Friday - May 09, 2008

What, coyote blogging again?

Melissa Rowley left her children playing in the front yard for only a moment to step into her house.  When she came back a coyote was dragging her daughter away.  The coyote grabbed the 2-year-old by the head and tried to drag her towards the street in the mountain community of Lake Arrowhead on Tuesday.  When Rowley came out of the house and ran toward her daughter, the animal released the girl and ran away.  Rowley took her daughter to a hospital where the toddler was treated for several puncture wounds to the head and neck area, and a laceration on her mouth.  She was then flown to Loma Linda University Hospital for further treatment, although her injuries were not life-threatening. She was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon and is expected to fully recover.

It was the third time in five days a coyote had posed a threat to a small child in Southern California, San Bernardino Sheriff’s spokeswoman Arden Wiltshire said.  State Fish and Game wardens and county animal control officers set traps for the coyote and were monitoring the neighborhood high in the San Bernardino Mountains about 65 miles miles northeast of Los Angeles.

On Friday, a nanny pulled another 2-year-old girl from the jaws of a coyote at Alterra Park in Chino Hills, a San Bernardino County community about 30 miles east of Los Angeles. The girl suffered puncture wounds to her buttocks and was treated at a hospital.

A coyote came after another toddler in the same park Sunday. The child’s father kicked and chased the coyote. Alterra Park is near Chino Hills State Park, a natural open space of thousands of acres spanning nearly 31 miles.

The park was temporarily closed by Fish and Game officials so trappers could locate the animal. Trappers caught and killed three animals in Chino Hills Tuesday night, one of which they believe is the coyote who bit the child, said Fish and Game spokesman Harry Morse.  Morse said biologists can’t explain the rash of coyote incidents.

Looks like the coyote problem is getting a little out of hand in California. And, while I am proud of the adults who fought back against these critters to save their kids, there is a better way to deal with the problem. A long sturdy hardwood hiking staff or a baseball bat if there’s nothing else at hand, sure. But what you really want is a gun. Just about any centerfire pistol will take out a medium coyote at across-the-sandbox ranges, but the better way is to actually hunt them before they try to eat your chidren. Really. Proactive measures are called for.

Oh, and for you non gun nuts, the .22-250 shoots the exact same diameter and weight range of bullets that the Army uses in the M-16 rifle. But it shoots them a good 25% faster than the 5.56x45 NATO cartridge that the Army uses. So this coyote shooter is quite a bit more powerful than the “high powered assault rifle” crapola you always hear on the news. And just so you really know, a .22-250 is still a pretty wimpy round. Many states do not allow it to be used for deer hunting, although some do. Most deer hunters use guns that shoot far bigger bullets than this one does.

Posted by Drew458     on 05/09/2008 at 11:57 AM   
Filed Under: • Animals •  
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