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Coyote Rescue Brings Challenges
 Coyote
Rescue Brings Challenges
by Angela Grimes, Director of Operations
Of the thousands of animals who pass through
the Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation (WRR) clinic
and nursery each year, we see a handful of coyotes. As
is often the case with predator species, we see coyote babies
whose mothers have been taken from them, killed by ill-informed
humans. We also see adults who have been injured in an attempt
to eradicate them by setting cruel traps, among the other
dangerous and life-threatening situations in which they can
find themselves. Approximately six weeks ago, we received
just this type of call on the wildlife
hotline. This rescue was most unusual and one that required
an experienced staff member to contain and transport the distressed
animal.
When WRR staff members Krystal Mathis and
Traci Hansen arrived on the scene they found a large, young
coyote entangled in thick brush and unable to escape. Both
of his front legs were lodged in the brambles. We do not know
how long he had been there struggling to get away, exhausting
and injuring himself in the attempt. By the time help arrived,
the coyote could do nothing but sit on his back legs and look
at us in utter despair. We could see a gleam of his natural
instinct to either escape or to fight the humans who were
now drawing near, but there was also a knowing present in
those eyes that we were there to help. After covering his
head for safety and to keep him calm, the coyote was given
medication to alleviate the pain we knew he would experience
as we removed him from his entrapment. The first leg was freed
easily, but the second proved much more difficult to remove
from the brush. But finally he was completely free, put into
a crate, and on his way to the care of WRR's medical team.
He kept perfectly still and silent on the trip back to the
sanctuary.
 When
he arrived at WRR, he was sedated and examined by the veterinary
team, and x-rays confirmed that he had a broken leg, a severe
fracture that required orthopedic surgery to insert a bone
pin. He recovered from surgery and was placed in an outdoor
rehabilitation enclosure to recuperate and gain strength back
in his injured limb. Because they are usually shot on sight,
Coyotes are extremely wary of humans and being in our presence
causes considerable stress. They do not deal well with being
held captive, but we had to keep him for several days or even
weeks to be sure that the bones would fuse and his leg would
heal without infection. Unfortunately, the coyote was not
at all interested in our hospitality or good intentions. He
wanted nothing more than to get away from us, regardless of
the pain he was in. He chewed off splints, jumped and dislodged
the pin, and continued to re-injure the leg. The inability
to keep him calm meant that the bones were not fusing, and
we were going to have to do another surgery to install plates
in the leg which would prevent it from rotating and allow
the break to heal. We decided it was time to call in a specialist
for this job.
The wonderful surgeons at South Texas Veterinary
Specialists in San Antonio agreed to take on a most unusual
patient for a clinic that primarily serves companion animals.
This was the coyote's third surgery, and probably his last
hope for being able to survive. The plates were successfully
inserted, and he was once again brought back to WRR. He is
now recuperating in an enclosure on the far side of the property
that receives nearly no traffic from the caretakers, and we
hope to be able to release him soon to begin his life again
in his home territory.
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