A new and unusual theory has emerged about the coyotes that mauled an up-and-coming Canadian singer-songwriter to death while she was hiking in Nova Scotia 13 years ago.
Researchers have claimed that coyotes in Cape Breton Highlands National Park had adapted to limited food supplies in the run up to the attack Taylor Mitchell on October 27, 2009.
They had been preying on larger animals, and learned how to hunt and kill larger animals such as moose.
Stanley Gehrt, lead author of a paper recently published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, said Mitchell may have been a victim of this newly developed trait.
Mitchell’s violent death was only the second fatal coyote attack recorded in North America. She was 19 years old at the time and about to embark on a solo tour to support a promising musical career.
A new and unusual theory has emerged about the coyotes that mauled up-and-coming Canadian singer-songwriter Taylor Mitchell to death on a Nova Scotia hiking trail 13 years ago
Researchers have claimed that on Oct 27, 2009, when Taylor Mitchell set out alone in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, resident coyotes, similar to this one, had adapted to limited food supplies and attacked her
‘When [coyotes are] used to taking a 700-pound animal, and you have a single woman walking by herself, it seems perfectly natural to assume that they simply saw her as a novel food item,’ Gehrt told CTV News Atlantic.
‘Our argument would be that [the coyotes’] ability to survive… is tied to their ability to switch from one food source to another. And those [coyotes] were eating a diet completely of moose.’
Paramedics found Mitchell bleeding heavily with bite wounds over her entire body after other walkers alerted them to the dying singer-songwriter’s desperate cries for help.
Mitchell later died from her injuries in hospital, and the mauling attracted international attention and wild speculation about the coyotes’ behavior.
Coyotes have been known to scavenge the remains of dead moose, but Gehrt’s study has now found that the park’s population had been actively hunting the animals.
‘At least one [moose] carcass located during winter coyote tracking showed signs of predation, and on other occasions live, adult moose were observed with fresh wounds consistent with coyote bites in addition to coyote tracks leading to the moose,’ the study, supported by Parks Canada and the Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry, said.
Coyotes in the park resorted to ‘prey-switching’ because their typical prey, mainly snowshoe hare and white-tailed deer, were in short supply at the time, the study adds.
The park’s unique ecosystem supports only a small population of rodents, which can otherwise sustain coyotes that have little else to eat.
Gehrt said it is worth noting the park’s coyotes are not subjected to hunting or trapping, which means they don’t have a natural fear of humans.
‘They had conditioned themselves to go after large prey, and this was something small,’ he said.
Historically coyote attacks have been the result of exposure to human food, but that wasn’t the case with Mitchell.
Of the five coyotes killed after the fatal attack, including the two directly responsible, none showed evidence they had eaten human food beforehand, the study says.
The 19-year-old rising star was in between gigs when, according to a Nova Scotia Cape Breton Highlands National Park official, she was killed by coyotes during a hike
Mitchell was a ‘seasoned naturalist’ well versed in wilderness camping who wouldn’t want the coyotes responsible for her death to be killed, her mother said at the time of her death at Cape Breton Highlands National Park
Gehrt stressed that the attack on Mitchell was related to the park’s unique ecological characteristics, which have changed over the years.
The moose population has been reduced and the snowshoe hare population has rebounded, which means live moose are no longer on the coyotes’ menu.
‘I don’t view the coyotes in Cape Breton as being more dangerous right now than any other coyotes,’ he said.
Park staff are also less tolerant of aggressive animals.
‘The Cape Breton system produces some novel types of behavior, but it’s temporary,’ Gehrt said.
‘The fact that we haven’t had anything like that again puts it into context. It’s manageable by increasing people’s awareness. We can keep the risk extremely low.’
Mitchell had been airlifted to hospital in a critical condition after the brutal mauling, but doctors were unable to save her.
The Toronto star was an up-and-coming folk and country musician who was nominated for a 2009 Canadian Folk Music Award in the Young Performer of the Year category.
She was out on a trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia, in the east of the country, when the attack occurred.
Normally shy, reports at the time said that the coyotes may have mistaken the singer for a deer.
Paul Maynard, of Emergency Health Services, said she had ‘lost a considerable amount of blood from her wounds.’
Police were quickly on the scene and managed to shoot one of the coyotes, apparently wounding it.
In October 2009, CNN reported that those who knew Mitchell said her passion for her craft was matched by her affinity for nature.
Fresh out of high school, she embarked upon a three-week tour of Eastern Canada hoping for her blossoming career to pick up upon her return.
The 19-year-old rising star was in between gigs when, according to a Nova Scotia Cape Breton Highlands National Park official, she was killed by coyotes during a hike.
‘If there can be any comfort at all, it is knowing that Taylor was doing two of the things she loved most, sharing story and song on the road and spending time in nature’s fold,’ her manager, Lisa Weitz said in an e-mail to CNN.
‘She loved the woods and had a deep affinity for their beauty and serenity.’
‘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,’ Emily Mitchell, her mother said in 2009.
‘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.
‘Tragically, it was her time to be taken from us.’
The Toronto-based musician’s career began to take off in April the year she died after the release of her debut album, ‘For Your Consideration.’
On her Facebook page, she detailed her busy summer performance schedule, describing it as her ‘craziest summer yet.’
Coyotes, which are also known as prairie wolves, are found throughout North and Central America.
Wildlife biologist Bob Bancroft said at the time that attacks are extremely rare because the animals are usually very shy.
The retired biologist from Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources said it was possible the animals mistook Miss Mitchell for a deer or other prey.
‘It’s very unusual and is not likely to be repeated,’ he said.
‘We shouldn’t assume that coyotes are suddenly going to become the big bad wolf.’
