He is NOT on the Tour Path.
We were told that our sweet and handsome Maine was initially purchased to be a pet. We’re not sure how he ended up with the seller in the first place, and it’s possible that he was stolen from his den as a newborn. Like many wild animals that people try to make pets, Maine soon proved to be too much for his owner, who brought him to an animal rescuer with threats to end Maine’s life if they refused to take him.
Unfortunately, Maine’s story is not unique, and many coyotes in similar situations do not get to experience a happy ending. In fact, thousands of baby coyotes are trapped or den-robbed each year, while others are bred in captivity. Some are sold as pets, others are killed and skinned for their fur, and the most unlucky are used as live bait for training hunting dogs. In these scenarios, the poor coyote is tethered so it can’t escape, and hunting dogs are taught to tear it apart. The sad reality is that coyotes are often wrongly considered as vermin or thought to be dangerous animals that will harm pets and even children. Despite the fact that these ideas are typically not true, coyotes are widely hunted, mistreated, and demonized in the United States. There are even state-sanctioned coyote-killing contests, organized as fundraisers, in which the winner is the person who manages to kill the largest number of coyotes.
When Maine’s owner dropped him off with the rescuer, the little coyote had been incompletely shaved. The man said he had done this because Maine had fleas and thought that would get rid of them. Thankfully, the rescuer took great care of Maine. She took him to the vet, had him vaccinated and treated for fleas, and fed him a healthy diet. Although she cared deeply for his well-being, she was about to have her first baby and knew Maine would need special care that she could no longer provide.
Maine’s rescuer contacted Wild Spirit and told us all about this deserving boy. At the time, we had a single female coyote named Yuni who needed a companion, making the decision to rescue Maine quite easy to make. We welcomed him in January of 2017 when he was 10 months old. Maine was nervous on his way to the sanctuary, and it took him some time to settle into his new home. Fortunately, he and Yuni get along very well together, and with her help, he has settled into a comfortable, happy life in our care.
