Scientists catch culprit behind serial seal decapitations in the act



Decapitated seals have been turning up along North American coastlines for several years. Some experts have suggested humans were to blame for sea lions, harbor seal pups, and various other pinnipeds losing their heads. One private investigator went so far as to suggest the "cuts were surgical."

It turns out that canids, not beachfront butchers, were to blame.

What's the background?

Private investigator David Stuart was among the beachgoers to express concern in 2016 about the discovery of headless seals and ponder their fate. After coming across one such decapitated mammal on Garry Point Park beach in British Columbia, Stuart told Richmond News that the incision was extremely clean, "almost laser precision."

"The seal's rectum has been removed and cauterized; it makes no sense," continued Stuart. "This was a crime scene as far as I was concerned; this needed to be looked at."

Years later, after numerous other incidents were reported on the West Coast, 21 headless seals turned up on the other side of the continent, along the shores of Nova Scotia, Canada. Mammal zoologist Dr. Anna Hall, who noted a similar trend was impacting sea lions in British Columbia, suggested humans might have been responsible, reported the National Post.

"The carcasses have a distinct similarity to them," said Hall. "While we can't say definitely that the seals on the East Coast have been decapitated by human efforts, it does seem that is a distinct possibility looking at the photographs."

Marine mammal biologist Tonya Wimmer alternatively suspected scavengers were to blame, stating, "From the images and information we've received, many of the holes are where the umbilicus would have been and is likely scavenging by other animals."

Caught in the act

Sarah Grimes, a stranding coordinator at the Noyo Center for Marine Science in Mendocino County, California, long speculated about the cause of the headless wonders.

"It was so gruesome," she recently told the Mercury News regarding the headless harbor seals she encountered along the high-tide line in MacKerricher State Park, near Fort Bragg. "I was like marine mammal CSI, seeing all the dead pups with their heads torn off, and I'm like, 'What the heck did that?'"

Frankie Gerraty, a Ph.D. student at UC Santa Cruz, ultimately provided Grimes with an answer, capturing the culprit on tape in MacKerricher.

"We set up camera traps and got one really solid video of a coyote dragging a harbor seal pup and beheading it," said Gerraty. "We are pretty confident there has been predation at four sites along the Northern California coast."

The student noted that contrary to popular wisdom, coyotes — who have made a big comeback from having their numbers suppressed by farmers and ranchers for decades — are often beach dwellers.

"Coyotes are underappreciated predators in shoreline ecosystems, and marine mammals are the largest and most calorically rich nutrient parcels in the ocean, and really anywhere in the world," said Gerraty.

It's unclear both why coyotes only eat the heads and whether this behavior is altogether new.

Gerraty told the Los Angeles Times, "My guess is that the brains are pretty nutritious compared to a lot of other seal parts. Blubber can be pretty hard to get through."

The student indicated that the coyotes' hunting pattern is unlikely to have a substantial impact on seal populations but may prompt them to relocate where they give birth and "haul out."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Video: 2 toddlers injured in separate coyote attacks in Arizona



Two toddlers were injured in separate coyote attacks in Arizona last week.

Video from a surveillance camera caught the moment that the large coyote attacked a 21-month-old boy in Scottsdale, Arizona. The coyote is seen in the video stalking the toddler near his home before knocking him down and biting him on Wednesday. The toddler screamed and the animal released him from his jaw.

The boy's mother, Kelly Pirozzi, ran to protect her son from the coyote. The animal scampered away. She then rushed the boy into their home.

"It happened so quickly," Pirozzi told ABC News.

The boy suffered minor bite marks.

There was another coyote attack only four days earlier, just half a mile away from Pirozzi's home.

A toddler was at a playground near an elementary school when the child was attacked by a coyote, according to Darren Julian, an urban wildlife specialist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

Thankfully that toddler's injuries were also minor, with some "scrape marks on his stomach."

Officials suspect the same coyote committed both attacks.

Julian said coyote attacks are rare, and these are the first in the Phoenix area since 2017.

However, Julian warned residents to be "extra vigilant," even in their own backyards.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department said it is "looking for a large, healthy coyote that has injured two toddlers in Scottsdale."

"The coyote shows little fear of people and may have been illegally fed in the past," the statement read. "Parents of toddlers in the area should keep their children close when outdoors and be vigilant until the Arizona Game and Fish Department is able to locate and remove the offending coyote."

Members of the Arizona Game and Fish Department and officers with the Scottsdale Police Department are patrolling the area to locate the coyote.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is asking anyone who spots a coyote in the Scottsdale area to immediately call 623-236-7201.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Coyote's attack on toddler caught on camera | GMA www.youtube.com

85,000 Minors MISSING After Being Released into the US: Who Is Responsible?

85,000 Minors MISSING After Being Released into the US: Who Is Responsible?

There’s Nothing Humane About Emboldening The Corrupt Cartels Exploiting Our Open Border

Under the guise of charity, a Rhode Island principal asked her staff to send ransom money to a cartel to pay a child’s smuggling debt.

Mystery over strange animal no one could identify — and that 'went berserk,' broke out of cage, and escaped from shelter — has been solved



Remember that mystery animal that was grabbing headlines a few weeks back?

Not only because nobody could figure out exactly what it was, but also because PhillyVoice reported it "went berserk" in a western Pennsylvania shelter, "demolished" its cage, climbed shelves, and "chewed" window seals before escaping back into the wild.

Well, the mystery has been solved thanks to a completed DNA test.

The staff was waiting on DNA to determine if he's a dog or coyote before he made his escape.https://fox8.com/news/pennsylvania-rescues-mystery-animal-pulls-off-elaborate-escape/\u00a0\u2026
— fox8news (@fox8news) 1643402064

'The results are in!'

A Valentine's Day post on Facebook from Wildlife Works — which had been taking care of the creature until it busted out of the joint sometime between closing time Jan. 26 and when it reopened the next day — provided the great unveiling.

"The results are in! Our 'mystery animal' DNA sample came back," the post read. "100% coyote!"

What's the background?

The male animal began making headlines in mid-January after a woman found him near her home in Westmoreland County, Philly Voice said, adding that the animal then was taken to Wildlife Works — a Youngwood non-profit that rehabilitates and releases distressed animals. The creature's fur showed visible signs of mange.

The "coyote" was taken to the animal rehabilitation center after a Pennsylvanian woman found it on her property last week.https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/mystery-animal-found-by-pennsylvania-woman-escapes-wildlife-shelter\u00a0\u2026
— FOX Baltimore (@FOX Baltimore) 1643697000

Then on the morning of Jan. 27, a Wildlife Works staff member arrived at the shelter to find it partially ransacked, with trash strewn all over, PhillyVoice said, adding that there were scratch marks on the walls, a window's seal and screen were torn apart — and the mystery animal's cage was open and empty.

The creature had escaped, WJW-TV reported.

"The crate was just demolished. The hospital room was demolished. He had clambered up on a set of shelves and then reached over — this was no easy feat, let me tell you — he managed to stretch over to a window," Beth Shoaf, Wildlife Works' executive director, told PhillyVoice at the time. "These windows are high at the top of the walls. They're not windows you look out of, you know? And he chewed the window seals to force the window open — and out he went!"

Mystery animal that might be a dog escapes from Pennsylvania rescue.https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/01/27/mystery-animal-escapes-Pennsylvania-rescue-Wildlife-Works/5711643313699\u00a0\u2026
— Sunny Days \ud83c\udf1e (@Sunny Days \ud83c\udf1e) 1643897489

Shoaf added to the outlet that "nobody in the world thought something like this could happen. He was half-dead."

PhillyVoice noted that a Wildlife Works Facebook post — which has since been deleted — said the group is upset the animal escaped:

He never acted aggressive or distressed, and there had been no evidence of escape attempts. We had him for about a week, during which time he ate nutritious food and received treatment for his mange and secondary infections. We can only guess he was starting to feel somewhat better and decided it was time to go.

Hopefully those of you who know Wildlife Works know this is NOT [our] standard of care, and will understand how devastated we are — not just for ourselves but for that poor creature out there in the cold again struggling to survive.

Shoaf told the outlet she took down the Facebook post with the photos after Wildlife Works was "deluged" with comments — most positive, but some hostile. PhillyVoice said one person threatened to come to the shelter and hunt down the animal.

She also noted to the outlet that the shelter is trying to lure the animal back and has set traps in hopes of recovering him, but there has been no sign of the animal since his escape.

Mystery animal awaiting DNA results escapes rescue facility | NewsNation Primeyoutu.be

'Thinking he is long gone'

When Wildlife Works was waiting for DNA results, Shoaf told PhillyVoice the shelter received many guesses regarding what exactly the mystery animal is.

"Everything from an abused greyhound to Chupacabra. Seriously. There were lots of people that thought it might be Chupacabra," she told the outlet, in reference to the mythical creature said to drink goat blood. "The only place I ever saw Chupacabra was on 'Scooby Doo,' and it didn't look like a dog."

As for the coyote's whereabouts, Morgan Barron — a wildlife rehabilitator at the shelter — told TribLive, “Still no sightings ... thinking he is long gone."

Animal experts investigate mystery animal Pennsylvania woman found outside homeyoutu.be

Mystery animal rescued from wild 'went berserk' in shelter, 'demolished' crate, climbed shelves, 'chewed' window seals — and escaped. But what is it?



A mystery animal — possibly a coyote, possibly a dog, maybe a combination of the two, or perhaps something else entirely — "went berserk" in a western Pennsylvania shelter one night last week, "demolished" its cage, climbed shelves, and "chewed" window seals before escaping back into the wild, PhillyVoice reported.

The staff was waiting on DNA to determine if he's a dog or coyote before he made his escape.https://fox8.com/news/pennsylvania-rescues-mystery-animal-pulls-off-elaborate-escape/\u00a0\u2026
— fox8news (@fox8news) 1643402064

Say what?

The male animal began making headlines in mid-January after a woman found him near her home in Westmoreland County, the outlet said.

The animal was being housed at Wildlife Works, a Youngwood non-profit that rehabilitates and releases distressed animals, PhillyVoice noted, adding that the creature's fur showed visible signs of mange.

The "coyote" was taken to the animal rehabilitation center after a Pennsylvanian woman found it on her property last week.https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/mystery-animal-found-by-pennsylvania-woman-escapes-wildlife-shelter\u00a0\u2026
— FOX Baltimore (@FOX Baltimore) 1643697000

The shelter also sent out blood samples from the animal for DNA analysis, which takes several weeks, the outlet said.

Then last Thursday morning, a Wildlife Works staff member arrived at the shelter to find it partially ransacked, with trash strewn all over, PhillyVoice said, adding that there were scratch marks on the walls, a window's seal and screen were torn apart — and the mystery animal's cage was open and empty.

The creature had escaped, WJW-TV reported.

"The crate was just demolished. The hospital room was demolished. He had clambered up on a set of shelves and then reached over — this was no easy feat, let me tell you — he managed to stretch over to a window," Beth Shoaf, Wildlife Works' executive director, told PhillyVoice earlier this week. "These windows are high at the top of the walls. They're not windows you look out of, you know? And he chewed the window seals to force the window open — and out he went!"

Mystery animal that might be a dog escapes from Pennsylvania rescue.https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/01/27/mystery-animal-escapes-Pennsylvania-rescue-Wildlife-Works/5711643313699\u00a0\u2026
— Sunny Days \ud83c\udf1e (@Sunny Days \ud83c\udf1e) 1643897489

Shoaf added to the outlet that "nobody in the world thought something like this could happen. He was half-dead."

PhillyVoice noted a Wildlife Works Facebook post — which has since been deleted — said the group is upset the animal escaped:

He never acted aggressive or distressed, and there had been no evidence of escape attempts. We had him for about a week, during which time he ate nutritious food and received treatment for his mange and secondary infections. We can only guess he was starting to feel somewhat better and decided it was time to go.

Hopefully those of you who know Wildlife Works know this is NOT [our] standard of care, and will understand how devastated we are — not just for ourselves but for that poor creature out there in the cold again struggling to survive.

Shoaf told the outlet she took down the Facebook post with the photos after Wildlife Works was "deluged" with comments — most positive, but some hostile. PhillyVoice said one person threatened to come to the shelter and hunt down the animal.

She also noted to the outlet that the shelter is trying to lure the animal back and has set traps in hopes of recovering him, but there has been no sign of the animal since his escape.

Mystery animal awaiting DNA results escapes rescue facility | NewsNation Primeyoutu.be

Name that animal...

While Wildlife Works waits for DNA results, Shoaf noted to PhillyVoice that the shelter has received many guesses regarding what exactly the mystery animal is.

"Everything from an abused greyhound to Chupacabra. Seriously. There were lots of people that thought it might be Chupacabra," she told the outlet, in reference to the mythical creature said to drink livestock blood. "The only place I ever saw Chupacabra was on 'Scooby Doo,' and it didn't look like a dog."

PhillyVoice readers have said the animal is a Mexican hairless dog or a coydog, the outlet noted.

"I did not realize how many species of hairless dogs there are," Shoaf added the PhillyVoice. "There's something called a Xolo [another name for a Mexican hairless] and there's a dhole. It was very enlightening."

Animal experts investigate mystery animal Pennsylvania woman found outside homeyoutu.be