With apologies to Warren Zevon, the coyote was not actually in the middle of the road. The dead animal was next to trail on the way to Kelley's Knob. Sunday was a beautiful day for a hike, and a reminder that fall really is the best season in the southern Appalachians--bright blue skies, that thin, late fall sun, and warm temperatures.
The coyote was recently dead, perhaps within the last twenty-four hours. I was not up for poking it much, as one of the possibilities is that it died from rabies, but I'm more inclined to think it might have been shot, although there was no signs of a gunshot wound on the side of the body that was visible. The coyotes attack sheep, and so there are more than a few farmers who don't care much for them.
