BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash. - Bella the coyote can t make it in either world. She was taken as a pup along with the rest of her litter by a man who discovered them in the Southern California wilderness.
The man bottle fed them until they were old enough to give away as pets. That put Bella and her new family in jeopardy.
Bella plays too rough for humans so the family had to get rid of her before she hurt someone. Often that means dumping them in the woods where they have no skills to survive. Bella ended up at The West Sound Wildlife Shelter on Bainbridge Island. She will survive, but not in the wild and not in the Northwest.
Wildlife Specialist Lynn Weber said Bella is a desert animal and will not do well in the Washington State climate. The shelter was able to find a facility in Scottsdale, Ariz. that was willing to take in the eight-month-old coyote.
Bella will live out her years in captivity in her natural climate.
Weber predicts Bella will be used as an ambassador to teach people the dangers of removing animals from the wild. Weber said the best idea is to leave them alone. Animals that appear abandoned usually are not, the parents are just waiting for the humans to leave.
She said if people do rescue them they should immediately turn them over to shelters, which can raise them in a way that allows them to eventually be released into the wild.
