Source
r/IAmA•
sponge_worthy

IAMA girl who was nearly attacked by a pack of coyotes.

Bit of backstory: My friend had an even closer encounter with said pack; she was out for a run with her dog and started about an hour before I joined her with my dog. When we got out there she told me the whole story and was still shaking from it. The pack had gotten within 10 feet of her, and were not backing off. She literally had nothing with her to defend against them and resorted to yelling and waving her arms and stomping her feet at them. Her dog was kind of oblivious to the fact that she was nearly their breakfast.

The next week we went back out for a run together and they were there waiting for us again. I'd never heard the sound coyotes make when trying to lure an animal in... it's a very strange sound, sort of like an animal in severe pain. I said "what was that" and she said "it's them again, let's get out of here". She was worried about her dog taking off after them again - my dog still hadn't noticed. We called the dogs and sprinted back to the vehicle. They were running behind us, but were far enough away that we made it back to the vehicle... but were definitely in pursuit.

I chased them off the road with my vehicle, but they just went into the ditch a few feet away, and looked at us like "ya... and?!?" I've seen lots of coyotes before as I grew up in the country, but they had all kept their distance and were only interested in me so far as making sure they were at a safe distance and I wasn't coming closer to them - normal behaviour. These ones were definitely not afraid of us, and were intent on eating someone.

Ask away!

Posted Jul 11, 2010, 5:27 PM UTC

336
knight1to1•

Did you, at any point consider tripping your friend so you could make it to safety?

10
sponge_worthyOP•

Haha... no. My thoughtline was more like 'united we stand, divided we fall and become coyote food'.

6
rumguzzler•

You are a better person than I.

"I only have to outrun one person to survive... and it's YOU!" trip "AHAHAHAHA!" runs

Having said that, coyotes are only brave in the face of cowardice. You hit one with a stick and they'll flee like fleeing was going out of style.

1
ploofed•

I almost did that to my friend when a rottweiler was chasing us but I changed my mind.

1
tigertrain•

I know this isn't a question but... you should notify your local animal control. You were both lucky and got away, but someone else might not be so lucky. Animal control, or your local parks department (whatever that might be in your area) can assess the situation, check their behavior and see if they need to be relocated.

Now some actual questions: What time of day did these things happen at? How many of them were there? Are you and your friend's dogs big or small, and did they show any sort of aggression or protectiveness? Was this a farm town or a suburb?

3
sponge_worthyOP•

Did that. Twice. They didn't seem too concerned at all and actually said "you do realize there are coyotes within city limits?" Yes, I know. I'm not reporting that I SAW them, but that they tried to EAT me.

I was really concerned as well - we're not the only ones who frequent these roads, and we got away far luckier than some other people may have. My worst fear wasn't for myself, but that someone with little kids, or an elderly person may have fallen victim. This was not normal coyote behaviour!

The problem has now been taken care of.

To answer your questions:

  1. Early morning - between 6:30 and 8:00.

  2. 3 coyotes. A definite leader, and his 2 peons.

  3. I have a German Shepherd, she's quite big; my friend's dog is smaller - medium sized lab/terrier cross. Her dog did not show any sort of protectiveness or awareness of what was actually taking place. When I was out with my dog the second time my dog wasn't aware of what was happening because we left before they got too close. I'm pretty sure that she would have been protective had they gotten closer, however I didn't want to chance her being in a fight with 3 coyotes. They may have backed off if they'd seen her acting protectively, but I'd rather not find out.

  4. Not a farm town, city of about 220,000 ish. That being said, it's surrounded by rural communities and agriculture.

1
rumguzzler•

A relevant question: any badgers about? Coyotes actually prefer to hunt with badgers moreso than other coyotes. They only pack up when they're really desperate.

1
sponge_worthyOP•

Not that I've seen, no. And.... really?? I'd never heard of that happening. Most of the coyotes I've seen have all been alone, I think up until this event happened. They all looked really healthy too - not starving or anything that I would've thought qualified them as "desperate".

1
Vox_Populi•

Where was this?

1
sponge_worthyOP•

On some backroads a few miles outside of the city we live in in southern Saskatchewan, Canada.

1
Scuderia•

Saskatchewan, Canada.

There's your problem.

1
sponge_worthyOP•

Ya, I guess it would've been less of a problem if I was attacked by coyotes somewhere else.....?

3
Scuderia•

Exactly!

1
burdalane•

I read about a girl who got killed by coyotes somewhere in Canada. There are coyotes where I live, and I've heard about small dogs getting killed by them, but never a person. So maybe being in Canada is the problem.

1
hwood•

Coyotes run in packs?

1
sponge_worthyOP•

Yes. More effective hunting in a pack.

1
[deleted]•

I live in Washington state and we have coyotes in our neighborhood most years. I always see them in groups of 3 or 4.

1
BorderlineAmazing•

What kind of dog did you and she have? I wonder if they were more interested in your meal-on-a-rope than in you, the human.

1
sponge_worthyOP•

Likely. I have a German Shepherd who's quite large and she has a smaller lab/terrier cross (medium sized). They were off leash, as we were out in the country.. so a bit more concerning as you're relying on them listening to you and not doing their own thing. My dog's pretty good at this.

2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
Tangurena•

Have you thought about carrying a gun and shooting the coyotes next time?

There are a number of coyote-dog crossbreeds and they tend to combine pack mentality with coyote-ness and the lack of fear of humans from the dogs. This sort of thing happens because people don't spay or neuter their dogs who get out and might screw the coyotes (or get eaten by the coyotes).

1
sponge_worthyOP•

There won't be a next time, the problem has been taken care of. I was out a few weeks ago with my dog and we didn't encounter anything out of the ordinary.

Edit: These weren't crossbreeds either, just straight up coyotes.

1
your_highness•

See, it's for these reasons that I'm actually FOR Coyote Culling. I own a Coyote fur Canada Goose Coat and don't feel one bit bad.

1
sponge_worthyOP•

I have never had a problem with coyotes before - they do have their place in the food chain. I'd seen plenty growing up, and they do fear humans and will keep their distance and I'm fine with that. These ones however were not "normal" coyotes, and so became a problem for reasons unknown.

2
[deleted]•

Find a safer place to run.

1
sponge_worthyOP•

Up until this happened it was very safe. Also a good place to take the dogs where they don't have to be on leash and there's nothing around for them to get into. Any traffic was quite slow moving as well so it worked out great.

1
_tenken•

hope you're not in a state that requires leashed canines (like CA) in populated areas.

... but of course if you go romping through the country side you might run into: bears, mountain lions, coyotes or badgers (at least here in central CA thats what's around) .... as all these animals will infringe on the outskirts of populaces when their natural food supplies are running low ...

go run in a city park. and leash your dog(s) :P

1
sponge_worthyOP•

No, in the city you are required to have your dog on leash, except for in the off-leash park. Outside city limits it's fine to have them off. It is VERY rare to have any cougars/mountain lions or bears around here. As in... it makes the paper when one is spotted - maybe once or twice a year. Haha.

1
[deleted]•

Damn. Well be careful.

1
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
sponge_worthyOP•

Not normally no... for the most part they are fearful of people and keep their distance, which is what my experience up until this point had been. However, there have been people who have been attacked and have died... definitely not common, but it's not totally unheard of anymore either.

1
CallmeEnana•

What is the general location (state?)

How many of them?

I had an encounter with a lone coyote while I was walking home one night. He had a rabbit in his mouth, and I was scared shitless that he might pick a bigger meal. I actually ended up stopping traffic for him to cross the road because I'm a nut and didn't want him to get hurt.

I've seen the same coyote recently with 3 others. They get close enough for me to acknowledge them and then they flee. I'm hoping I don't end up dinner some night.

1
sponge_worthyOP•

This happened in Saskatchewan (Canada). There were 3 of them. After what they tried to do, I didn't care if they got hurt or not, in fact, quite the opposite! Them fleeing is still a good sign - they're still afraid of humans at this point... but how close are they getting?

1