Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It was a pre-Christmas miracle for a luck coyote along the Buffalo outer harbor as the SPCA came to the rescue of a shivering and stranded coyote.
The Department of Environmental Conservation alerted SPCA officials to a coyote stranded on a log near the US Coast Guard’s Fuhrmann Blvd. station
Shortly after receiving the call, SPCA Chief Lindsey Wood and Officer Melina Homsi, along with Agents Molly McLaughlin and Meghan Giles, headed out to the docks with the appropriate levels of rescue equipment and determination necessary to get the job done.
Upon arrival, the team noticed the soaking coyote’s evident exhaustion. US Coast Guard Metalsmith Petty Officer 1st Class Taylor Foran told Wood via text that the coyote was in the water and/or stranded at least three hours, but probably longer, and said the coyote was violently shivering and was so exhausted from swimming when first seen that she couldn’t lift her head.
The photos below depict the dramatic rescue, as Wood, assisted by Homsi, Giles, and McLaughlin, was able to snare the coyote and pull her up to safety. The coyote was immediately transported to the SPCA’s West Seneca location where she was examined and cared for overnight.
On December 23, as shown in the video below, officers released the now warm and fed coyote to a safe, wooded area at Wilkeson Pointe not far from where she was located!
If you have any wildlife concerns, contact the SPCA Serving Erie County Wildlife Department at (716) 875-7360, ext. 247.
