Pregnant coyote with injured leg free once again

Juniper, the coyote, rescued by Procyon Wildlife, is released back into the wild after getting a wire fence stuck in her leg. (Procyon Wildlife/Facebook)

It’s a happy ending for a pregnant coyote who got caught in a fence, suffered wounds and had to be taken in by a wildlife sanctuary.

Lovingly named Juniper, Procyon Wildlife in Beeton said it was able to free her back into the wild over the weekend after it had rescued her from a wire fence.

While she is still on the mend and her leg needs to heal some more, as soon as she could put weight on her leg, the sanctuary said it released her.

“She has returned home before the birth of her pups to rejoin her mate on their territory,” Procyon Wildlife said in a Facebook post.

Rebecca Dmytryk, director of Wildlife Emergency Services in California, told CTV News the unique situation had a lot riding on it and that it would be in the coyote’s best interest to release her into the wild as soon as possible.

Dmytryk explained coyotes are monogamous so her lifelong mate would be actively looking for her, which could force him to exit his territory, putting him in danger.

She said if the coyote could even bear slight weight on her leg, the sanctuary should let her go and allow her mate to take over her care or she could stand to lose everything.

The sanctuary initially said it was thinking it may need to keep Juniper in their care for longer and possibly through the birthing period. However, with the help of veterinary care, the community who donated and coyote experts, Juniper now gets another chance at life.

“We wanted to give the family the best chance at restarting and that means privacy,” Procyon Wildlife said.

• Pregnant coyote found stuck in fence, recovering at wildlife sanctuary

In early April, a property owner called the wildlife sanctuary after spotting a coyote stuck in a fence and unable to get out.

When the sanctuary managed to free the coyote and took her into their care, that’s when it realized she was pregnant.

The coyote was then transported to a veterinarian who sedated the animal to remove the wire fence pieces stuck in her leg.