Sick, Starving Coyote Shows Everyone How Strong She Really Is
When she first saw her rescuers, she was in really rough shape. But now it's hard to believe she's the same animal.
In January 2016, a female coyote was admitted to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota (WRC). This was after office workers, concerned for her, lured the sick coyote into a double-door vestibule and then called for help.
At WRC, veterinarians bent over her frail little body, trying to figure out all the things making her suffer. "She was in very, very rough shape," Tami Vogel, WRC communications director, told The Dodo. "We didn't think she'd make it through the first 48 hours."
For one, she was emaciated.
She was also totally covered in mange, a terribly painful skin disease.
And while no one knew how, exactly, this wild coyote could have fallen on such hard times, one thing was for sure: She was finally in good hands.
By March, after a couple months in WRC's care, the sick coyote showed incredible improvement. Much of her fur had grown back once she was treated for the mange. And her demeanor was much improved: She hated being around her human rescuers, which was a really good sign.
"As you can see the coyote is quite unhappy and scared to be around us during her recheck exams," WRC wrote on Facebook on March 14. "This, while rather pathetic looking in the photo, is a good thing."
If wild animals get cozy with their rescuers, it can compromise their ability to live on their own in the wild. For this wild coyote, having her run free in the wild again was something everyone was hoping for.
Finally, this week, everyone's hopes were realized. Rescuers took the beautifully recovered coyote in a crate to the woods. When they opened the door, she sprung out and ran back to her wild old life.
See the super excited coyote sprint back into the wild here:
In case you blinked and missed her, here she is in slow-mo:
