Death is a part of nature. And sometimes that includes the grave. A wild coyote was recently caught on camera digging up a grave in what must have been a distressing scene for loved ones.
The animal was spotted at a San Francisco-area cemetery on Mother's Day. Much like dogs, coyotes are known for digging holes. Well, the coyote certainly picked a bad spot to dig. Erin Haley, who was visiting her mom's grave at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, saw the creature. She filmed the animal digging and spoke about the incident with KRON-TV.
"Seems like a weird place to dig," Haley said. It's the first time that she's ever seen something like this. However, the Archdiocese of San Francisco said the coyote wasn't trying to discrete a grave. Likewise, it's not hungry for dead human flesh. Instead, it's likely that the creature was hunting for gophers in the area.
Likewise, the actual grave wasn't at harm.
Wild Coyote Digs Up Grave
"We realize how disturbing this looks, but we want to reassure people that the State code governing depth of burials helps protect their loved ones, as do the concrete burial vaults that are used to protect the caskets," Peter Marlow, communications director for the archdiocese, told SFGate.
Meanwhile, it's not the only recent grave disturbance. Wyoming may not have a coyote digging up graves, but the state has dealt with prairie dogs digging tunnels at local cemeteries.
Darin Edmonds, superintendent of the Campbell County cemetery district, told the Cowboy State Daily, "People get squirrely about anything digging underground where their loved ones are. Prairie dogs are a nuisance and their holes are unsightly, but it's one of those things that can happen in rural Wyoming."
He blasted the animals for the damage they do.
"Prairie dogs probably do the most damage, visibly and physically, of any critter I've encountered," he added. "But in Wyoming, you're subject to the natural tendencies of wildlife."
Poison is a likely solution in this regard for prairie dogs. But that's not the case for the coyote.
"Poisoning is probably the best remedy, fortunately or unfortunately," he said. "We went out to the extent of that environment, applied poison, and it seemed to work. You could try live trapping them, but the quickest, shortest and most effective remedy is to poison them."
