Yes, it’s true.
And while we know that such statements are poor comfort the victim’s loved ones, these attacks are very rare.
I disagree with the biologist who declares that there are no wolf genes in these coyotes. Actually, there probably are some wolf genes in these coyotes, as this study suggests. I don’t think there are any “pure” coyotes in the whole of the Northeastern US or Eastern Canada. They all have some wolf genes.
I know of at least one other fatal coyote attack in the US.
The real story behind only documented fatal wolf attack in North America is not clear.
I’m not even going to speculate. It could have been a garbage-habituated black bear. It could have been those garbage habituated wolves. (I personally don’t think there is a giant international conspiracy to protect the reputation of wolves, considering how freely people talk about the wolves that kill children in India.)
***
BTW, don’t you like how I juxtaposed this story with the cute little tale about the tame Arctic fox?
I was very surprised when I read that story. I live in a rural area, where this summer I noticed (via their yelling) large amounts of coyotes. They make an incredible noise late at night! When I mentioned the noise to my neighbour (who lives right next to the bush — I am further away), she said the coyotes had been going to her chicken coop on a regular basis. I also noticed coyote poop on my road. I would guess a little caution is in order when letting the dog out at night for her pee. *sigh*
Is the coyote population growing?
I live in a very rural area, and the Eastern coyotes are growing in number– and boldness. We have had them come into the front yard– just feet away from the front door– and howl!
I live out in the desert, literally in the middle of nowhere, and the coyote here can be very cheeky. One followed me home one day while I was out walking, about twenty feed behind me. They frequently come and stand twenty or thirty feet off the fence and bark at the dogs. I’ve had to chase a few of them off with the rifle.
We’ve seen a few coyotes in our area too. They were actually quite far away (fortunately) so we’re not completely sure that’s what they were, but there have been quite a few sightings here. We were surprised as we’re not in the middle of nowhere, Ottawa’s a pretty big city. Though they’ve only been spotted in the surrounding areas…
I was so sad to hear about that girl, she had such a long music career ahead of her! She was just here recently for a folk fest…what a shame…