Rising new singer Taylor Mitchell killed in a rare coyote attack

Wild Coyote poised for attack

Taylor Mitchell killed by coyotes

New rising folk singer Taylor Mitchell was attacked and mauled by two coyote’s while on a hike in Nova Scotia,Canada,while on a tour in support of her music.

Taylor Mitchell was only 19, and by all accounts, on the verge of becoming a significant voice in the folk music scene.

Mitchell was attacked on this past Tuesday, and she tragically died from her wounds on Wednesday morning, after having been airlifted to the Halifax hospital after her attack.

Park officials tracked down the coyotes expected in the attack, and put them down. The bodies of the animals were taken to Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island for forensic test, in order to try to find out why the coyotes attacked.

Coyotes are usually shy animals, and generally try to avoid any contact with humans. That is why this attack is unusual.

This story is a big concern for me, as I have several coyotes that reside in my rural neighborhood, and frequently attack the pets around here.I have often been confronted by a pack of 8 coyotes in the evening, and I know that that is a hunting group.

It is the two scouts leading the group that I don’t see that concerns me.

The coyotes around here, have no problem killing the small dogs or cats in front of the humans,but they run away, or go about their business when they see a human.

Lately, they seem to be hunting longer, and stay out well past daybreak, unlike they have done in the past.These coyotes around my yard are as big as the wolves in the San Diego Zoo, which is scary.

Animal control has reassured me that the coyotes in my yard are indigenous to the area, and have never been known to attack a human.

This mauling and death of this young singer may signal a re- evaluation of that assesment.I have always felt that a hungry, starving, desperate animal used to killing every meal, may eventually notice that human beings are a plentiful, available source of food.

This may be a case of evolution, where species adapt their instincts to the changing dynamics within their enviroment.

I often take strolls in my rural neighborhood, and I see several coyotes every day.

I will never look at them the same.

For more insight into this animal attack, and subsequent death of singer/musician Taylor Mitchell, click this link…

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/10/musician-taylor-mitchell-dies.html

Rest in Peace Taylor Mitchell….you will  be missed, but your beautiful music will live on forever…