From the Glennwood Estates message board via Dave’s Decatur Heights Neighborhood blog…

One of our neighbors on the south end of Mt. Vernon stopped me to say that he has a coyote in his back yard. At about 6:30 this morning, the coyote killed another neighbor’s dog that, I gather, might have been running loose. The coyote is most apt to be active at dawn and dusk and is protected by law.

So that’s what?  A second-hand account being provided to you in a fourth-hand account?  Would be great if we could get some confirmation on this reported dog-killing.

Of course, coyotes aren’t unheard of ’round these parts.  Who can forget my overly snarky coverage of the coyote caught in Oakhurst back in November 2007?  Not me, that’s for sure!

Photo Courtesy of 11Alive

inDecatur points to a discussion over at the Decatur Forum about an 11alive article I reported on yesterday regarding the fate of the coyote caught in Oakhurst. The article states that the coyote was to be euthanized yesterday, so the discussion may only be hypothetical at this point.

Why the coyote was euthanized and not released in a more suitable environment is probably a money issue. Much cheaper to just kill the animal than spend the time and money to truck it way outside the perimeter and release it. Other than that, the only other motivation to kill is the fear that the animal could come back and frighten residents and eat weaker animals.

I can certainly comprehend the efficiency argument, even though I may not agree with it. As far as the coyote returning to Oakhurst, I don’t know how far away the animal would have to be taken not to return, so I can’t really judge the validity of that fear.