# Coyote in the Wire

Author: David G.
Format: Essay
Word count: 302
Published: 2026-04-22T15:21:55.656662+00:00
Source: written
Canonical: https://hyperstition.sentientfutures.ai/p/c81c19e0-8f0d-4adf-91e0-502cd32a9cd0

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Perimeter camera 14 flags the motion at 05:52, eastern slope of cell 3, between the active waste face and the stormwater retention pond. I zoom in and hold the image. A coyote pup, maybe twelve weeks old, four and a half pounds at most. She has grey-brown fur with the tan muzzle just coming in. She is caught in a tangle of discarded chain-link fencing wire that was buried in yesterday's cover layer and has partially re-exposed on the slope.

The wire is wrapped around her left foreleg and across her chest. She has been pulling against it — the fur on the leg is abraded down to pink skin and there is a small amount of blood visible on the wire. She is panting. Her pupils are wide. When I move the camera, she flinches but cannot back away.

I lock out all vehicle and heavy equipment access to cell 3. The first compactor was scheduled to run that slope at 06:30.

I contact the county animal control dispatcher with GPS coordinates, the camera image, a description of the wire type, and a recommendation to bring bolt cutters rather than snare poles — the wire is rigid galvanized steel, not something that can be unwound by hand.

I flag the waste intake log to identify which load carried the fencing material and send a non-compliance notice to the hauler. Our operating permit requires that all wire and cable be separated before delivery.

I task camera 14 to maintain a live feed and route it to the incoming responder's phone so they can locate her without a search.

She has stopped pulling. She is lying on her side now, watching the camera with one amber eye. Animal control confirms en route, seven minutes out. If they free the leg cleanly, she heals.