue, he said.

"Public safety is our primary concern," he said.

He said no other coyote attacks had ever occurred in the park. "We've had coyotes approach people too closely," he said, and about six years ago one nipped a person.

That animal was killed because of "lack of fear," he said.

But Tuesday's attack is "unprecedented and a totally isolated incident," he said.

In a written statement, Emily Mitchell described her daughter as "a seasoned naturalist and well versed in wilderness camping. She loved the woods and had a deep affinity for their beauty and serenity. Tragically it was her time to be taken from us so soon.

"We take a calculated risk when spending time in nature's fold -- it's the wildlife's terrain," Emily Mitchell's statement continued. "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. She was passionate about animals, was an environmentalist, and was also planning to volunteer at the Toronto Wildlife Centre in the coming months."

Send your stories, photos of Mitchell

Michael Johnston, Mitchell's producer for her debut album, "For Your Consideration," said the singer was a "brilliant and beautiful light that people were naturally drawn to."

"She was so young and talented. Her big dreams were a perfect match with her big, kind heart."

He said he and his family would soon be organizing a celebration of her life.

Coyote attacks on humans are extremely rare, said Michael O'Brien, wildlife manager of furbearers and upland game for Nova Scotia.

It is "not expected or normal behavior," he said, although he said there had been aggressive incidents in Nova Scotia before, but no deaths.

Illness, injury and familiarity with humans can affect an animal's behavior, he said.

Don't want to bust your balls, but did you by any chance read the date on that piece? It happened 5 years ago.

I have been stalked by coyotes in the Ocala NF, but they never showed much real desire to attack.
I guess, since this was in Canada, she did not have a pistol with her. Likely that she would not have gone armed anyway, since she was a 'seasoned naturalist'.

yeah but its still interesting, first i have heard of a pack of coyotes killing an adult.

One more reason to kill a mess of coyotes this winter.

Was dragging a small wild hog back to camp one night by moonlight when I heard a sound. Turned on the surefire and there in the wheat field was a couple of coyotes. Off to my right were a couple more and one more directly behind me at about 10 yards.

I figure they were following the hog scent more than me, but it was a bit unnerving as to how close they got without me knowing it. They left when they heard me work the rifle bolt.

Dammit Rog, ya gotta spend less time hunting, fishing and working and more time at home on the innernet, else you woulda seen this the first time around.

In conversations about this at the time it turns out the Canadian version of the coyote in the east has a strong admixture of wolf genes, and run larger than our Texas coyotes.

This was a horrific attack. I'm not sure the full details ever came out and I hope I'm wrong but the impression I got was nobody directly intervened to stop it until the Cops arrived on the scene, thirty minutes after the 911 calls were made.

Birdwatcher

You're not wrong. Several "witnesses" kept their distance and watched/listened to the attack.

There was a very strong likelihood that the victim was in the midst of a menstrual cycle at the time of the attack (known to draw/trigger attacks in bears and other predators), and she ran when the coyotes first began their inquiries, triggering the predator/prey response. Her small size added to the problem, and she may well have tripped in front of them during her run.

A very bad combination of factors adding up to an attack with no means or understanding of self-defense, and then abject cowardice by those in the immediate area who could have rendered protection.

I couldn't stand by and let that happen.

... and why would you? Grab a good stick and practice your golf swing. Target rich environment, it seems.

I can not fathom the extent of "911 and stand by" here...

Standing by while a girl gets torn apart by as many as three coyotes don't seem exactly "Canadian" either.

Had to be women making those calls, I hope.

But even then, there's probably a reason why no witness accounts were published.

I hope that girl is in Heaven now, and all of this is irrelevant to her.

Birdwatcher

I guess they were not fans.......



Good music.

"There was a very strong likelihood that the victim was in the midst of a menstrual cycle at the time".........

Not questioning that at all since I've seen horses act up around women during their monthlies.

But I killed a coyote that was stalking my girlfriend while we were deer hunting, and it was NOT during her period.

She was sitting on the ground and saw the coyote come from behind her and to her right side, unaware of her. Then, as soon as he got a little downwind from her, he circled and got directly downwind, then started back toward her, using what cover was available to him.

When he got within about 40 yards of her, she cut down on him with the '06 I'd loaned her, but missed. I was coming toward her when I heard her shoot and waited and watched. The big dog coyote was running thru the brush and I got him with my 45 70.

He appeared to me to be perfectly healthy.

Not all of them.

Ready;
Top of the morning to you sir, I trust this finds you and yours doing acceptably well on this cool fall morning.

I'm on my last gulp of coffee before heading up the mountain behind our house in search of a fat whitetail buck that is sufficiently dense enough to stand still long enough for me, but thought I'd comment on Roger's thread here quickly.

As noted by at least one poster, we're not allowed to carry firearms in a the national parks, but in our experience nobody even blinks when I've had one of these strapped to my day pack straps or on my hip in plain view.



Over the years I've needed to use a knife to put down a good double handful of MV hit deer and am quite sure a blade would be much, much better than nothing in a predatory attack.

That said, we're typically carrying a couple cans of bear spray and it wasn't unusual for me to have a custom laminated hardwood walking stick in my hands either.

Again nobody raised an eyebrow at them, especially if one turned the conversation to the wildflowers we'd seen down the way.....

I hope and pray I never have to endure what this young lady did- to say the least its a horrific way to die.

That said, I am fairly confident that if I did or if I encountered a fellow backwoods hiker in a similar situation that the right mindset combined with some basic tools might/could affect the outcome in a more positive manner.

Anyway sir, I'd better saddle up and slither on up the mountain now. All the best to you folks Ready and good luck on your remaining hunts this fall.

Dwayne

Those hikers should have picked up solid tree limbs and chased them off.

Guy at the camp killed a female yote about a half mile from the camp. Put it on the back of the 4 wheeler and drove back to camp for pictures. He was alone at the time. Parked the for wheeler, turned around and watched a male yote trail the female all the way to the camp from the gravel road. This area is wide open with no cover. He couldn't get to his gun in time once the shock wore off. Damn thing came withing 20 yards of him. Puzzy will make animals do strange things.


Clyde

Indeed! I love her voice.

It's unfortunate that so many forget that wolves are out their waiting to kill our women, be it in the country or the city.

There is nothing the wolves like more than unarmed sheep.

Two legged coyotes, too.

WTF do you think I meant when I mentioned the city.

I've seen some of those MIXES back in the Northeast( Northern New England) and in Canada, ( Quebec and the Maritimes)..

besides their being mating between them and wolves, or wolf mixes.. there is the coy dogs.. you can get some pretty good sized animals running around in those northern woods...

especially if they are mixed in packs containing coy dogs in them, you have a real problem, as the coy dogs don't have a natural fear of man, the way a coyote or wolf would...

I am probably mistaken but from memory I think the Park Ranger responded to the scene without a firearm and for whatever reason retreated and drove back to HQ where he got an 870 .12 gauge went back to the scene and then wounded one of the coyotes and missed the others. My guess is he wasn't familiar with firearms and was pretty shook up as well. Hope the Park Rangers evaluated their training and firearms policy afterward.

Unbelievable!

I had not heard of this so thanks for posting. Seems they get a couple of people each year - enough to be cautious; I wish about 10 of them would try to get me so I could kill that many!

Two legged coyotes are brown and not limited to the big cities, but get your panties twisted if you wish.

Yep, the only mention of this (attack/Eastern Cyote genetics) was on the interwebz...

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/meet-the-coywolf/meet-the-coywolf/8605/

we've had a few attacks on children here, out on the island.

Dwayne,

I only now saw your reply. You show yourself again a well prepared, in mind and gear, outdoors man. That your happening into such situation would turn the tides I have no doubt.

Did you happen on that buck you were in search for the other day?

All the best to you and family in all your endeavours.

C.

Exactly! They should have done something!

Only problem I would have had is finding one that didn't break at the beginning of the swing. Not once have I ever needed a good solid limb and been able to pick one up without it breaking and becoming totally useless. I guess around here if it is rotten enough to fall out of a tree, It isn't going to be of much use. That is why I wouldn't need to look for a limb. It took me a long time to finally realize that if I'm going to be in places that could be dangerous, I had better carry something to even the odds, because finding something when you need it might be a problem.

I would bet that, even being a seasoned naturalist, she wouldn't have minded a few of her friends shooting a couple of those coyotes. I hope that I am never in a situation that I have to look back and say what if I had been armed.

I wonder how many Yotes were in the pack when they attacked? That might have something to do with the action of the onlookers and the Park Ranger..

Her manager, Lisa Weitz, wrote in an e-mai:


Like many people, the singer and her manager held the flawed view that the woods is a place of serenity. The singer learned, the hard way, that it isn't. It's a kill-or-be-killed theater, an eat-or-be-eaten environment. The manager, even with first-hand experience, continues to ignore the obvious. It's sad, and unfortunate. Sadly and unfortunately, it's also willful.

Steve.

Probably saw the woods as some scene out of a Disney movie. I'm more like the old Puritans and Pilgrams and see the woods as a dark and dangerous place.

Three...

If thats the case, their inaction was indeed beyond pitiful..

You need to consider the time frame also. This was NOT a quick affair. It went on for a considerable amount of time which says even worse for the other people who where there. Coyotes don't usually kill the prey before they eat it. They were eating her alive for more than an hour.The others just listened while it happened.

I've never heard of coyotes killing a person. ..and I can't understand how the other hikers could just listen to her scream, for what must have been an extended period of time, without trying to do more than call 911. I bet they hear her in their environmentalist nightmares!

I'm sure one was outside my tent this weekend. I'm 99.99% positive it wasn't a bear or cat, I was just too cold to go out and look for it in the middle of the night. He was pretty bold and came right up to the tent.

The truth is neither.

Exactly. The reports that I read on this, some rather graphic, indicate that they attacked her legs first (as coyotes will do), and essentially ate her thighs, buttocks, and when they could get to her abdomen, that area as well. She had defensive wounds on her hands and arms and bites there and to her face as one or two of the coyotes would keep her off of the one/two feeding on her.

They tore her apart, and ate her alive for almost an hour, and the bystanders did nothing.

I truly hope their nightmares are every bit as real as what that woman went through.

I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.

More than once, I've had a couple of coyotes putting the sneak on me, (on occasion to their detriment).

I've often wondered if the only difference between one of them going for the gusto and the rest joining in is the marginal time since their last meal.

Of course, I'm not exactly armed with a mandolin and a helluva singin' voice either.

You assume they were environmentalists, which is irrelevant (at best).

Also, eastern coyotes are not like the ones out west. A western coyote will be considered huge if it's 35#. An eastern coyote, especially in the northern areas (like Canada), will reach 35# in it's first year and they can easily top 50# or 60# with 70# dogs being reported not too infrequently. Imagine what three Huskies or Malinois could do to a small person (she was about 5'2" and maybe 105#), and you have a good idea of what happened to her.

The only thing preventing them going for the gusto is likely you getting the drop on them. If a coyote (or any large wild dog or cat) thinks it can kill and/or eat you, the only thing stopping it from doing so is a change in that thought or your defense against the same.

Doesn't this statement tell you how nuts some are; like you'd rather a couple more people get eaten than shoot the yotes. They should stake her out in the woods until she promises not to publicly say stupid crap.

by the way:

Carolina coyote: 36 pounds. Not the biggest of the pack.

was making its way through a draw while I was on a fawn call.

This is what happens when bitey, scratchy and stompie critters dont fear man.