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Sad end for West Roxbury's daytime coyote
By adamg on Sun, 11/06/2011 - 7:39pm
Billings reports it was hit by a car around noon on Mt. Vernon Street, and that for awhile, it was just lying on somebody's lawn with its leg up, because police who responded said there was nothing they could do. It didn't appear to be there this evening, so with any luck it was either put out of its misery or taken somewhere for care.
Residents had been pleading with the city for more than a week to do something about the animal, which seemed completely at ease around homes during the day, but city officials said all they could do was notify state environmental officials.
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Comments
Not so Wile E
Defeated by Road "Runner" yet again.
Lived the life of a stray dog
... and died like one, too. Sad to hear, but not surprised.
I imagined the coyote would die...
...but thought it would be at the hands of police or animal control. Sad for this animal who mingled freely amongst us, unaware of the panic he was causing. I hope he didn't suffer, but from the sounds of this post, he probably did...
Sad end
There always seems to be a sad end for these wild animals who set up housekeeping in urban areas. I'll be slammed for saying it, but I never thought allowing those wild turkeys to flourish in the Brookline area is the greatest idea either. Cities are cities for a reason, and those reasons don't really include wild animals. I just don't understand people who think urban areas can function as some sort of wildlife sanctuary.
Create a Niche, They will come
Allowing turkeys to flourish?
The term is "people created a niche for them". And they flourished. Killing several of them during the process wouldn't have stopped this process.
There will be another coyote hanging around soon in this neighborhood if people don't stop creating conditions that encourage this behavior. My neighborhood had one or two sightings and then we locked down our garbage and stopped feeding pets outside and then it wasn't worth the risks for coyotes to make raids anymore. They retreated to the forest - where they still are.
Killing the animals does not remove the conditions under which they find it worthwhile to live amongst us. Removing the incentives does.
Black bears are next. Are you ready for that?
Heck yes, I'm ready for that!
Bears would be fantastic. Boston could be like downtown Anchorage (gasp! A city!), where all sorts of mega-fauna mingle among people.
While we're at it, some venomous snakes might really liven this place up.
Mega-fauna? Try of Orange
Mega-fauna? Try of Orange Line. All sorts of interesting mega-fauna out there on a regular basis.
I do ride the orange
I do ride the orange Line...maybe you're talking about me!
Bruination!
Get a picture of them with the Stanley Cup!
Anchorage is no joke when it comes to wildlife.
4 years ago, I walked out of my hotel in downtown Anchorage at about 7:30 a.m., turned the corner, and came face to face with a moose (it's head was down a little). I thought I was dreaming, and I stood there staring at that thing for a good minute.
The local people must have thought I looked like a fool - the other conference attendees (mostly from cities in the south and west) thought I was nuts. It was certainly one of the most interesting interactions with wildlife I've ever had.
Neat!
That is so cool. Did you back away or did it eventually wander off?
Forget about the birds, its the other Brookline Turkeys, silly
I've actually been wondering when we are going to be talking about Darwin awards for the people around here who (with their very small children) continue to get very close to and otherwise harass said Brookline turkeys.
I can only imagine the calls for a SWAT response the first time one of the bird turkeys mauls one of the children of the people turkeys.
It's already happened
Although I bet the father would deny harassing the turkeys.
Actually cities have been
Actually cities have been home to non human animals as long as they've existed. It's only since the rise of the automobile that cities have begun to be viewed more as more sterile abodes for humans alone. West Roxbury in particular was created as a community to get away from the more concentrated settlement of central Boston. As part of the suburban sprawl it encourages the migration off animals into "human" areas.
A coyote wandering around
A coyote wandering around during the daytime is probably a sick animal. No surprise it couldn't avoid a car
Wolves and mountain lions are
Wolves and mountain lions are the most common predators of coyotes, and I think are likely the only solution to this scourge of coyotes we're facing!
Rapid escalation
Of course, then the question is how you get rid of the wolves and mountain lions and before you know it, somebody's coming up with a scheme that ends:
Probably could have squeezed
Probably could have squeezed a Bear Patrol or Prop 24 reference in here somewhere, too.
OK. When's the last time
you saw a tiger in West Roxbury? Those special rocks are doing their job.
Coyote to Car: "Come at me
Coyote to Car: "Come at me bro!"