Saddened by Canadian folk singer Taylor Mitchell's tragic death in Cape Breton

[Irena Aligizakis]

How dreadful. Unfortunately the news of Taylor Mitchell's untimely death is the first I've heard of her or her music.  It is also an eye-opener: I would never have thought of coyotes as a threat to an adult human.

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________________________________
From: jimscarff <jim at sfcelticmusic.com>
To: cbmusic at locals.ca
Sent: Sat, October 31, 2009 10:00:53 AM
Subject: Saddened by Canadian folk singer Taylor Mitchell's tragic death in Cape Breton

Timothy Jacques posted a note to the list on Wednesday with a link to the
Yahoo news story, but included no subject name in his e-mail, so I missed
this story.

Ms. Mitchell was attacked and killed by two coyotes earlier this week while
hiking alone in Cape Breton Highlands National Park.  She  was nominated for
a Canadian Folk Music Award this year in the young performer of the year
category and was viewed as a future talent. 

She was from the Toronto area but had family in the Maritimes.  I was
unfamiliar with her music, but checked it out on her MySpace page
(http://www.myspace.com/taylormitchellband)  which has samples from her
recent debut album "For Your Consideration".  I was very impressed with her
talent.  Makes her loss all the sadder.

This event was a double shock to me.  I have been so impressed with the
quality of music coming out from the young Canadian folk and traditional
singers, and Taylor seemed to embody that quality and excitement. Her
premature loss was particularly painful.


As some of you may know, I am also a wildlife biologist, with an MS in the
subject and a particular interest for decades in the biology of wild canids,
particularly wolves and coyotes.  For the last 8 years or so, I have been a
member and webmaster of the IUCN's Canid Specialist Group (www.canids.org),
a group of 75 wildlife scientists who monitor the status of all 36 species
of wild canids and issues periodic reports on research and conservation
status and priorities.  We also pay very close attention to human-canid
conflicts which have previously almost exclusively concerned predation on
sheep and livestock, and to a lesser extent sought after game animals such
as deer.  This is the first fatal attack on a human by any wild canid* in my
experience over many decades.  I use the asterisk to exclude wild canids who
have rabies (rare) or are wolf or coyote hybrids with domestic dogs.  The
papers report that a coyote was shot at the scene, which may be one of the
attacking coyotes, and is being examined to see whether it was rabid or had
other medical conditions.

I don't like to anthropomorphize wildlife, but it hurts when a wildlife
species I have worked hard for is responsible for killing some a lovely
youth. I know Taylor's mother told the papers that Taylor would not have
wanted coyotes in general or the offending coyotes particular blamed or
killed for their actions.  My gut reaction is less generous.

But this is a music list, and Taylor was about music.   Anyone have any
memories of her to share?  Or does anyone have any ideas about how to help
memorialize her spirit through contributions to a relevant charity?




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