SURPRISE, ARIZONA — A coyote pup was found in Surprise, Arizona, covered in thousands of cholla cactus spines. The Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center treated the animal after receiving a report of the entanglement.
Berkeley Martineau, a veterinary tech at the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale, said they received a call regarding a coyote who had gotten entangled in some cholla cactus. Martineau said the coyote had spines 'just about everywhere' and described the spines as being in the nose, mouth, tongue, tail, and back. Some of the spines had gone through the coyote's ear.
Martineau and others spent about two to two and a half hours removing thousands of spines from the coyote's body. The pup was lightly sedated during the tedious but most likely lifesaving procedure.
The coyote is roughly 4 to 6 weeks old, Martineau said. A week after the incident, the pup is doing well, is eating well, and has been introduced to other orphan pups. He said the coyote will be able to be released back into the wild in a couple of months. He added that the coyote was probably a 'goofy little coyote who stumbled into the wrong cactus.'
The Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center, based in Scottsdale, routinely rehabilitates injured wildlife from across central Arizona, including coyotes, bobcats, and birds of prey.