CARNIVORES: A Return to Coyotes

As I was going through old photos I found something special. It is not the world's greatest photo, but it is a rare one:

I took this photo in Wells Gray Provincial Park, British Columbia. Wells Gray, Cariboo Mountain, and Bowron Lakes Parks are clustered together and cover 3000 square miles (!) of wilderness. Only about 10% of Wells Gray is accessible by car. It has some amazing water falls, salmon runs, lakes, and wildlife galore. On one trip ('95 or '96) I was driving back from the road's end when I came across what looked like a Coyote. But it was black. Never seeing one before, I had to do some research. I found reports of Black Coyotes being identified, but never any "official" biological explanation. In checking the web in preparation for this post almost all of the searches led to hunters that have found and "killed" a black coyote. Here is one such account:

"Last Sunday morning, I shot a black coyote while deer hunting. It was a male, and weighed 55#. I'd heard there had been sightings of black coyote's in the area, but had never seen one before. It was very healthy looking, beautiful coat and tail. Question for the coyote hunters and trappers out there:How rare is a black coyote? I'm thinking of getting it mounted, or at least get the hide tanned into a rug."

I am not a hunter. When I fly fished, it was always "catch and release." I love wildlife. I love to be 20 to 50 feet from a Bear, or a Bobcat, or a Coyote. I would never think of killing one. I suspect that it is my "love" of wildlife that allows me to get close enough to get a good photo.  But, I must admit I don't understand killing something so rare, and so beautiful.