Have any coyote encounters on runs?

Ask Rick Perry.

I encountered a pack of gayotes last week. Fabulous animals.

I don't like them. You don't see much during the day they are mostly nocturnal.

They are crazy. I was approaching one which was in the middle of the street trying to get roadkill and as the car kept getting closer the Coyote didn't move.

It was will to get hit with a ton of metal and plastic rather than give up this dead scrap.

joho wrote:

No cayote encounters but I do encounter a fax every now and then.

I saw a walf once.

I see coyotes pretty much daily here on the SoCal trails. They mangy creatures. Anyone that would be scared of those is pretty much a wuss. Maybe they are bigger in other states because I am positive it would take at least 10 of them to bring me down in a fight.

It's not so much scared but rather that people just really don't like anything with sharp teeth that can bring down a deer gnawing on them.

Eastern Coyotes can be up around 70 pounds of muscle and sharp teeth that have killed a lot of things.

Paavo's Stopwatch wrote:

I came across a couple cayotes on a run last week. They were probably 20 yards away when I went by them. Both were just standing on side path from the trail I was on. I didn't want to run back by them, so instead of turning around at a normal spot, I had to reroute and extend my run fairly significantly.

Has anyone had any encounters with cayotes while on runs? Or, does anyone know anything about how agressive cayotes are? Was rerouting my run an unnecessary precaution?

I had a similar experience. Rockefeller trails in Westchester County, NY. I thought they were wolves at the time, they were chasing turkeys and did care too much about me.

just before dusk in hills of SFV in so cal prob 200-300 yds away a 'pack'(?) of em yelping away - actually a bit spooky, although we did stop to listen. usually loners I think. seen one about 4-5 Xs

In northern Illinois, my fellow runners and I were about to start our 6am run and about 200m from us were 3 or 4 coyotes who looked at us but then went somewhere else. It's weird because it was fairly sunny even at 6am and we were at a somewhat open area park, but we lost sight of them.

I came across a couple cayotes on a run last week. They were probably 20 yards away when I went by them. Both were just standing on side path from the trail I was on. I didn't want to run back by them, so instead of turning around at a normal spot, I had to reroute and extend my run fairly significantly.

Has anyone had any encounters with cayotes while on runs? Or, does anyone know anything about how agressive cayotes are? Was rerouting my run an unnecessary precaution?

Saw a bunch on my run tonight actually. A group of four watched me doing strides. Not particularly scary animals in LA, though maybe they're larger in other parts of the country.

SMJO wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqVE9qfg7yI

Best part of that video, "that's my trailer...and that's my dog."

Was that coyote attacking or playing?

I come across coyotes every couple of months, they check me out for a second and run off. They do seem to be braver when there are two of them (never seen more together), but never at all aggressive. They will, of course, eat your cat or small dog.

All the time on the trails by my house (southern california). Usually in the morning, but have seen them all times of the day. Although sometimes we surprise one another and get a little too close for comfort, they usually keep their distance and are gone as quickIy as they appear. I also hear them howling most nights and when they kill something as a pack, it is an eerie high-pitched free for all.

tgg wrote:

SMJO wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqVE9qfg7yI

Best part of that video, "that's my trailer...and that's my dog."

Was that coyote attacking or playing?

I come across coyotes every couple of months, they check me out for a second and run off. They do seem to be braver when there are two of them (never seen more together), but never at all aggressive. They will, of course, eat your cat or small dog.

Hard to say. I had a fox acting like a goofy puppy the other day. Definitely playing but it's hard to say what would make an animal do that.

Living in an urban environment would likely habituate them to humans but most animals acting like would be suspected of rabies and shot.

not in a long time, but yes, many times. they're usually in packs of 2-5, and are generally harmless, but i do keep a distance. in the past i've backtracked and waited until they're off the path/ trail so that I can keep going.

this week i was chased by 2 large doberman pincer dogs. probably in the 100lb zone. very scary.

Boulder:

Coyotes attack man near Niwot.

http://kdvr.com/2013/10/16/man-suffers-injuries-while-fighting-off-3-attacking-coyotes/

Three Coyote attacks on children in Colorado

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_18941466

One coyote, 4 attacks in Broomfield, CO

http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/ci_20595761/report-one-coyote-responsible-four-summer-attacks-broomfield

5 Coyote Attacks in Broomfield, CO

Colorado Division of Wildlife officials have killed five coyotes in Broomfield this past week following the latest attack on a person.

Officials were unable to track down a coyote involved in a Feb. 23 attack in Trails Park in Westlake. A man was bitten as he played fetch with one of his dogs.

Sharpshooters killed the coyotes in a pack near the Tom Frost Reservoir in Broomfield County Commons Park. Officials say the pack used public trails to move through the city.

Coyotes have attacked five people in the Denver-metro area this winter, including a 9-year-old Erie boy in December and a 26-year-old Broomfield resident in January.

Officials can't explain the increase.

Read more:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/denver/586576-5-humans-attacked-coyotes-winter-denver.html#ixzz2qLQmTXsR

One more ... Coyote / "Jogger" in Boulder

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/coyote-attacks-jogger-on-boulder-bike-path

This was in November 2012 -

I was doing an out and back run and the sun had long since set. It was completely dark out. Parts of the path are lit but there are also parts that have no lighting whatsoever and it is very dark. Combine this with the fact that I wear glasses but not when I'm running and you can imagine trying to see anything in detail not directly in front of me was impossible.

I came to a part of the trail that was completely dark with no lights around. This particular segment of the path is fairly long. I just got to the end of the "out" part of my run and turned around to go back. About 10 seconds later a cyclist is coming towards me and is repeatedly shouting something just as she nears me. She goes by and I'm not able to make out what she said. About 30 seconds later I realize she was saying "coyote ahead, coyote ahead!"

Oh Sh!t I thought. I am from an area of the country where I almost never encountered any type of animal that might be dangerous so I had no idea what to expect. I of course imagined the worst which isn't hard to do when you're wearing short shorts and a cotton tee while running in the cold pitch black of night.

I am not sure whether to bolt in an attempt to get the hell out of there as fast as possible or to go slowly in an attempt to monitor my surroundings as best I can. I do something in-between. As I'm about midway through the dark segment of the path, some cyclists with head lamps are coming from behind me illuminating the area immediately in front of and slightly to the side of me.

There are three cyclists. The first passes. Having them near gave me a sense of security. "Alright, I'm almost in the clear here." I think. The second cyclist approaches me from behind and once again illuminates the area allowing me to see just ahead. Just as she is about to pass me I see a silvery whitish dog-like creature out of the corner of my eye coming at me about 4 feet to my right. "OH SH!T!" I proceed to perform my best Usain Bolt impression and haul @ss more quickly than ever before.

"Was that someone's dog?" the second cyclist says as she passes me. I say nothing and continue to sprint like the wind. As the third and final cyclist approaches me from behind she slows down as she pulls level with me. "Dude, there is a coyote chasing you". "Sh!t" I exclaim and continue to run as hard as I possibly can. Despite the adrenaline surge, I start to slow but still maintain quite a brisk pace.

The third cyclist stays near me for what seemed like ages but in reality was probably less than a minute. She says as she cycles away "that was close". I never once looked back from the moment I saw it out of the corner of my eye. I have no idea if the coyote was about to attack me or if it was just getting close to check me out, but that was one of the most frightening experiences I've ever had, and probably the most adrenaline inducing one. I didn't do another night run for quite a while after that. To this day, as I still live in the area, I'm conscious about it when I am going for a run at dark.

Funnily enough I was running that same route months later in the early morning and I again ran into a coyote. Despite being in broad daylight I didn't notice it until it was about 5 feet in front of me just as I was passing it. It was the time of year when the grass was dead and the coyote's fur blended in perfectly with the surroundings. My poor eyesight no doubt didn't help. It was licking something on the ground and didn't even look up at me as I passed.

Waldon Puddle wrote:

One more ... Coyote / "Jogger" in Boulder

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/coyote-attacks-jogger-on-boulder-bike-path

What a coincidence as my incident also happened in colorado.