Coyote attacks 2 yr old girl

[Tri-Pod Bob]

Del Q-this is a plausible, scientific explanation for what you saw. http://www.projectcoyote.org/newsrel...s_eastern.html
PA and NYS DEC apparently are in full denial about this possibility as they are about a large cat roaming the woods.

I've been roaming the remote areas of southern New England (Ma/Ct/Vt/NH) & eastern NY state since I was a young boy. I've seen, literally, hundreds of coyote & coydog in my time outdoors. I'm not a wildlife biologist by any means, but I do know wildlife quite intimately & IMHO there has been big increase in the populations here. Not only in the back country areas, but also in the suburbs of our metro areas (I've even seen a few in the city Springfield, Mass which has quite a few wooded areas). As far as a hybridization of coyote & wolf, I would have to go along with that hypothesis. Over the past decade, I've observed a number of canids that are definitely larger than those seen years ago. Some have been in the 60 - 70 lb range. As far as the large cats, we absolutely have them!! Caught a glimpse on more than one occasion. One of my encounters Mass Wildlife told me it was probably a bobcat!! Fhooey on them....a bobcat doesn't have a tail that's as long as it's body!! Have seen a lot of huge feline tracks to back up my claim. On one of my encounters, I saw what seemed to be a momma carrying her wee one by the scruff. The outdoors column reporter for the Springfield Republican has been getting reports on mountain lion/catamount/puma sightings for quite a while, as well. Yep....they're here & I am thrilled about it!! Majestic creatures!!!

[Sarcasm the elf]

I've been roaming the remote areas of southern New England (Ma/Ct/Vt/NH) & eastern NY state since I was a young boy. I've seen, literally, hundreds of coyote & coydog in my time outdoors. I'm not a wildlife biologist by any means, but I do know wildlife quite intimately & IMHO there has been big increase in the populations here. Not only in the back country areas, but also in the suburbs of our metro areas (I've even seen a few in the city Springfield, Mass which has quite a few wooded areas). As far as a hybridization of coyote & wolf, I would have to go along with that hypothesis. Over the past decade, I've observed a number of canids that are definitely larger than those seen years ago. Some have been in the 60 - 70 lb range. As far as the large cats, we absolutely have them!! Caught a glimpse on more than one occasion. One of my encounters Mass Wildlife told me it was probably a bobcat!! Fhooey on them....a bobcat doesn't have a tail that's as long as it's body!! Have seen a lot of huge feline tracks to back up my claim. On one of my encounters, I saw what seemed to be a momma carrying her wee one by the scruff. The outdoors column reporter for the Springfield Republican has been getting reports on mountain lion/catamount/puma sightings for quite a while, as well. Yep....they're here & I am thrilled about it!! Majestic creatures!!!

I am lucky enough to have a friend that runs a farm & horse barn on ~120 acres in southern CT. In the last decade there has been a substantial increase in the coyote population as well as an increase in the size of the coyotes. As recently as a decade ago it was rare to see one on his property and it was usually in the 20-30lb range. In the last five years or so, they have become a serious issue and they seem to be getting steadily larger, the recent coyotes he has shot have been in the 50lb range.
One of the sad things about this is that the small game populations are being destroyed by this influx of coyotes. The squirrels, rabbits, pheasants, (recently reintroduced) wild turkeys and many other species have all disappeared during the same timeframe.

On a separate note, all the old farmers he knows in northwestern Connecticut still swear that they occasionally see mountain lions, I tend to believe them.

[Sly]

If I'm not mistaken, contrary to belief, wolf attacks on humans are quite rare also.

I was attacked by a dog/wolf hybrid, the pet of some friends. The way I see it, it had attack instincts it couldn't control. Coy dogs probably do, too.

Wild animals, even hybrids, are never really tamed. This is a lesson that just doesn't seem to sink in with a lot of people...

A wolf attack is an attack on a human by a wolf or wolves. Wild wolves are naturally aggressive but are generally cautious enough to occasionally appear timid around humans. Wolves usually try to avoid contact with people, to the point of even abandoning their kills when an approaching human is detected, but there are several reported circumstances in which wolves have been recorded to act aggressively toward humans.
Compared to other carnivorous mammals known to attack humans in general, the frequency with which wolves have been recorded to kill or prey on people is much lower, indicating that though potentially dangerous, wolves are among the least threatening for their size and predatory potential.^[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_attacks_on_humans