The CBC has reported another coyote attack, this time in New Brunswick!
Courtesy of CBC News:
Marie Simon of Saint-Charles, near Richibucto, said she went into her backyard about 2:30 a.m. to let her puppy Sampson out.
“He started pulling to go back in the house,” Simon said. “[I] thought it was just a puppy thing, and I heard a snarl and I turned around and I thought it was just a dog — and ended up it was coming right at [me]. All I could see was teeth.”
Simon threw the puppy more than three metres away to protect him, then found herself under attack by the coyote.
“It started trying to bite at me and bite at me and … I just covered my head with both my hands like that and swinging off punches when I could,” she said in an interview, with clumps of her hair still visible in the snow.
The ordeal with the coyote lasted about 10 minutes.
“Finally, it went to go at my neck and my jaw, ” she said. “And I just seen it there and I just got my left and went right at its mouth, and I connected with the mouth and the coyote yelped.”
The coyote took off down a path, and Simon went to the hospital, where she got a bandage for a scrape on her hand.
Now she hopes the animal comes back so she can trap it, she said.
In October, a 19-year-old folksinger from Toronto was killed by two coyotes in Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
Ok, what are your feelings, can we expect more of the same?
Outdoorsguy
This is nothing compared to the black bear problems up north, except these are getting national attention rather than small local papers in the northern communities. Judging on the black bears, these coyote encounters will continue to increase, and the animal will keep getting closer and closer to the population. I believe the politicians will get involved in this case, the coyotes are in their electoral backyards afterall.
I know there is allot of hype about this coyote thing in the Ottawa area. I still think if you are being attacked by a Coyote there is something that you are doing wrong to provoke these animals. If they are attacking your dog ….well they are probably thinking that it’s prey. It’s only natural for them. Yes they are coming closer and more brave to people. Just take a look at how our city is always expanding towards more wooded areas. It’s not their fault we take over their land!! We need to start learning to live with them around. I do allot of hiking in the bush and also do allot of astronomy, where you’re alone in the fields at night. You can here them howl all around you, and not once did I feel threaten of being attacked by this animal. I still believe they are allot more scared of humans than what we should be of them.
Let me explain this carefully. Coyotes re predators, and we are prey. You don’t need to do anything but be unfortunate enough to be there when they get hungry, It has nothing to do with encroachment, it has to do with a lack of fear of man. The single most effective way to deal with these animals so they once again fear us, is to hunt them. It is really that simple. Sooner or later, even city people will realize this. I only hope it is before and not after another person is hurt or even killed.
Cayote Lover,
i disagree. there is a population explode with ‘yotes. they are everywhere and in larger numbers. encroachment does have a factor, but i think it’s more the population increases. when they are actively visiting neighborhoods in search of an easy meal (pets), that becomes dangerous.
what if this lady had been a kid sent out to retrieve their pet? would it have been the kids fault? was it really this lady’s fault? no.
a few years ago, i came across ‘yotes on seperate occasions while riding my mountain bike on the trans-canada trail towards carleton place. both times they took off real fast.
last year, i came across another and whilie this isn’t a scientific study, he started to follow me. he wasn’t scared.
things have changed. they aren’t as scared.
btw, if you don’t carry at least bear spray on your hiking and astronomy trips, you should. it’s nice to think of nature as friendly, but we have our predators here. LeBaron’s has some and it’s fairly cheap. you should honestly carry it just in case. I’m an avid hunter and even when biking or hiking, I carry a knife and bear spray. both are small enough that they’re not a burden to carry nor do I even remember carrying them.
You never know when you’ll need them.
Keebler, I agree completely!
The predator population as a whole has changed greatly over the past decade or two. They are more brazen and less shy. I am convinced the ‘power in numbers’ theory has something to do with it.
And yes, for anyone who does not, at least, carry pepper spray in the woods these days needs to have their head examined! We’ve carried it every spring for the past 20 years during the trout season.
Although it was meant for bears, but you can bet I will be more mindful of coyotes now!
Outdoorsguy
Biodiversity is difficult for some to grasp. I’ll leave it at that…..
…so I don’t get banned from here to LOL
be careful trapper! LOL!
Biodiversity? In what context??
Outdoorsguy
Trapper
that would be “too”
no
lol
and you haven’t been banned from anywhere that I’ve seen
pressure must be getting to you TOO
I stand corrected Igs.
Quote Igs “pressure must be getting to you TOO” You under pressure Igs ? oh yah you work at Toyota……
Biodiversity in the sense that we have to co-habitate with wildlife if urban sprawl continues. After all we’re invading their territory. Look at how domesticated the raccoon has become, I’d love to have a trap line in any of the major cities
Actually, with all the bad news coming about Toyota, the pressure is off, unfortunatly
maybe I should join the Yote cull, only problem with that is I usually only hunt animals I
can eat, and I don’t eat dog
Living on the edge of 6 people per square mile we have coyote packs howling regularly and coming close to our farms. On dog walks I carry : two flare pistols (for use when area wet only), one hand flare (to toss on gravel road) and a loaded firearm. We only see them in winter in pairs seemingly unconcerned with being observed at a hundred yards. If they come in close at night they are given
a couple of blank rounds to drive them away (there are 200 cattle on our 3 farms and lots of cats)
The blanks seem to drive them off for a few days or even weeks (or at least shut them up). Even when not heard the scats and other signs of their presence are there. So far? No actual problems.
Being alert is a good idea if out in the wild however. Bear spray seems like an excellent idea. A can of long range wasp spray might be an interim measure.