Bigger Northbrook cage or Colorado sanctuary? Experts, activists differ on care for this coyote

Nicole Milan first spotted the coyote dubbed Rocky about a year ago as it paced alone in a 266-square-foot cage at the River Trail Nature Center in Northbrook.

She became alarmed by the smallness of the enclosure and began a push to get the 4-year-old male relocated to a Colorado wildlife sanctuary - a crusade that drew support from comedian Ricky Gervais, a noted animal welfare activist who called for the end of Rocky's "inhumane captivity."

Forest preserve officials, however, have decided the coyote should stay put and recently agreed to build him a larger enclosure.

Both sides argue they're doing what's best for Rocky, whose plight began with a mistake that made him unable to live on his own or in the wild.

"It has been here its whole life, except for the first few months," said Carl Vogel, director of communications for the Cook County Forest Preserve District. "Keeping the coyote at River Trail is a decision we've made."

Activists argue it's the wrong one.

An early mistake

The coyote was found four years ago in Tennessee. He was so young his eyes weren't open yet.

Thought to be a German shepherd puppy, Rocky spent several weeks in an animal shelter for cats and dogs, according to a January Facebook post by the forest preserve district. Not realizing he was a wild animal, staff members at the shelter socialized him so he could be adopted.

When the mistake was discovered, an animal rehabilitator in Tennessee worked with Rocky for several weeks to prepare him for release in the wild. But the rehabilitator and a veterinarian ultimately determined he had been imprinted by humans and couldn't be released.

Rocky not only didn't fear humans, but he depended on them for survival.

He was moved to the River Trail Nature Center and has lived there ever since as part of the Cook County Forest Preserve's Ambassador Animal program, designed to teach visitors about wildlife native to Cook County.

When Milan first spotted Rocky there, she raised concerns for his welfare. Based on information from biologists and veterinarians familiar with coyotes, she has since attempted to have him relocated to The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado. There, he would be with other coyotes in much larger habitats.

The push was championed by In Defense of Animals and the Chicago Alliance for Animals.

Since Milan registered her concern, forest preserve officials have agreed to build a 2,500-square-foot open-air enclosure, Vogel said. Construction is scheduled to begin this year.

Milan insists it is not enough.

"They are building a larger, inadequate, inferior enclosure," Milan said. "It still faces the parking lot, (with) crowd noise. It isn't big enough at all.

"The whole (Ambassador Animal) program there, it's an old-fashioned, dated, antiquated way to view animals," she said. "We're going to keep fighting to have Rocky released to an animal sanctuary and stop this practice."

But Rocky's veterinarian, Dr. Jamie Abete of Niles Animal Hospital and Bird Medical Center, wrote in an email that it would be harmful to move the coyote, which has known a life only among people.

"He is ill-equipped to interact with other coyotes and would likely be a social outcast, which would jeopardize both his safety and welfare," she wrote. "It would be detrimental for this coyote's health to be placed with other coyotes and be taken away from his caretakers."

What's best?

Forest preserve officials had two independent experts observe the coyote.

Dr. Alisa Kubala, a veterinarian and a Ph.D. candidate in conservation medicine who works with the Veterinary Emergency Group in Chicago, noted "animals should be displayed in exhibits replicating the wild habitat and in numbers sufficient to meet their social and behavioral needs."

She stated coyotes are social animals, living in packs, though some are solitary, typically when transitory.

The report also noted that a coyote should be displayed in an enclosure that is at least 5,000 square feet and be provided with multiple hiding places to escape or cope with any unexpected loud noises.

Dr. Edgar Garrett, a veterinarian, clinician and a professor at the University of Illinois Veterinary Hospital in Urbana, said that while the size of the current enclosure is adequate, there would be advantages to enlarging it.

"Additional size would allow the coyote more room to move about and for additional structures to provide visual barriers for a sense of privacy," he said.

He said he had no concerns about Rocky's mental status.

"The coyote's mental well-being is a high priority among the staff," Garrett said.

Forest preserve officials stress Rocky's case is unique.

"It has never lived in the wild or with other coyotes," they pointed out in a Facebook post. "It does not have the skills or capacity to survive as a lone individual or to communicate or integrate into a coyote pack. ... All it has known is living with humans, and the staff at River Trail serves as the coyote's family or pack, providing for all of its needs."

Irene Sewell of Glenview, a member of the Chicago Alliance for Animals, remains convinced Rocky would be better off elsewhere.

"It's just a sad state of affairs because humans did him wrong in the beginning, and now continue to do so, when it can be easily fixed," Sewell said. "They would be heroes if they surrendered him."