This is the third installment in our series on human encounters with dangerous wildlife. In our last article, we looked at deer, which are often considered less dangerous than they actually are. This week, we will discuss the opposite case: an animal that's perhaps not so deserving of our trepidation.
My son and I have run into this guy multiple times this year during walks in our neighborhood:
It always takes me a second or two to realize I'm face to face with a coyote, not a dog off its leash. The wild animal invariably seems to perform a similar calculation before slinking away, seemingly more scared of us than we are of it.
These recent encounters with my teenage son are quite a different experience from the first time I saw a coyote by our home. I was pushing my younger son's stroller up a hill when I noticed one of these animals relentlessly heading toward us. Becoming increasingly convinced it wasn't going to alter its route, I turned and hurriedly walked in the other direction. Of course, I now know this is exactly what not to do in such a situation. CoyoteSmarts.org advises on the proper protocol if a coyote approaches you:
- Be as big and loud as possible. Do not run or turn your back.
- Wave your arms, clap your hands, and shout in an authoritative voice.
- Make noise by banging pots and pans or using an air horn or whistle. These sounds can also alert the neighbors.
- Throw small stones, sticks, tennis balls or anything else you can lay your hands on. Remember the intent is to scare and not to injure.
- Spray with a hose, if available, or a squirt gun filled with water and vinegar.
- Shake or throw a “coyote shaker”—a soda can filled with pennies or pebbles and sealed with duct tape.
In other words, do everything that seems counterintuitive and likely to make you think the coyote will get pissed off and attack you. Fortunately, my breaking of rule #1 didn't lead to a terrifying chase like the one this guy from British Columbia experienced:
He made it to his house before the two coyotes could cause him or his dog any harm. They were likely going after his dog, as coyote attacks on humans don't happen very often. According to Outdoor Life:
Coyote attacks on humans are extremely rare. This is impressive, considering coyotes’ near ubiquitous presence in 49 states and counting. Coyote attacks grab our attention, but studies show that firsthand encounters with this common predator are almost always more benign than aggressive. Like most wild animals, coyotes avoid human contact and prefer to keep to themselves.
When attacks do happen on humans, though, they can be scary. A few weeks ago, a woman from New Jersey had to undergo rabies treatment after being attacked by a coyote that had been stalking her and her dog. Just a day later, also in a New Jersey backyard, a person was "knocked to the ground and bitten multiple times." Over here on the West Coast, an 82-year-old woman was attacked earlier this year while trying to protect her dog from a pack of coyotes. Unfortunately, her dog did not survive.
The victims mentioned above escaped with their lives, unlike Taylor Mitchell, a 19-year-old musician from Toronto who was killed by coyotes while on a hike in Canada. According to the Urban Coyote Research Project, "Taylor's injuries strongly suggest this was a predatory event. There was no evidence of food provisioning prior to the attack but for some unknown reason, these coyotes altered their behavior to show a lack of fear toward people."
Related: Predator Watch: 'Bambi Will Mess You Up'
The Mirror reports that no other adult has been killed in a coyote attack since Mitchell's death in 2009. Perhaps it's statistics like that which lead to the casual bravado I hear from neighbors and friends when talking about coyote encounters. The conversations usually go something like this:
"Have you ever seen a coyote?"
"Yes."
"Were you scared?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because it was a coyote."
Is such swagger warranted? Yes, if you're this man from South Carolina. We'll end this column with a video of him rescuing his dog by grabbing a coyote by the tail and throwing it into a dumpster:
Share your coyote — or any wild animal encounters — in the comments below.
