Has anyone ever been attacked by a wild animal while running?

Does an ex girlfriend count?

Biggest problem we have is urban gull attacks, especially if you have a white sun cap on which I almost always do in summer.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/shortcuts/2013/jul/02/how-to-survive-seagull-attack

456 wrote:

Does an ex girlfriend count?

Tell me more, that must be awesome to be wanted by a woman that badly.

Thread winner ^

A lion and an African buffalo?!?

Gonna have to say those pretty much top the big bad geese!

Geese, and other birds, yes.

It wasn't really an attack--kind of a passive aggressive thing--but on several occasions, a narrow spot on our XC course at Maine got taken over by a stubborn porcupine. It wouldn't move, and when you got close, it fluffed up its quills. We had to find a way around. I was always a little disappointed that it never happened during a race.

Several dogs. It's odd, because their owners swear they're friendly and won't bite.

Also, a bear, but i beat the crap outta him. He won't be charging any runners in the near future.

Came face to face with a cougar last week while running in the national forest in eastern Oregon. Running on a dirt road and he came down off of the cut bank just in front of me, apparently not seeing me before i saw him. I yelled and he ran off thankfully. My slow run became a tempo after that.

EasternWash wrote:

Came face to face with a cougar last week while running in the national forest in eastern Oregon. Running on a dirt road and he came down off of the cut bank just in front of me, apparently not seeing me before i saw him. I yelled and he ran off thankfully. My slow run became a tempo after that.

Damn! Close call

Cheech wrote:Does an ex-wife count?

I haven't seen a cougar in person, but knowing what I do about them, they aren't the most dangerous wild animal. While extremely physically capable, they're more like ninja than infantrymen. Get in get the hunt over before there is a chance of injury. If you can defend yourself at all, or see the attack coming and bluff (put your hands over your head or fists up), its too smart to get injured it will back off.

Not because the cougar is such a poor fighter, but because it is such a good hunter it can find something else to eat most likely. In India leopards that are injured and cant hunt their normal prey are more likely to eat humans. So if you were to run across a cougar that was starving for some reason, it would still be stronger than a person and it would be more dangerous. This is unlikely because the cougar is now rare, and either there is enough habitat in an area to sustain prey population like deer etc, or there is not. However I have seen some giant stuffed cougars from the past when there was extensive hunting. Back then a sizable cougar competing with other wildlife for food may have just seen a human as another thing to eat.

Luuios wrote:

Bears etc? Anyone?

Once I went for a little evening run with my dog and after about 2.5 miles she bolted off over a hill. I ran after her and when I got over the hill she was staring at a mountain lion, about 30 yards away. The mountain lion saw me and I called my dog to my side and proceeded to walk backwards for about 40 minutes with the lion stalking me. The grass was dry-brown and the sun was kind of in my eyes, so it was even more terrifying because I couldn't see it perfectly the whole time.

Anyway, a few times, the first after about 20 minutes of this slow backwards walking, I thought I might get attacked and die. It was a hopeless feeling. I pointed to the mountain lion and told my dog to, "go get it!" so i might have a chance to sneak away, but she was spooked and stayed right by me.

Finally, something changed and the lion got bored and casually walked away.

i sprinted the 1/2 mile or so home and felt pretty light on my feet.

A cougar killed a mountain biker and mauled his buddy, last spring on a trail just outside Seattle. So while in general they will leave you alone, there are always exceptions.

only dogs

i was bitten once by an small annoying sh*tty dog once on my calf/achillies tendon. it hurt bad, i had 4 deep puncture wounds. i grabbed the dog and slammed it on the ground as hard as i could, the owner came out of his house all pissed and tried to get violent and mouthy with me

"what the hell are you doing!!"

then i pointed to my seriously bad bleeding leg. he quickly picked up his sh*tty dog and ran back inside...needless to say my run was over. the good thing that came of this was the dog was always barking at the team as we ran by, and after that day it never barked at us again....for anyone who ran at Adams State, 02-06 knows what dog im talking about.

the 2nd one was a big dog, husky? german shepard? i cant remember it was big tall and furry, i was on a run, and it starts sprinting at me, the owner is yelling the classic

"oh dont worry he is harmless"

when it got into striking distance and dropped its head low, growled and lunged at my face/neck. luckly i was able to get my forearm up fast enough and it bit down hard. i had multiple puncture wounds on my arm and almost got knocked over, i dont know how long it was holding on my arm thrashing around but it was painful and scary. the worthless chick finally gets there and scolds he dog and makes bullsh*t excuess that he has never done that blah blah blah...i am pissed, bleeding and cussing at her, and pointing to a sign on the trail like literally 10ft away "dogs must be leashed" or something like that.

she claimed she had no ID or anything and more lies, i wish i would have had my phone i would have called the cops and got some restitution at least. on that NOTE i f*cking hate worthless people who think they can just have their dogs running around free when they are not friendly animals. if your dog cant behave off a leash....DONT TAKE THEM OFF THE F*CKING LEASH

All dogs are dangerous and upredictable In public, they should be leashed at all times. This is the law in every municipality in which I have lived, and yet I still encounter loose dogs. Amazing. It is worse in some places than in others. I have also had dogs come from across the street (from their unfenced property) and chase me. Some did not have any supervision at all...just running around loose. Seriously—what kind of people own these dogs?

Be very careful wrote:

A cougar killed a mountain biker and mauled his buddy, last spring on a trail just outside Seattle. So while in general they will leave you alone, there are always exceptions.

I was running down a rural trail on Kodiak Island, AK. about 30 years ago and surprised a Kodiak bear (the biggest bears there are), or should I say it surprised me. We both jumped. Wish I had someone timing my mile that followed. I didn't look back.

outsiderunner wrote:

All dogs are dangerous and upredictable In public, they should be leashed at all times. This is the law in every municipality in which I have lived, and yet I still encounter loose dogs. Amazing. It is worse in some places than in others. I have also had dogs come from across the street (from their unfenced property) and chase me. Some did not have any supervision at all...just running around loose. Seriously—what kind of people own these dogs?

likewise. I've been attacked by off leash dogs in a state park with signage stating its illegal to have dogs off leash in the park. Rangers could not care less about the off leash dogs, too worried about if people paid the parking fees.

The worst is in the country where there are outside dogs with no fence on a property. They will run out into the road and all but hamper your forward progress unless you want to get attacked. Some are so bad you can't run down certain roads. I've been bitten before and had pain/limping for a few days. Being manly and getting past the aggresive dogs isn't potentially worth ruining months of training.

I know. Country areas are littered with dog threats. They are a real problem, and no one seems to care. I guess neighbors with children do not seem to care, either. I no longer run down certain roads. One of these roads is in town, not out in the country. Had a rotweiller come from across the road, chase me, and then lunge at my leg. I did not look back, but I could feel him right there. I gather he attempted to bite, but missed. I felt his claw hit my lower leg. I think my fast-moving legs must have been a hinderance to him. Really fortunate to get away. After of number of similar incidents, I will put it this way...I no longer have good feelings toward dogs.

Detroit vs Everybody wrote:

Richard Gozinya wrote:

So the thread question is "...ever been attacked...?"

and you post your story with the line "Never got attacked...".

Reading comprehension is not your best skill is it?

No need to be a dick...just thought I would share for fun since it is a "fun" thread

Yes, good job standing up to people like this!

Luuios wrote:

Bears etc? Anyone?

Worse than that - by my wife.