Taylor Mitchell
Encyclopedia
Taylor Josephine Stephanie Luciow, known by her stage name Taylor Mitchell, (August 27, 1990 October 28, 2009) was a Canadian
folk
singer. She is the only adult person, and second person overall known to be fatally attacked by coyotes.
with a major in musical theatre.
in March 2009. In June 2009, she was invited to perform in the Winnipeg Folk Festival
the following month. A few days before her death, Mitchell was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award for Young Performer of the Year.
She started a tour of the Maritimes
on October 23, 2009, and was to perform in New Brunswick
, Nova Scotia
, and Prince Edward Island
. She was scheduled to perform in Sydney
, Nova Scotia on the night of her death.
After her death, her album For Your Consideration
was made available for download at the iTunes Store
.
alone during the afternoon on the Skyline Trail
in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park
in Nova Scotia
. During her hike, she was attacked by three coyote
s. During the attack, a group of four other hikers came across the scene, managed to scare the remaining coyote away and called 911
. When emergency crews arrived, she was taken to a hospital in Cheticamp and then airlifted to Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre
in Halifax in critical condition
. She died overnight.
An officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) later shot a coyote in the park though the officer could not find the carcass. In the evening, park staff located another coyote and killed it, though there were no signs on its carcass that it had been shot. It is estimated that there were five or six coyotes in that area of the park. Eventually, a total of six coyotes were killed following the attack, but only three could be conclusively linked with the attack.
In an interview with The Gazette
, Brad White, a coyote expert at Trent University
in Peterborough, Ont. said they might have been coyote-wolf hybrids
. However, Don Anderson a biologist with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources
said he's seen no reason to suspect the animals were coyote-wolf crosses. Don Anderson noted there are no wolves in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick. Stan Gehrt, a coyote expert at Ohio State University
's school of environment and natural resources suggested that the coyotes were rabid
.
Bob Bancroft, a Nova Scotia wildlife biologist, suggested that the coyotes were inexperienced hunters - hungry and desperate yearlings - and that their predatory instinct was triggered by the singer fleeing instead of standing her ground. In The Gazette
, Stan Gehrt thought this might be why the coyotes attacked: "Most canids (coyotes, foxes, and wolves) will attack prey that begin to run away from them. Maybe that's what she did. Unfortunately, there are no witnesses."
Mitchell was only the second fatal coyote attack on a human ever recorded in North America. The first occurred in the United States in August 1981, when 3-year-old Kelly Keen
was attacked by a coyote outside her home in Glendale
, California
, United States
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
singer. She is the only adult person, and second person overall known to be fatally attacked by coyotes.
Personal life
Mitchell was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She graduated from the Etobicoke School of the ArtsEtobicoke School of the Arts
The Etobicoke School of the Arts is a specialized public arts-academic high school located in Etobicoke area of Toronto, Canada. Founded on September 8, 1981, the Etobicoke School of the Arts has the distinction of being the oldest, free standing arts focused high school in Canada...
with a major in musical theatre.
Career
Mitchell had independently released an album titled For Your ConsiderationFor Your Consideration (Taylor Mitchell album)
For Your Consideration is the only album by Canadian folk singer Taylor Mitchell. It was released shortly before her death in 2009.-Track listing:01. - Don't Know How I Got Here 02. - For Your Consideration 03. - Clarity...
in March 2009. In June 2009, she was invited to perform in the Winnipeg Folk Festival
Winnipeg Folk Festival
The Winnipeg Folk Festival is a summer folk music festival held in Birds Hill Provincial Park, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It features a variety of folk artists from all around the world, as well as a number of local folk performers....
the following month. A few days before her death, Mitchell was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award for Young Performer of the Year.
She started a tour of the Maritimes
Maritimes
The Maritime provinces, also called the Maritimes or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. On the Atlantic coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada, which also includes the...
on October 23, 2009, and was to perform in New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, and Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
. She was scheduled to perform in Sydney
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
, Nova Scotia on the night of her death.
After her death, her album For Your Consideration
For Your Consideration (Taylor Mitchell album)
For Your Consideration is the only album by Canadian folk singer Taylor Mitchell. It was released shortly before her death in 2009.-Track listing:01. - Don't Know How I Got Here 02. - For Your Consideration 03. - Clarity...
was made available for download at the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
.
Death
On October 27, 2009 Mitchell was hikingHiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
alone during the afternoon on the Skyline Trail
Skyline Trail (Cape Breton Highlands National Park)
The Skyline Trail is a 7 km looping hiking trail in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. It lies on the western side of the Cabot Trail. The trail is well-known for its scenic views.-Trail outline:...
in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park
Cape Breton Highlands National Park
Cape Breton Highlands National Park is located on northern Cape Breton Island in the province of Nova Scotia. One-third of the Cabot Trail passes through the park featuring spectacular ocean and mountain views. The park was the first National Park in the Atlantic provinces of Canada and covers an...
in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. During her hike, she was attacked by three coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
s. During the attack, a group of four other hikers came across the scene, managed to scare the remaining coyote away and called 911
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
. When emergency crews arrived, she was taken to a hospital in Cheticamp and then airlifted to Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre
Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre
Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a large teaching hospital affiliated with Dalhousie University. Administratively it is part of the Capital District Health Authority.-History:...
in Halifax in critical condition
Critical Condition
Critical condition is a medical state.Critical Condition may also be:* Critical Condition , an episode of the television series Sex and the City* Critical Condition , a 1987 comedy film...
. She died overnight.
An officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) later shot a coyote in the park though the officer could not find the carcass. In the evening, park staff located another coyote and killed it, though there were no signs on its carcass that it had been shot. It is estimated that there were five or six coyotes in that area of the park. Eventually, a total of six coyotes were killed following the attack, but only three could be conclusively linked with the attack.
In an interview with The Gazette
The Gazette (Montreal)
The Gazette, often called the Montreal Gazette to avoid ambiguity, is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with three other daily English newspapers all having shut down at different times during the second half of the 20th century.-History:In 1778,...
, Brad White, a coyote expert at Trent University
Trent University
Trent University is a liberal arts and science-oriented institution located along the Otonabee River in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.The enabling legislation is the Trent University Act, 1962-63. The University was founded through the efforts of a citizens' committee interested in creating a...
in Peterborough, Ont. said they might have been coyote-wolf hybrids
Coywolf
The coywolf or eastern coyote is a canid hybrid having a mixture of genetic stock from western coyote and either the Gray wolf or the Red wolf . They come from a constantly evolving gene pool and are viewed by some scientists as an emerging species...
. However, Don Anderson a biologist with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources
Department of Natural Resources
Many sub-national governments have a Department of Natural Resources or similarly named organization:Australia*Queensland Department of Natural Resources and MinesCanada*Natural Resources Canada*New Brunswick**New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources...
said he's seen no reason to suspect the animals were coyote-wolf crosses. Don Anderson noted there are no wolves in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick. Stan Gehrt, a coyote expert at Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
's school of environment and natural resources suggested that the coyotes were rabid
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
.
Bob Bancroft, a Nova Scotia wildlife biologist, suggested that the coyotes were inexperienced hunters - hungry and desperate yearlings - and that their predatory instinct was triggered by the singer fleeing instead of standing her ground. In The Gazette
The Gazette (Montreal)
The Gazette, often called the Montreal Gazette to avoid ambiguity, is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with three other daily English newspapers all having shut down at different times during the second half of the 20th century.-History:In 1778,...
, Stan Gehrt thought this might be why the coyotes attacked: "Most canids (coyotes, foxes, and wolves) will attack prey that begin to run away from them. Maybe that's what she did. Unfortunately, there are no witnesses."
Mitchell was only the second fatal coyote attack on a human ever recorded in North America. The first occurred in the United States in August 1981, when 3-year-old Kelly Keen
Kelly Keen Coyote Attack
The Kelly Keen coyote attack was a fatal coyote attack which took place in Glendale, California in August, 1981. The victim was 3-year-old Kelly Lynn Keen, who was the first recorded victim of a fatal coyote attack in the USA.- The attack and aftermath :...
was attacked by a coyote outside her home in Glendale
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
See also
- Azaria Chamberlain disappearanceAzaria Chamberlain disappearanceAzaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain was a nine-week-old Australian baby girl, who disappeared on the night of 17 August 1980 on a camping trip to Uluru with her family. Her body was never found. Her parents, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain, reported that she had been taken from their tent by a dingo...
- Kenton Joel Carnegie wolf attackKenton Joel Carnegie wolf attackKenton Joel Carnegie , was a Canadian geological engineering student. A judicial inquest carried out by the Provincial Government of Saskatchewan in 2007 concluded that he was killed by wolves on Tuesday 8 November 2005 at Points North Landing, Saskatchewan, Canada...
- List of unusual deaths