View Full Version : Teenage folk singer Taylor Mitchell killed by coyotes in Canadian park


Retro4Life
11-03-2009, 08:19 PM
I confess I had never heard of the young lady, but the story itself is nonetheless just beyond words. What an awful way to go. I love walking in the woods myself, but I'm chicken to leave the beaten paths and I'll be even moreso now.

:rip:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6896274.ece

A teenage folk singer hailed as a rising star in Canada has been mauled to death by two coyotes while hiking alone in woods during a solo tour. The attack took place as Taylor Mitchell, 19, was walking on a trail in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia.

Other hikers heard her screams for help but were too late to save the Toronto-based singer-songwriter, who released her debut album in March and had just been nominated for Young Performer of the Year at next month’s Canadian Folk Music Awards.

Friends said that she loved wandering in the woods. Her MySpace page shows her standing alone on a wooded path with a suitcase and guitar.

She had just got her first car, and headed off on a three-week solo tour to promote her first album, For Your Consideration. Her MySpace page describes her as “a bohemian rodeo star who grew up reading e. e. cummings and listening to Led Zeppelin”.
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Mitchell took a break to go hiking on Tuesday before a concert the next day in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

She was not far along the popular 6-mile Skyline Trail when she was attacked just before 3:15pm local time. Police who responded to an emergency call from other hikers shot one of the two coyotes, apparently wounding it, but both animals got away.

Paul Maynard of Emergency Health Services, said: “She was losing a considerable amount of blood from the wounds.” “Words can’t begin to express the sadness and tragedy of losing such a sweet, compassionate, vibrant, and phenomenally talented young woman,” Lisa Weitz, Mitchell’s manager, said.

“She just turned 19 two months ago, and was so excited about the future.” Coyotes, also known as Prairie Wolves, are found from Central America to the United States and Canada. Male coyotes in eastern Canada can weigh up to 60lbs.

Nova Scotia’s Natural Resources Department said it was the first fatal coyote attack on a human since the animals were first discovered in the province in the 1970s.

In 2003, a teenage girl was bitten on the arm by a coyote while walking on the same trail as Mitchell, but her parents frightened the animal away.

Residents have reported seeing packs of up to seven coyotes wandering in gardens and attacking pets.

Bob Bancroft, a retired wildlife biologist for the provincial government, said coyote attacks are rare because the animals are usually shy. Hikers who encounter a coyote are advised to wave their arms and start shouting to scare the animals.

Marvo301
11-03-2009, 08:22 PM
:rip: Taylor Mitchell

Marvo301
11-03-2009, 10:09 PM
153199

Here's a picture of Taylor.

catlover79
11-03-2009, 10:12 PM
How awful. May she :rip:.

TripperFan
11-03-2009, 10:14 PM
Rest in Peace

The coyotes have been particularly bad this year. I'm afraid we're encroching on their territory more and more. Early this summer a chihuahua was killed in broad daylight in the east end of Toronto and I know I've heard the packs loud and clear since moving back to Caledon. As a matter of fact, I moved a garden hoe that we keep "just in case" to the back door this afternoon.

Pitooey
11-04-2009, 10:29 AM
How sad for her. :( I hear alot of those coyote killings here in the East coast. I heard about poor Jessica Simpsons little Maltipoo Daisy being slaughtered. :( but a human being? WOW................ :eek:

OH Nuts!
11-04-2009, 03:23 PM
What a sad and tragic incident. My heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and fans.

browneyes106
11-04-2009, 04:17 PM
I heard about this a few days ago on CNN. Coyotes are big problem here in New Mexico but usually they only travel in packs during the early morning and at night. Like the article mentioned coyotes are dangerous when they are in packs. I have encountered single coyotes several times if you shout or throw a rock or wave your arms they run away easily.