Coyote dies after apparent fight at Zoo Idaho
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POCATELLO — One of the Zoo Idaho coyotes has been killed after an apparent fight with another animal.
Odie was found dead after zoo staff was notified of an injured coyote by a patron Saturday morning.
According to a news release Monday, two coyotes were in the exhibit. The other, named Ky, was found injured.
She is responding to treatment, and staff is hopeful she will make a full recovery.
Officials say the cause of the death and injuries are unknown, but there was evidence of a fight between the two coyotes and another animal through the exhibit fence, the zoo said. Zoo managers said they have notified the U.S. Department of Agriculture of Odie’s death and will be cooperating with their investigation.
“Once the cause is determined, zoo staff will begin the process of making modifications to the exhibit to prevent future incidents,” according to the news release.
The zoo referred to Ky as a “beloved animal.”
“All of us who have ever worked with animals cannot help but develop connections to the animals we work with and for,” said Peter Pruett, zoo superintendent, in the release. “Ky and Odie have been part of the zoo and our family for 10 years, and it will be very hard to walk by the exhibit, howl, and only hear one voice howl back.”
The two coyotes had lived at Zoo Idaho since 2006, when they arrived to the zoo as pups from the Millville Predator Research Facility in Logan, Utah.