A slightly different ski danger?

[Robyn]

Wow! I was there on Saturday but knew nothing of this!

DOW puts down coyote after it goes after skiers
written by: Jeffrey Wolf , Web Producer www.9news.com

COPPER MOUNTAIN – A man says his 3-year-old son was nearly attacked by an aggressive coyote while they were skiing over the weekend.

Rich Kladstrup told 9NEWS he was skiing at Copper Mountain on Saturday morning when he and his son saw a coyote walking in the middle of the ski run. When they stopped, the coyote headed straight for his 3-year-old son. They were able to scare him off and the child was not hurt.

Copper Mountain says it has been aware of the animal for some time and it has contacted the Department of Wildlife.

The DOW says it had planned to go looking for the coyote later in the week after receiving a report of another, earlier incident. DOW says in that case the coyote had tried to bite another person on the arm, but because of all that person's ski clothing, the person was not hurt.

After Saturday's near-attack the DOW went to look for the coyote and Copper Mountain shut down the nearby ski lift and closed the run during the search.

The DOW found and put down the coyote and it is being tested for disease.

According to the DOW, there is no indication it was sick, but it thinks the coyote may have been fed by humans and that is why it became more aggressive.

 

[SkiNurse]

Wow. I can honestly say I have never seen anything bigger than a pica while I'm skiing!

 

[pinto]

Oh good grief, they are everywhere. They are a huge problem in my neighborhood here at home, and now at my second home?!?!?!

That is really interesting. You don't hear about coyotes attacking humans, but we've been nervous, because they have become unusually bold.

There was a moose somewhere recently that was harassing skiers. I can't remember where, though.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

There was a moose somewhere recently that was harassing skiers. I can't remember where, though.

Probably Maine! Or NH.
They are all over Maine but are most prevalent in the early spring (which for us is June) - and they enjoy blockading hiking trails:

 

[atlantiqueen]

That must have been very frightening for everyone involved.

Now...

Can I get on my environmental ethic soapbox for a moment?

Incidents like these are the result of human interference with animals. We are increasingly invading their space, their habitat and their lives with our activities. This doesn't make it any less terrifying when an animal turns on us. However, it is all too often human interaction that is the root cause of aggressive animal behaviour.

We've all been there - - - we want to feed the ducks or geese at the park, throw peanuts to chipmunks and squirrels, but feeding wild animals disrupts the balance of nature and often leads to unintended and unpleasant consequences. It’s bad for wildlife, and it’s bad for us too.

Wild animals fed by people can:

… get “hooked” on handouts. They can lose their ability to find and catch their own food.

… associate people with food and lose their fear of people. Wild animals that are unafraid of people are more likely to endanger themselves by approaching vehicles

…destroy the environment or cause property destruction. Bears and raccoons are perfect examples of animals that cause damage in search of "people" food.

… become aggressive towards people. Feeding causes wild animals to change their natural behavior. Even deer that have become accustomed to being fed have charged, kicked, and otherwise injured people.

…become more likely to eat trash and debris. Eating plastic wrappers or other litter can harm an animal’s digestive tract or lead to its death.

Sorry for the rant but I spend portion of my working life in the "wilderness" and part what makes it beautiful is the wildlife around me. My clients want to be in the wild to experience animals and nature as they were meant to exist.

I am saddened every time I read about an animal that has become a "nuisance" animal and is then destroyed.

I can also sympathize with those who have been frightened or physically harmed by a so-called wild animal. It must have been a terrifying experience for that father and his child. They are very lucky that their interaction was limited to a scare. Hungry and/or semi-tame animals can be very dangerous.

BUT...we also must remember that WE are the stewards of this planet and we have a responsibility to protect all creatures from harm. Even if - no, especially if the harm inadvertently comes from us.

"In wilderness is the preservation of the world" - Thoreau

www.lnt.org

 

[Jilly]

We have deer at Tremblant. And yeah, they're being fed, which I don't agree with. But some kids would never see a deer if they weren't. On the trails is been smaller wildlife. During our CSIA convention in December, one the girls I was skiing with just about skied over a chipmunk. She said the day before there was a moose on the side of one of the trails. So the comment back from the group - at least the animals are getting smaller!!
Tremblant is situated in a provinical park. So there are all kinds of rules regarding what can and can't be done. So the wildlife is pretty well protected. If something like that coyote was around though, I think they would do the same thing and put it down.

 

[Gloria]

We have a fox on a golf course here that steals balls. Everyone thinks it's funny though, noone wants to shoot it. We have coyotes through our property every night, I just can't see them as aggressive though. They don't even bother the dogs when they are out, our covenants require a travel zone through each lot for wildlife, so they have a good section to move through. We have a problem in town with bears, but they don't shoot them, they trap them and move them out of the urban interface. ( You can't even have a bird feeder in your yard in the interface because they attract them, so it is illegal ) Mostly bear and an occsional Mtn lion on the ski hill, but we don't get very many tourists so they don't seem to get bothered so much. And definately not fed, although they break into the trash if not stored properly. But like Atlantiqueen said, that is our problem, not theirs.

 

[atlantiqueen]

If something like that coyote was around though, I think they would do the same thing and put it down.

Just to be clear, I understand the rationale behind destroying an aggressive/dangerous animal such as this coyote appeared to be.

What makes me sad is that we have impacted wildlife to such an extent that killing animals becomes "necessary" to protect human life.

Where I live there is a pack of about 7 coyotes and they have never been a problem until a new subdivision started getting bigger - suddenly 25 acres of habitat was gone and coyotes were wandering the streets in the wee hours.

I have no doubt that at some point they will become unafraid of humans (= dangerous) and be destroyed.

Just sad.

 

[Gloria]

The story from the fox's perspective, adds a nice ski twist tot he end:
https://missoulian.com/articles/2006/12/31/territory/ter75.txt

 

[atlantiqueen]

I love that Gloria! Thanks!

 

[pinto]

....

Where I live there is a pack of about 7 coyotes and they have never been a problem until a new subdivision started getting bigger - suddenly 25 acres of habitat was gone and coyotes were wandering the streets in the wee hours.

I have no doubt that at some point they will become unafraid of humans (= dangerous) and be destroyed.

Just sad.

Yes, that is exactly what has happened with us. It's the older neighborhoods next to golf courses and open space/creeks etc. that are seeing the influx as the coyotes' habitat is shrinking.

And per town law, we aren't allowed to have above-ground fences ... that is what bugs me. If we could protect our own property, the wildlife wouldn't be a threat, and then the animals wouldn't have to be put away. (Although it's still officially illegal to do anything to the coyotes, I've heard that our police are tacitly allowing their "removal.")

It IS sad ... I don't like any of the options.

 

[pinto]

The story from the fox's perspective, adds a nice ski twist tot he end:
https://missoulian.com/articles/2006/12/31/territory/ter75.txt

That was hilarious!

 

[Gloria]

I love the you took my home away and now you're complaining about what?? play on it. The original article presented a couple of golfers that were totally annoyed by the foxes antics, I think the author did a great job of waiting and then portraying it in the foxes habitat sense without stuffing down their throats! The spring follow up was that she was too busy raising her kits to steal golf balls last season, so she's still alive and well as far as anyone knows.
Our living with wildlife covenants allow fencing as long as there is enough room for the wildlife to pass through, we simply fenced one small area for the dogs and put our home off to the side to allow them to move through, the fence is on the other side of the home, it works well. Occasionally you'll get all the fox, coyotes and outdoor dogs howling at the moon, which is wild as we live in a valley between two mountain ranges, but that's it. They just kind of use their little corridor and we really don't even notice. We actually had a bald eagle out there a month or so ago. They are so huge!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I'm pretty way-out rural as well - I think there's still more wildlife than people in my region. After a few years here, we've gotten to know their territories and seasons. One bay in the nearby lake is reserved for an old bull moose, who wades in up to his "knees." We have a resident cow who calves every spring, she and baby are usually up in our neighborhood - very elusive, very hard to spot. The coyotes are in the valley down the road (and keep us up on warm nights!). Eagles are everywhere. It's quite glorious.

But the problem we've got - not sure if anyone else does - is FISHERS. Man, those things are NASTY. I've never actually SEEN one, but I've seen the damage done. It's quite risky here to let a small dog or any cat run loose. Extremely mean-tempered animals.

I think we had a bobcat - and a good sized one at that - run through our property a few years ago. Terrifying sounds, woke us and the neighbors up, then it scattered.

Twin fawns lived in the yard last summer, I have a ton of pics. And they were way too fearless for their own good at a certain point, trying to approach me, which I did NOT allow them to do. I think they are both still on the property, unless the hunters got one or both. Had to post hand-made "Deer crossing" sides on my street. Most of the neighborhood got a good look.

And don't get me started on the wild turkeys. Tons. Red foxes. This is quite an interesting location

 

[pinto]

I'm pretty way-out rural as well ...

I'm not at all, which is what is weird to me. I'm not even in an outer-ring suburb ... I'm 15 min from downtown Denver in a 50-year-old neighborhood. We do have a decent amount of open space and creeks, which is what is attractive. (To us AND the animals! ha ha)

 

[Gloria]

But the problem we've got - not sure if anyone else does - is FISHERS. Man, those things are NASTY. I've never actually SEEN one, but I've seen the damage done. It's quite risky here to let a small dog or any cat run loose. Extremely mean-tempered animals.

Is a fisher like a badger or a bird of prey?

 

[Gloria]

I'm not at all, which is what is weird to me. I'm not even in an outer-ring suburb ... I'm 15 min from downtown Denver in a 50-year-old neighborhood. We do have a decent amount of open space and creeks, which is what is attractive. (To us AND the animals! ha ha)

Several years back they had a problem in town with college kids putting old couches on their porches during the summer to hang out on. Mountain lions are evidentially attracted to our scent and would actually be found sleeping on these couches. Good morning little fella.

 

[alaski]

I fully agree with atlanticqueen. Really, wild animals don't want to be anywhere near us, and if we didn't develop their habitats, thin out their food sources, and otherwise get in their way, there would be few encounters of this type. Of course an aggressive animal should be killed; I have no problem with that.

Lately we've had lots of local issues with wolves attacking dogs near the city. Interestingly enough, this started happening the first winter after hunters were allowed to kill moose in the area for the first time ever. So they let the hunters kill the wolves' food, and then wonder why they go after easier prey. Argh. I am not a biologist but most of the time I think I could do a better job managing wildlife than our "Board of Game" - it just takes a small application of logic.

Another example is the deer population in the east. It's grown to nuisance proportions because all the predators were killed off! It's crazy.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Is a fisher like a badger or a bird of prey?

Fishers are members of the weasel family.

 

[Robyn]

I guess another woman saw the story and sent them pictures of the same animal close to her thirteen year old son.