A Special Coyote Struck Dead
On the topic of vehicle strikes and wildlife deaths, this one was hard. I’m appreciative that I had a few sightings and got to know him ever so slightly, but saddened that his life was so needlessly short. I only began seeing him in the spring. He seemed young and travelled with a grey companion, always trailing her. She was more accustomed to navigating the park and less skittish than he was. If I spotted them, she continued on her way while he moved into the bushes to avoid being seen. With his dark colouring, he was nearly impossible to see when obscured, as his fur matched the dark spaces between the leaves. My last sighting of him was in the week leading up to the Victoria Day long weekend.
I learned about the tragedy from a friend who attended a dinner party. Someone at the gathering said they had heard about a black coyote struck by a vehicle on Lakeshore Boulevard, just southwest of the park. I thought, “There’s no way.” Hoping it was a mistake, I kept searching for days afterward, with no luck. I caught a glimpse of the grey companion on her own. Then I received confirmation that it was him who was killed. I hope his short life was fulfilling, free, and joyful with his companion. I eventually stopped seeing the grey coyote and thought she might have moved on in search of a new companion. I later learned that she had also been killed on the road just south of the park. This speaks to the need for safer driving and for designed wildlife crossings so local animals can move between green spaces.
On a separate note, I was careful not to broadcast the presence of this unique fellow. Regular park goers knew, but he was mostly a local secret. Having witnessed a black fox being chased and harassed by photographers a few years earlier, I worried about the fate of this coyote once word got out. Would groups of people constantly stalk him? Would people leave food out in hopes of getting photographs? Would they follow him and try to force him out of his resting spots? Would he be posted online, generating even more interest? This is a reminder that if you find a unique or unusual animal, do not post locations or spread the word. It can lead to real harm by people who do not have wildlife’s best interests at heart.