Coyote gunned down on South Shore

This coyote was killed Jan. 22 on the South Shore. Photo/Provided

Updated Jan. 23 6:05pm:

Someone shot and killed a coyote on the South Shore Jan. 22.

The animal was left to bleed to death in the snow.

This occurred off Ottawa Drive in the unincorporated area of El Dorado County.

Neighbors have been interviewed, but there are no suspects yet, according to El Dorado County sheriff’s officials. John Setnor, the owner of the house where the coyote was found, denies involvement.

“The only gun that he owns is a BB gun, which wouldn’t have caused the large bullet hole in the coyote. The coyote was shot in the woods near his home, but there are no witnesses and no one heard a shot,” sheriff’s Lt. Pete Van Arnum told Lake Tahoe News. “All indications are that he likes the animals in his back yard, and he is a supporter of (Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care). Another neighbor saw a male subject in a black raised pickup with two dogs in the truck wearing a camo jacket. He was watching a coyote in the area and appeared to want to hunt the coyote. No plate on the truck.”

It is not illegal to hunt coyote, but it is illegal to discharge a firearm in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

No one answered the phone at the Setnor residence with Lake Tahoe News called.

A neighbor told Lake Tahoe News, “ (Setnor) was one of two people who were aware of a dead coyote behind his house. The initial blood was found approximately 30 feet from his back deck and the body about 30 yards from that after following the blood trail. The other individual did not remove the coyote after it was reported. The blood trail leads directly to a spot behind his deck where he would have an unobstructed shot from his house. The blood trail is still on the ground. The coyote was removed and the only evidence that is left is boot prints from a large shoe covering the area where the coyote died and also on top of the blood trail.”

Coyotes have been heard on the South Shore in the last week in large numbers at night after a presumed kill. Some have been wandering neighborhoods without the pack.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report