Location of sick coyote shot by cops a mystery
By Chris Doucette, Toronto Sun
First posted: Monday, July 25, 2016 08:50 PM EDT | Updated: Monday, July 25, 2016 08:54 PM EDT
A sick coyote that has been wandering through northeast Scarborough in recent weeks is thought to be badly injured or dead after being shot by cops.
Toronto Police say officers fired on the animal after encountering it near Morrish Rd. and Eulcid Ave. on Saturday morning while responding to a call from a concerned citizen.
“We got a call about a coyote that was seen roaming the area, chewing on its own legs, and appeared to be in rough shape,” spokesman Mark Pugash said Monday. “The caller was concerned because it was in a residential area.”
With lots of kids and pets in the Highland Creek neighbourhood, he said officers took the diseased coyote “very seriously.”
“Animal Service was contacted but they weren’t able to respond,” Pugash said. “So we took the step we felt was necessary.”
The coyote could not be located after the shooting.
But a Toronto Wildlife Centre (TWC) spokesman said the injuries are likely “serious” because “there was significant blood.”
TWC staff had recently tracked the animal and found “an active den with three sick baby coyotes,” executive director Nathalie Karvonen said, adding the wounded coyote is believed to be the pups’ father.
She said a motion-activated camera was set up outside the den and captured images of an adult male coyote suffering from mange, a skin disease caused by parasitic mites that results in hair loss but can be treated with medication.
The camera also captured the babies.
“There were reports of another adult coyote killed on the road close to the location of the active den we had found,” Karvonen said. “So we are assuming that was the mother.”
Despite being sick, she said “the father coyote has been struggling to care for the three pups alone.”
The babies have since vanished from the den, Karvonen said.
“Although small, they may have wandered off desperate to find food, or the injured father may have made it back to the den and moved them,” she said.
Karvonen urged area residents to report any sightings of either the wounded coyote or its babies to TWC immediately at 416-631-0662.
cdoucette@postmedia.com
A coyote suffering from mange that was wounded, possibly fatally, when it was shot by Toronto Police in northeast Scarborough over the weekend was recently seen by a motion-activated camera outside its den. PHOTO SUPPLIED BY TORONTO WILDLIFE CENTRE
Location of sick coyote shot by cops a mystery | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto
hope the pups are ok.
By Chris Doucette, Toronto Sun
First posted: Monday, July 25, 2016 08:50 PM EDT | Updated: Monday, July 25, 2016 08:54 PM EDT
A sick coyote that has been wandering through northeast Scarborough in recent weeks is thought to be badly injured or dead after being shot by cops.
Toronto Police say officers fired on the animal after encountering it near Morrish Rd. and Eulcid Ave. on Saturday morning while responding to a call from a concerned citizen.
“We got a call about a coyote that was seen roaming the area, chewing on its own legs, and appeared to be in rough shape,” spokesman Mark Pugash said Monday. “The caller was concerned because it was in a residential area.”
With lots of kids and pets in the Highland Creek neighbourhood, he said officers took the diseased coyote “very seriously.”
“Animal Service was contacted but they weren’t able to respond,” Pugash said. “So we took the step we felt was necessary.”
The coyote could not be located after the shooting.
But a Toronto Wildlife Centre (TWC) spokesman said the injuries are likely “serious” because “there was significant blood.”
TWC staff had recently tracked the animal and found “an active den with three sick baby coyotes,” executive director Nathalie Karvonen said, adding the wounded coyote is believed to be the pups’ father.
She said a motion-activated camera was set up outside the den and captured images of an adult male coyote suffering from mange, a skin disease caused by parasitic mites that results in hair loss but can be treated with medication.
The camera also captured the babies.
“There were reports of another adult coyote killed on the road close to the location of the active den we had found,” Karvonen said. “So we are assuming that was the mother.”
Despite being sick, she said “the father coyote has been struggling to care for the three pups alone.”
The babies have since vanished from the den, Karvonen said.
“Although small, they may have wandered off desperate to find food, or the injured father may have made it back to the den and moved them,” she said.
Karvonen urged area residents to report any sightings of either the wounded coyote or its babies to TWC immediately at 416-631-0662.
cdoucette@postmedia.com
A coyote suffering from mange that was wounded, possibly fatally, when it was shot by Toronto Police in northeast Scarborough over the weekend was recently seen by a motion-activated camera outside its den. PHOTO SUPPLIED BY TORONTO WILDLIFE CENTRE
Location of sick coyote shot by cops a mystery | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto
hope the pups are ok.