Lost And Starving Coyote Pup Found Last Week In RivCo Has Died

THOUSAND PALMS, CA — An emaciated coyote pup rescued last week in the Thousand Palms area died despite efforts to nurse him back to health, a county animal services spokesman said Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, I received a call from the nonprofit organization that was caring for the pup," Riverside County Department of Animal Services spokesman John Welsh said. "The coyote pup did not make a comeback. It died overnight after it was impounded last Friday."

The lost and starving coyote was found by a Thousand Palms-area resident, who took the pup to the department's Thousand Palms shelter. Welsh said the roughly 3-month-old coyote was weak and alone when he was found, leading to speculation that his mother may have died, leaving him without the means to survive.

"He was very dehydrated and underweight," Welsh said. "We provided the pup fluids intravenously and, later, some dextrose via a large syringe."

Shelter officials reached out to the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, as well as The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens in Palm Desert, for suggestions on placement of the pup, and were referred to the nonprofit Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona, which agreed to continue his rehabilitation, according to Welsh.

His caregivers were heartened when the pup appeared to perk up after receiving the dextrose infusion and had been hopeful that he would survive.

— By City News Service