Baited Coyote, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, UtahBaited Coyote

That is dog food on a road on Antelope Island State Park. Someone threw it onto the road it didn’t just fall from the sky.

Why is it there?

Maybe someone wanted a picture of the Coyote without anything obstructing the view.

It can’t be that the Coyote needed it because it doesn’t. They are extremely efficient hunters.

Having dog food in the road isn’t safe for the Coyote, it could be killed by a fast moving vehicle. Other animals might be attracted to the dog food and die from an impact.

Feeding wild animals is against the law in some areas and at the very least wild animals who are fed by humans tend to lose their natural fear of humans and that can have drastic consequences for the animal and any human they come in contact with.

Think of how bears used to be fed in some of our State and Federal Parks and remember the attacks and fatalities that happened in correlation to the bears losing their fear of humans. Having lived in Florida where people illegally feed Alligators it became common for me to see how Fido would go missing or get killed because the gators no longer feared humans.

So, what is wrong with this picture? Someone is messing with nature.

We picked up the dog food and threw it off of the road, in hindsight I should have put it into a trash bag and carried it to the trash.

Mia

Click here to view more of my Coyote photos plus facts and information about this species.

This is the only baited image you are likely to see on my blog.

From the Humane Society: To Feed or Not to Feed Wildlife