‘Prey Switch’ blamed for death of Toronto singer mauled by coyotes 13 years ago

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A new and unusual theory has emerged about coyotes killing a young Toronto woman on a hiking trail in Nova Scotia 13 years ago.

Researchers say that on October 27, 2009, when singer-songwriter Taylor Mitchell left alone in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, the resident coyotes had adapted to a limited food supply in learning to hunt and kill moose – a trait considered extraordinary. among these “generalist carnivores”.

Stanley Gehrt, lead author of a recently published article in the Journal of Applied Ecology, said that with the park’s coyotes preying on such a large animal, it stands to reason that they would be less inhibited from killing a human.

“When (coyotes grow up) used to take a 700 pound animal and you have a single female walking alone…it seems perfectly natural to assume they just saw her as new food,” said said Gehrt, a professor at Ohio State. University, said in an interview.

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“Our argument would be that the ability (of coyotes) to survive…is tied to their ability to move from one food source to another. And these (coyotes) ate a diet entirely of moose.

Read more: Toronto singer dies in Cape Breton coyote attack

Read more

Toronto singer dies in Cape Breton coyote attack

Coyotes are known to scavenge the remains of dead moose, but Gehrt’s study found evidence that the park population actively hunted the animals — a high-risk strategy for predators that can be stepped on.

“At least one (moose) carcass located during winter coyote monitoring has shown signs of predation, and on other occasions live adult moose have been observed with fresh wounds consistent with coyote bites, in plus coyote tracks leading to moose,” the study said. , which was supported by Parks Canada and the Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forests.

Singer Taylor Mitchell died in 2009 after being attacked by coyotes on Cape Breton’s Skyline Trail.

The park’s coyotes resorted to “prey switching” because their typical prey, primarily snowshoe hare and white-tailed deer, were in short supply at the time, according to the study. Additionally, the park’s unique ecosystem only supports a small population of rodents, which may otherwise feed on coyotes that don’t have much else to eat.

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Gehrt said it’s worth noting that coyotes in the park aren’t subject to hunting or trapping, which means they don’t have a natural fear of humans.

Mitchell’s violent death was only the second recorded fatal coyote attack in North America. She was 19 at the time and was about to embark on a solo tour to support a promising music career.

Read more: City investigates after disturbing video of coyote attacking dog in Edmonton

The mutilation has drawn international attention and wild speculation about coyote behavior. But Gehrt said he and his team determined the attack was similar to what would happen if coyotes were chasing a deer.

“They had conditioned themselves to go after big prey, and it was something small,” he said.

Virtually all recorded coyote attacks are the result of exposure to human food. But that was not the case with Mitchell. Of the five coyotes killed after the fatal attack, including the two directly responsible, none showed evidence that they had eaten human food beforehand, according to the study.

Read more: 4th coyote killed in attacks on humans in Burlington, Ontario.

Gehrt pointed out that the attack on Mitchell was linked to the unique ecological characteristics of the park, which have changed over the years. The moose population has been reduced and the snowshoe hare population has rebounded, meaning live moose are no longer on the coyote’s menu.

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“I don’t consider the Cape Breton coyotes to be any more dangerous right now than any other coyotes,” he said.

Also, park staff are now less tolerant of aggressive animals.

“The Cape Breton system produces new types of behavior, but it’s temporary,” Gehrt said. “The fact that we didn’t have anything like that puts this into context. It’s manageable by raising people’s awareness. We can keep the risk extremely low.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on December 15, 2022.

© 2022 The Canadian Press

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