7/17/2007

Yet more coyote news.

"Authorities defended their decision to shoot and kill two coyotes in Golden Gate Park even as the action triggered a lively debate Monday between those advocating public safety and those arguing the coyotes posed no real danger, or should have been relocated."

Link.

Pam's comment from the previous post, edited:
My perspective on wildlife management in cities has been influenced heavily by "Beast in the Garden," a provocative title but a thoughtful and well-reasoned book [Abe, Amazon]. See my posts about it [here] and [here].



Previous coyote news here.

1 comment:

lisa said...

There's no easy answer to these problems, but I agree that wild animals need to be managed, not just re-introduced and left to their own devices. I think part of the problem is the distance between many people and the natural world-many just don't understand how different actual wild animals are from the Disney representation. For instance, male animals in general will become more aggressive toward a female human if she's pregnant or menstruating, which I would not have known had I not worked on a dairy farm and had to be wary of the bulls. A male deer will attack during the "rut" (mating season), and those antlers can absolutely kill you. But so many people are touristy and act like "Bambi" is their friend. Even wild animals raised as pets are still very much wild, and should always be regarded as unpredictable. Hell, even horses will hurt you real bad if you're ignorant to their body language-ears pinned back and neck stretching toward you; you're gonna be bitten!