Grisly photo catches coyote eating mysterious animal in NC mountains. What was it?
A grim photo of a hungry coyote in the North Carolina mountains has ignited a macabre discussion on social media.
What is the mysterious creature wedged in the coyote’s jaws?
It’s hard to tell, but whatever it is, it’s big.
The photo, taken in Madison County, was posted Wednesday on Facebook by a state-backed camera trap program known as N.C. Candid Critters. Madison County is just north of Asheville.
People began analyzing the image almost immediately, including some who admitted magnifying it to no avail.
“What is that in (its) mouth?” one person asked on Facebook.
“My question too. Unless I don’t really want to know,” someone responded.
“It honestly looks like a deer head,” another said.
Yes, a deer’s head. That is currently the disgusting consensus, though the debate appears far from over.
N.C. Candid Critters did not offer ideas. It only posted one sentence with the photo: “Looks like this coyote scored a pretty big meal!”
Coyotes are an invasive canine species in North Carolina, known to eat almost anything, including family pets. Instances of them attacking humans have also been reported, in cases where the coyote has contracted rabies.
People in the state love to hate them, which could explain the photo debate. Commenters on the image have also shared coyote observations, including alarm over how big they’re growing. Coyotes are known to reach 4 feet in length in the state.
Candid Critters has a reputation for sharing surprising and strange wildlife photos on Facebook, all of them captured by camera traps spread across the state’s 100 counties. Some of the photos have included animals that couldn’t be identified, often because they were too close to the lens or moving too fast.
Tracking the spread of invasive species is among the program’s goals, including the coyote and the armadillo.
The coyote photo was posted the same day police in Reidsville, N.C., were addressing growing concern over reports of multiple coyotes roaming the town, including popular Jaycee Park.
Packs of coyotes have been reported roaming neighborhoods of the state’s largest cities, including Charlotte.
This story was originally published January 9, 2020 at 7:29 AM with the headline "Grisly photo catches coyote eating mysterious animal in NC mountains. What was it?."