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David Morel | profile | all galleries >> nature >> An injured deer killed by coyotes... tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

An injured deer killed by coyotes...

Last night neighbors discovered an injured deer, broken front leg, that was staying close to their house to avoid a pack of coyotes. They could see the yellow eyes of the predators when flashed with a light. When they turned off their back lights, the coyotes moved in. Here is the aftermath...
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Guest 04-Jun-2006 17:55
It's called survival of the fittest, folks. Nature is cruel and we should not interfere with the natural order. When an animal dies it feeds another one. Been going on for millions of years. I wonder if the bleeding hearts who posted unkind comments about us "meat-eaters" are as concerned about what their ancestors have done to native peoples worldwide over the past 400 years? God knows, we all needed their religion, education, and guidance. We were so savage and ignorant before they got here. White Anglo-Saxon Europeans have exterminated more native peoples all in the name of progress (in reality-for material gain). When my ancestors killed an animal, we gave thanks for it and used the entire animal. Animals are much less barbaric than humans.
David Morel13-Jan-2005 15:02
You are wrong...it was right behind my neighbor's house...and the deer wasn't near a road to be hit...
Guest 13-Jan-2005 06:44
AND, I also question the authenticity of a photo such as this. If you've ever seen a true coyote/wolf kill, there is bits and pieces as well as blood scattered about Not a neat image such as the one above. These photos are devoid of such evidence, leading me to believe that this was a deer killed by a hunter and staged to provoke responses such as mine and yours.

The thought does cross my mind that it was a coyote kill due to missing ribs, etc and the carcass was simply moved before this picture was taken.
Guest 13-Jan-2005 06:40
Perhaps you should blame yourselves instead of nature? How do you think this animal broke its leg? Very likely by a vehicle...one similar to that which you likely drive on a daily basis.

Perhaps you should think twice before eating chicken, steak, meat, fish, etc etc. as well...you may think more of your dinner if you know how it came to be there...and appreciate it more if you were the one actually putting dinner on your plate and not some grain/meal-fed animal living within a fence.

Nature is cruel...hence the term, "cruel by nature." But in death comes the life and birth of the next level of the food chain.

Enjoy your next lunch...
Mark Ehlers07-Jun-2003 15:57
I can understand how some people would have a difficult time with this situation. But given the fact that this deer had a broken leg, it would not survive. It's best to let nature takes it's course. I have to be honest, it wouldn't be an easy decision for me to make. But they made the right one. With a broken leg, this deer would not have survived very long, and would have suffered for a long time. The coyotes gave the deer the gift of a quicker death, thus ending a long period of suffering.

-Mark
Cindy 02-Feb-2003 00:49
I would be much more concerned about having the sort of neighbors who callously turned off their lights and abandoned a terrified, crippled, helpless deer to an agonizing death than about the coyotes. The coyotes were doing what comes naturally. Were the neighbors? Heaven forbid.
Rhea Rippey 28-Jan-2003 22:06
Well, insofar as I haven't thought this through completely, I could be off base, but the first question that occurs to me is this. I wonder which event the neighbors abhor more, the brutal death by gang attack, or the presence of wild pack animals in the neighborhood?

The photos of the dead deer are compelling to animal lovers. On the other hand, the presence of wild canines in a human neighborhood is also disturbing. I can't say for certain what I would have done had I observed glowing eyes in the darkness and a cowering deer sheltering within the lights of my home, but I believe I would have dispersed the pack rather than switch off my lights to leave the deer to a fairly certain, certainly disagreeable, death. The pack has now learned where it might safely operate.
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