Canadian folk singer killed by coyotes, park official says

[Caitlin.ann]

(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.

Link (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/29/canada.singer.killed/index.html)

Sad news..the Highlands are beautiful. I was only there this past August.

[Nicholas]

Coyotes are being thinned out as we speak. Attacks like this in my area are absolutely unheard of and according to the radio this is the first documented one of its kind. Coyotes are a pest in the region and are hunted all year round but their populations are still way up. This is a sad unexpected story.

[Caitlin.ann]

Coyotes are being thinned out as we speak. Attacks like this in my area are absolutely unheard of and according to the radio this is the first documented one of its kind. Coyotes are a pest in the region and are hunted all year round but their populations are still way up. This is a sad unexpected story.

Yeah but in the Highlands there aren't many to hunt them, right? Only near Ingonish and Cheticamp I would think, but not in the deep wild of the inner Highlands. Where exactly did it occur? I can't place it.

[Nicholas]

Yeah but in the Highlands there aren't many to hunt them, right? Only near Ingonish and Cheticamp I would think, but not in the deep wild of the inner Highlands. Where exactly did it occur? I can't place it.

Their populations are huge everywhere on the island, even the woods which boarder my town there are tons that come into town at night to prey on outdoor cats.. but typically they don't come near human beings at all..

[Caitlin.ann]

Their populations are huge everywhere on the island, even the woods which boarder my town there are tons that come into town at night to prey on outdoor cats.. but typically they don't come near human beings at all..

Oh misread your post, dear.

[Nicholas]

Oh misread your post, dear.

You're forgiven... this time :D

[Philosophia]

I don't think I've heard of coyotes attacking humans before. According to this article (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,570405,00.html), it's rare.

[alwaysfallingup]

That's so bizarre! I wonder if they were rabid, or otherwise ill. Or perhaps released captives unafraid of humans? I was actually once attacked by a released fox. A neighbor had been raising them and then let them all go...it curled up in a feed sack in our barn and tried to bite me when I went to feed the horses. I was 7 or so. We have coyotes here in large numbers, and I've never heard of an attack like this.

[TeamTwig]

That's very curious behavior for coyotes. I could maybe understand if it was a very large and very hungry pack (desperation, plus numbers on their side might make them go after non-traditional prey items) - but still very odd.

Where I live we have problems with them, but it's more from them tipping over garbage cans or nabbing unattended chihuahua's - I've never heard of an attack on people here. I believe there were a couple a few years ago on small children in New England, where I'm originally from.

That's very sad, and confusing from a behavioral viewpoint.