BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WALA) - A Rabun hunter made an extraordinary kill this week, shooting a possible mutant coyote in Baldwin County he says weighed around 60 pounds.
Coyotes, though common across Lower Alabama, typically don't weigh more than 30 pounds, according to a wildlife expert.
Ryan Watson tells FOX10 News he was in a tree stand in some woods between Stockton and Rabun when the unusually large coyote appeared.
"It looked like a wolf to start with," Watson said. "It had a massive thick neck on him and a big head. I never knew they got that big."
Though a genetics test on the canine is unlikely, a wildlife expert say the animal's size could be attributed to a mutation, abnormally large food supply, or it is half-coyote, half-dog. The largest coyote ever on record in the United States weighed in at 75 pounds.
Watson, who is an avid hunter, says he almost missed the coyote, but was able to load his gun just in time, before the massive coyote looked at him and he fired his shot.
The wildlife expert we spoke to says the case of this big coyote is very rare, and there is no threat to public safety.
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