Charlie

Check out Daily Coyote. Thanks to Jenkins for pointing this out to me.

Although I find something inherently irritating about a east/west coaster that falls in love with a small town in Wyoming and lives in a one room cabin. . . I have to admit that girl can take some gorgeous photos. The story of Charlie is so endearing.

Coyotes are very controversial in my family. If my grandparents were to hear me say that open seasons on killing coyotes is unfounded - they would be very disappointed. They harbor a murderous hatred of coyotes. They pay a dude to hang out of the bottom of a helicopter to shoot them. Cattle killers they say. I personally think that coyotes serve a greater purpose. They eat vermin. Vermin who dig giant holes in range land. Vermin who my grandfather spends a great deal of time trying to poison to lessen the giant holes in the range land. See where I am going with this.

Yes, it sucks to find a calf kill, but let's be honest about how many of those occur.

I personally think that we need to find a harmony with coyotes and even *gasp* wolves that yes, we loose precious cattle to predators, but yes, they serve a very important purpose in our ecosystem.

My dad likes to say that it is easier to go home to Chinook and be gay than it is to be an environmentalist. I will one up him. It is easier to go home to Chinook and be a gay vegetarian with a Ralph Nadar t-shirt on than it is to publicly love and respect the coyote.