Young woman killed by coyotes

[petros]

I shoot coyotes because of their numbers, and because I think all large predators need to understand that man is off-limits. It is no coincidence that this attack happened in a Park, where the carnivores are perfectly safe from my rifle......

Thanks to coyotes I save big on losses from deer, mice and other rodents on the farm somewhere around 1/2 a tonne worth of food per section per farm. That's a ****load of food they help put on the tables of the world. If feeding the world isn't your schtick then think of it as 500 cases of beer per square mile

 

[AnnaG]

That coyote doesn't look like any coyote I ever saw, and I've seen plenty. The following link is to a photo of a coyote that looks like a coyote:

http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/wp-content/uploads/coyote006-004.jpg

Snout is pointier, ears are farther apart relative to head size, it's slimmer, less chest, coloring is quite different, and that's off the top of my head.

 

[petros]

This started as a wolf.....

 

[AnnaG]

I would tend to agree with part of that, but it would upset the PETA types if we had the same right to hunt, eat, and defend ourselves as the other animals. As far as the science, there's still the age old question; if we descended from the apes, why are there still apes?

We didn't descend from apes. We are a separate branch of the tree than apes. There were different human lines much like there are different ape lines, but we're not the same. Evolution isn't linear.

 

[AnnaG]

In 1965 I worked on the first tar sands plant in Fort McMurray. The job superintendent was driving to work just before Christmas and he hit a wolf with his truck. He went to the back of his truck thinking he would get a shovel handle to finish the animal off. He took one look at the wolf and went home to get his rifle. He later brought the dead animal to the job site. That wolf was literally skin and bone but it weighed over a hundred and fifty pounds. In good shape and well fed, it would have been well over two hundred pounds. I don't know what the record is but that wolf must have been close.

Yup. Wolves can be as much as a meter tall and 2 meters in length. On average I think a male weighs about 80 kg.

 

[AnnaG]

Thanks to coyotes I save big on losses from deer, mice and other rodents on the farm somewhere around 1/2 a tonne worth of food per section per farm. That's a ****load of food they help put on the tables of the world. If feeding the world isn't your schtick then think of it as 500 cases of beer per square mile

Yup. Between the coyotes, great horned owls, hawks, golden eagles, martens, weasels, etc. the rodents have a full time job staying alive here, too. lol

 

[Cliffy]

As far as the science, there's still the age old question; if we descended from the apes, why are there still apes?

That is just plain silly. There are a variety of apes but only one species of human. Besides, humans were genetically engineered from one species of apes by aliens adding their DNA into the mix. The species of ape could still be here. If you don't believe me, look at Genesis. Aliens (angels) mated with the daughters of man. Or you can read Zackariah Sichen's The Twelfth Planet. He refers to Babylonian, Assyrian and Sumerian texts as well as biblical.

 

[bobnoorduyn]

We didn't descend from apes. We are a separate branch of the tree than apes. There were different human lines much like there are different ape lines, but we're not the same. Evolution isn't linear.

I'm glad you agree with me on the "apes" thing, but there are scientists who don't and are still trying, unsucessfully, to prove otherwise. There is no concrete proof of where we came from, or that evolution, as popularly understood, exists or the eggheads trying to figure it out would have come to some agreement by now. As a local marine biologist once said, "you know what a lobster evolved from? A lobster".

 

[AnnaG]

I'm glad you agree with me on the "apes" thing, but there are scientists who don't and are still trying, unsucessfully, to prove otherwise. There is no concrete proof of where we came from, or that evolution, as popularly understood, exists or the eggheads trying to figure it out would have come to some agreement by now. As a local marine biologist once said, "you know what a lobster evolved from? A lobster".

Bob, a while ago I remember reading where researchers found the genetic mutation that separated man from ape. So those scientists trying to prove we are the same branch on the tree are doomed to fail.
I suppose I should quit using the tree analogy as evolution didn't happen treelike as Darwin thought it did.

 

[bobnoorduyn]

That is just plain silly. There are a variety of apes but only one species of human. Besides, humans were genetically engineered from one species of apes by aliens adding their DNA into the mix. The species of ape could still be here. If you don't believe me, look at Genesis. Aliens (angels) mated with the daughters of man. Or you can read Zackariah Sichen's The Twelfth Planet. He refers to Babylonian, Assyrian and Sumerian texts as well as biblical.

I was using the ape analogy facetiously, and the term ape is somewhat generic to describe a number of primate species. But technically, if we were genetically engineered we couldn't really be called descendants of, or evlolved from something else. You can mix breeds of dogs and get a mixed breed dog, but it's still a dog, and only because it has been domesticated. They still breed with wolves and make for particularly nasty offspring. They haven't yet found a way to mix humans with other primates, yet.

 

[petros]

I'm glad you agree with me on the "apes" thing, but there are scientists who don't and are still trying, unsucessfully, to prove otherwise. There is no concrete proof of where we came from, or that evolution, as popularly understood, exists or the eggheads trying to figure it out would have come to some agreement by now. As a local marine biologist once said, "you know what a lobster evolved from? A lobster".

Does your blood have an Rh factor tieing you to the Rhesus monkey? Do you have the identical male pattern balding gene as the chimp?

Well then you might be a redneck...

As for the lobster....

For more than a century, scientists have debated the family tree of the arthropods, the largest and most diverse division of the animal kingdom. Now, scientists have found genetic evidence that all arthropods--from the lowly millipede to the lobster--have a common ancestor. The discovery of a common genetic circuit for limb formation in arthropods not only is important for developmental biology, but also holds promise as an important new window to the past.

"This is a new way of looking at evolution. For arthropods, the fossil record has a lot of missing links," notes University of Wisconsin-Madison molecular biologist Grace Panganiban. "The record is not clear about what evolved into what. Here, at the molecular level, we can see the tracks of evolution."
Panganiban and her colleagues have discovered a common set of genes that govern limb formation among arthropods, a broad division of the animal kingdom that includes insects, crustaceans, spiders, centipedes, and millipedes. That finding, she indicates, constitutes new evidence that arthropods--which include tens of thousands of distinct species--arose millions of years ago from a single common ancestor.
The newly discovered genes essentially are the same in all arthropods. However, each species uses those genes in different ways to build its own unique body structure.
According to Panganiban, the genes that guide an animal's development can be re-engaged in evolution to build on a successful body architecture. "In an evolutionary context, it seems that some genetic circuits are so useful they can be turned to making new things. It is easier to modify and re-use an existing genetic program than to create a new one. If you have a branched limb, a leg or antenna, for example, that limb is a duplicate and modification of a limb that's unbranched."
Scientists still are unsure what the mother of all anthropods looked like. They suspect it was worm-like and lacked the exterior skeleton that is a hallmark of the arthropod family. Whatever that animal resembled, Panganiban maintains, it had these genes and they already were doing something in a coordinated way.

As for us types who purchase gear from or work for EG&G, we thank you dearly for you fear of ghosts to finance the wonderful gifts technology brings.

 

[#juan]

It is my understanding that all living things share parts of the same DNA. Meaning, that we are related to every other living thing, including apes.

 

[Risus]

Ah, Dear Lord, is there anything more intellectually arrogant than a lefty Toronto resident???

Yep.....sometimes I kill for the sheer hell of it, because I please. For fun. Because I can. So what????

Only within the law, only animals that are pests, and PETA can kiss my furry arse.

No, I have never mowed down a human.....in fact, I realized how horrible it would be to have to shoot someone the first time I killed a deer. I'm not confused about the morality of life and death in nature.....you are. I have an active enough brain stem to be able to differentiate between humans and animals....my guess is that you do not.

I used to think you had a brain. Not now. You are a despicable individual.

I bet you still kill deer. You are the confused individual Killing for the fun of it actually shows that you are the one confused with the morality of Life and Death.

Just so you know. I am an outdoorsman, grew up in NB. I am not an arrogant lefty from Toronto. Just happen to reside there temporarily.

I have an excellent idea for what someone can do to your furry arse, you arrogant despicable individual.

 

[Colpy]

I used to think you had a brain. Not now. You are a despicable individual.

I bet you still kill deer. You are the confused individual Killing for the fun of it actually shows that you are the one confused with the morality of Life and Death.

Just so you know. I am an outdoorsman, grew up in NB. I am not an arrogant lefty from Toronto. Just happen to reside there temporarily.

I have an excellent idea for what someone can do to your furry arse, you arrogant despicable individual.

What is your problem?

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Canadians hunt every year, and they do it for the sport of it...(read fun). The vast vast majority of hunters do NOT do so because they need to fill the larder, believe me....it is an expensive sport, and ground beef ain't nearly that pricey.

Yes, I shoot coyotes. If a few more people shot coyotes a promising young folk singer would still be alive today. Nature is wild, and dangerous, and fear of man in large predators, or pack carnivores, is a instinct that badly needs to be encouraged.

How about addressing the argument and not sliding off into some emotional and incoherently insulting rant???

 

[Risus]

What is your problem?

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Canadians hunt every year, and they do it for the sport of it...(read fun). The vast vast majority of hunters do NOT do so because they need to fill the larder, believe me....it is an expensive sport, and ground beef ain't nearly that pricey.

Yes, I shoot coyotes. If a few more people shot coyotes a promising young folk singer would still be alive today. Nature is wild, and dangerous, and fear of man in large predators, or pack carnivores, is a instinct that badly needs to be encouraged.

How about addressing the argument and not sliding off into some emotional and incoherently insulting rant???

You need to respect nature, and the danger thereof, not try to destroy it.
And I am not referring to hunting if you are going to eat the animal. I am referring to killing just for the sake of killing.

 

[Cliffy]

You need to respect nature, and the danger thereof, not try to destroy it.
And I am not referring to hunting if you are going to eat the animal. I am referring to killing just for the sake of killing.

Yes, I think those that enjoy killing for sport should be sent overseas to fight in a war, any war. It would be much more sporting if your target is shooting back at you.

 

[bobnoorduyn]

It is my understanding that all living things share parts of the same DNA. Meaning, that we are related to every other living thing, including apes.

Uhhh, yeah, but we're casting a pretty wide net now, kind of like saying we are related to every other carbon based life form because we are carbon based life forms.

 

[bobnoorduyn]

Does your blood have an Rh factor tieing you to the Rhesus monkey? Do you have the identical male pattern balding gene as the chimp?

Well then you might be a redneck...

I haven't seen too many Rhesus monkeys or chimps driving 4X4's with light bars and big tires in the city, (just some folks who look like them), so I don't see the connection. However, I wouldn't mind the balding pattern that affects a certain part of the baboon's anatomy. I still can't figure out why, as we get older, we need more hair there than on our heads.

 

[earth_as_one]

Sounds like the family does not want people killing coyotes:

Letter from coyote victim's mother

A photo of Taylor Mitchell from her Facebook page.

Folk musician Taylor Mitchell 'was my shining light, my baby, my confidante and best friend,' mom says in grateful letter to public

On behalf of my family, I want to express my deepest thanks for the outpouring of condolences and support from Taylor's friends and fans, near and far. My thanks to the hikers who called 911, the RCMP officer who first arrived on the scene and did his utmost to help her, as well as the incredible doctors and nurses at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Halifax who tried desperately to save her. I wish to also thank RCMP's Victims Services, and the Atlantica Hotel who've gone out of their way to support us during this difficult time.

There are no words to describe my grief. Taylor was my shining light, my baby, my confidante and best friend. My world is turned upside down and forever transformed without her. I don't know how to move forward from here but I know that she would want that for me and I will try to do that in her memory and celebrate her life in the way she lived it -- with passion, commitment and an unbridled loving heart.
I've noticed that the media have often mentioned that Taylor was hiking alone when the coyote attack occurred. I want people to know that Taylor was 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. 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.
Her loss is an incomprehensible tragedy on so many levels -- but everybody's messages of love and support and desire to keep her memory and music alive will help me to move forward and honour her short but full and vibrant life.
There will be a service and visitation, as well as a concert to celebrate her life and music.
Details will be finalized in the coming days.
With love and deep appreciation,
Emily Mitchell

Letter from coyote victim's mother - The Globe and Mail

I don't have problems with people who hunt for sport as long as they obey the law. In the absense of predators, humans can be beneficial. I still fish, but I gave up hunting and trapping. Now I take photos:

 

[Wallace]

A hundred years ago no wild animal would have come near a human. They would have been shot on sight. They were afraid of humans and rightly so. The last fifty years has taught them that they've nothing to fear from us, so they're wandering into our territory bold as brass. It's only a short step from there to the animals deciding its THEIR territory once more and it is us who are to be chased out. We had bears in our cottage area in Southern Ontario for the first time in fifty years. And they weren't the slightest bit afraid. For the first time ever, I'm thinking of buying a gun.

The Toronto yuppies have been watching too much Disney.