I just can't imagine how this could have happened:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/10/28/ns-coyote-attack-died.html

Do you believe interbreeding with wolves could make coyotes more aggressive?

In theory, interbreeding between wolves and coyotes would produce a stronger animal, but not nessecarially more aggressive (as wolves aren't usually any more aggressive towards humans than coyotes). Interbreeding with dogs, especially feral dogs of second or third generation, might. The coyotes could pick up not only the aggressiveness but also the centuries worth of breeding that has all but eliminated the instinctive fear of humans in dogs to produce an animal that is not only not scared of us but may very well be willing to use us as a food source.

If you take away all our weapons, armor, vehicles, etc, we humans are weak creatures indeed. That's how a lot of animals end up as maneaters - they're starving or are driven into an area with little to no other prey sources and a chance encounter teaches them that lone unarmed humans are easy kills. This could have been the case for those coyotes as well.

My heart goes out to this young woman and her family.

I don't know. A couple of months ago I was told by a rehabber that wolves and coyotes do interbreed a lot (so much that he feared the wolves might become extinct) and that their offspring showed far less fear of humans and he considered them more aggrissive.

There were some coydogs in that area which were said to hunt and kill far more than they needed for survival, and other stories like that. I find it hard to believe, and the man seemed to exaggerate in other matters, but now I am not so sure anymore if what he said wasn't that far from the truth.

I live near Rye, New York. There are many stories of coy otes in this area, a mix of urban and suburban, losing their fear of man because it is obviously not safe to shoot them in densely populated areas. My theory is that any animal can unlearn its fear of man.

I believe that.

great to see you post again.

Thanks. I'm around. And how's Sybil and Ben?

JBG,

Sybil and benny are doing good. they just got expansion on their pen.
still need to do another expansion. that one will have a big pond.

thanks for asking about them.

Have you gone back into their enclosure with them?