This message and picture are from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's "Nebraska Hunting Forum" (Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or !!
), but I thought it was so unbelievable that it was worth posting here too.

This was the message that accompanied the photo:

"If someone knows how to post a picture of a coyote I shot on Saturday, I will email the pic to you so that you can post it here. It is a picture of a coyote I shot Saturday with the worst case of mange that I have ever seen. Mange is a very deadly condition for canines caused when the animal is infected by mites. The animal literally scratches all of his hair off of him trying to rid himself of the mites. The animal then dies by exposure to the elements. This coyote was also missing his left front leg. Mange is spread from animal to animal by contact. It becomes very common when animals are overpopulated. It is nature’s way of controlling predators. As you will see, nature is much more cruel than hunting. We now have very few coyotes in our area due to mange the past two years. Prior to that, the population had grown very large and we used to see lots of coyotes. The good side of fewer coyotes is that it will help the gamebird population and we are already seeing a lot more fox around. Coyotes use fox as tasty treats. That is why there are so many fox in and around populated areas. The coyotes have driven them into the cities.

He was in such bad shape that he could hardly hobble towards my call. I got tired of waiting for him to get closer, so I shot him at 200 yards. If I would have missed, I could have probably easily run him down. With this storm moving in, he surely would have froze to death. I did him a favor by putting him out of his misery.

If you have a weak stomach, it may be best to not look at this picture. Next time someone gives you a hard time about hunting and being cruel to animals, show them this picture. If the populations are not kept in check, this is how nature will handle the problem!"

Amen!

[quote author=Monsterbuck  link=1073598310/0#1 date=1073595841]That is an absolutely horrible sight. While I don't particularly like coyotes I think they deserve better than to die that kind of death. [/quote]

Absolutely. The guy did the right thing.

I've never-ever seen such a terrible case of mange like that!!  He looks like "Walking Death."  I definatley believe that coyotoes need to be in check, but this is a little on the disheartening side.  I'm glad he met his maker on that particular day.

That is the kind of picture an activist needs to see.  THey don't look on the other side.  We are doing the world a lot of good.  Keep it up

Actually, our German Shepard killed one that had a little less hair than this one earlier this summer .  The coyote was stealing chickens out of our yard.  I heard our dog barking the "invader bark" and let her out of the yard.  She didn't catch him the first time, but the coyote was in bad enough shape that he returned 30 minutes later.  She ran him down and killed him this time.  Besides the mange, he had open sores and ticks.  Nature can be cruel.

I'd love to hear the story of that yote from the guy who shot him.  See if you can get your cousing to join the forum here and share his tale with us!

That is pretty disgusting. I don't like to see animals like that but it a cruel fact of nature. People opposed to hunting just need to realize this and maybe they'd understand why we kill animals that have healthy populations, to prevent that.