TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - There's a reward for whoever shot a young coyote and left her for dead.
She was found on Tucson's east side near Speedway and Tanque Verde Loop.
Reactions have ranged from anger that someone would hurt the animal, to people who think the fewer coyotes the better.
Fair warning: This story includes video you may find disturbing.
If you're near the desert, you're near coyotes. In early afternoon we saw a pack of coyotes crossing Speedway near Harrison.
A young coyote wasn't too far from there when she was shot at least three times, probably with a pellet gun. Someone found her and Tucson Wildlife Center started working to save her life.
Lisa Bates of Tucson Wildlife Center says, “It's possible it was a drive by shooting because we don't think she could have gotten very far with those bullets in her."
Tucson Wildlife Center is offering a reward for the arrest of whoever shot the coyote and pointing out no one should be firing guns near homes.
The fact the young coyote was found at the intersection of Speedway and Tanque Verde Loop complicates things. That's the borderline between City of Tucson and Pima County jurisdictions and each agency has slightly different gun laws and laws on the use of pellet guns. Both agencies said this would probably come down to a Game and Fish case. Game and Fish says without a license you can't be shooting coyotes and unless that animal was a threat this is going to come down to an animal cruelty case."
You do need to protect your pets. A viewer caught video of a coyote attacking a free roaming cat in a busy condo complex.
There wasn't much sympathy on the KGUN Facebook page.
Most feel like Steve and Carol who wrote: "Who cares about someone shooting a coyote, they need to be culled."
Isabel stood up for coyotes and said, "...they are afraid of humans! No reason to shoot them, cruel thing to do!"
Lisa Bates says it's unlikely a six or seven month old coyote like this one would be aggressive. She's hoping the coyote will heal and be able to run free again.
On July 8 the Tucson Wildlife Center said the coyote had been euthanized that morning.
An examination and X-Rays showed that the coyote was shot in the neck and chest. TWC says because the coyote showed little sign of physical improvement over the past week, hospital staff decided to euthanize the coyote.
“She was eating well and taking medication to manage her pain, but she suffered partial paralysis in her hind legs and she could not overcome the damage caused by this senseless shooting,” said TWC Founder, Lisa Bates in a news release.
