Almost attacked by a Coyote today

"Will get myself, but if it gets the lion off."

That's dayum near sig worthy.

 

I imagine that human hopped up on adreniline could literally kick a lone coyote's ass.

I've had to step in on a dog fight or two and trust me, a well placed foot under the belly of the animal really gets their attention! And a coyote probably doesn't weigh more than 40# at best...

 

LOL, very much agreed! It is not in the nature of a coyote or coyoteeeezzz to attack humans. Especially adults on mountain bikes. I HAVE heard of, but have yet to experience, them running along bikes like dolphins along a boat or ship. Personally, I look forward to it! I think it would be friggin awesome!

However, I DO carry pepper spray with me because it's better to have it and not need it than to.... As for the comment earlier about being able to reach it in time, I purposely went out back and did some John Wayne moves to practice. I also rigged up a velcro fastened case in a place on my hydration pack where I could get to it very quickly and without any hang ups. Can I do it while in the moment? Hopefully, I'll never know! I should add that I got the pepper spray for them big ol kitties out there and not so much for coyotes.

Most of all, whatever preventative steps you take, please remember we are all playing in their (nature's) yard. Not saying you don't know this already, just some people seem to forget that and/or do not care.

 

I've had my fair share of run ins with coyotes in Chino Hills. The times that I have encountered them it's usually just one roaming. Definitely caught off guard and it's a reminder that it's not my trail, and their roaming ground!

Good to hear you're alright though. While scary, I'm sure it had to be one hell of a feeling looking back on it riding side by side with a coyote! Too bad your son didn't have a chance to see so you could tell him "look what I found, think mom would get mad at us if he brought it home?"

On a side note, what are you supposed to do when you encounter a coyote? I know with Mountain Lions you're supposed to make yourself look larger than you are, and make a lot of noise. Does this apply with a coyote?

 

As already said, you really have nothing to worry about coyotes. You would get more hurt getting bit by a big dog. I don't think a pack would even attempt to take down a person, especially on a bike, unless it was a small solo child. Even then, I'm sure it's easier to find rabbits.

 

Bizarre story, thanks for sharing. What hits close to home for me is what if you'd been riding with headphones? I ride solo with music often, I wouldn't have heard that coyote before he snapped at my calf.

Fortunately rabies shots are no longer in the stomach. Fewer shots overall and they're now in the arm/butt.

 

That's weird... I work like a minute from there on Barranca and Pullman and have never seen any coyote's around here. I also commute from work thorugh the mountain to sea trail that goes through IVC like someone above mentioned... again, have never seen a coyote. I guess I'm a lucky one...

But from my knowledge, Coyote don't have a history of attacking humans... or do they? :?:

 

Wow, that is really creepy. I've never heard of something like this, but I'm not surprised. Take this seriously. Coyotes don't normally attack humans. It does happen sometimes, but when it does it usually involves small children. A few years ago a little girl got attacked at an elementary school in Irvine. During the day.

Some of you should research this subject more if you are comparing a coyote attack to a dog attack. A dog bite would be worse? Are you kidding? Not even comparable. These are feral animals. A coyotes' bite is more than twice as powerful as the bite of a pit bull, the strongest known jaws for a dog. You wouldn't have a lot of luck fighting one off if they were to attack, let alone a pack. They are everywhere and get bolder and bolder with every new housing development. Know what to do. Make a lot of noise, throw objects at it, make yourself appear bigger, maintain eye contact, don't turn your back, don't run, don't trigger their pursuit instinct.

 

Do some reading about coyotes and the power of their bites. If you are trying to scare people off the trails to have the trails to ourselves I promote that. But lets not make stuff up that is not true. In my opinion coyotes are wussies.


Dean

 

Actually, I have, but I admit it was an article I read some time ago. So I looked it up, and a study done by someone for Nat Geo says 230 lbs. of force for the pit bull, and 320 for the coyote, however the Rottweiler bite is even stronger at 330. I will also say that pretty much everything out there says there is no reliable data or measurement system for this. My only point was to take wild animals seriously. I don't think you would think they are wussies if you've ever seen one take another animal down, and I have.

From Wikipedia:

Coyote attacks on humans are uncommon and rarely cause serious injuries, due to the relatively small size of the coyote. However, coyote attacks on humans have increased since 1998 in the state of California. Data from USDA Wildlife Services, the California Department of Fish & Game, and other sources show that while 41 attacks occurred during the period of 1988-1997, 48 attacks were verified from 1998 through 2003. The majority of these incidents occurred in Southern California near the suburban-wildland interface.[40]
Due to an absence of harassment by residents, urban coyotes lose their natural fear of humans, which is further worsened by people intentionally feeding coyotes. In such situations, some coyotes have begun to act aggressively toward humans, chasing joggers and bicyclists, confronting people walking their dogs, and stalking small children.[40] Like wolves, non-rabid coyotes usually target small children, mostly under the age of 10, though some adults have been bitten. Some attacks are serious enough to warrant 200 stitches.[41]
There is currently only one recorded fatal attack on a human. In 1981 in Glendale, California, a coyote attacked toddler Kelly Keen, who was rescued by her father, but died in surgery due to blood loss and a broken neck

 

Perhaps he was dissuaded by your calm, assertive, pack-leader energy?

 

I think the helmet is the best part of that picture

 

Your story sounds very similar to mine. Well over a year ago, in that same area, I was riding with Eric Foltz and about 7 other riders BS to Sierra. On the return, Kristine and Brenda were behind me on one of the smaller climbs back to Beeks. Near the top I stopped and turned around to see how far they were behind me because we were in fog with little visibility. Out of nowhere, I see a coyote come out of the brush and stalk Brenda's rear tire. The coyote tried to bite her back tire twice as she slowly climbed. She had no idea the coyote was within a foot of her leg. I screamed and told her to get off her bike immediately and turn around. She did and at the same time I lunged forward with my bike with a big shout. The coyote retreated and ran off into the brush. Within a few minutes I heard yelping and assumed it was a female with pups in a den and she was protecting the area. Very unusual. I've seen many coyotes while riding, but never an aggressive one.

 

Abui:
I wish I could keep up with my son, but at 47 and him at 16, I keep getting further and further behind. He said it best last year: "Dad, every day you get weaker and weaker, and every day I get stronger and stronger". (that did wonders for my morale! :wave

One on one, I would win over a lone coyote - no doubt. It's the pack of them that scares me. Furthermore, if he's attacking or thinking about attacking an adult alone, that reads "RABIES" all over it to me. I remember having dogs go crazy and even wild animals with crazy behavior that we had to shoot to protect humans where I grew up.

From reading the posts, (and thank you everyone for weighing in) it sounds like very few folks have encountered a coyote chasing the person like what happened to me on Saturday. Most encounters is that they've run away with a shout or yell.

Pepper spray is certainly going to be part of my riding pack when heading to remote places for sure. And sticking with your riding partner in very remote places is also smart. Good advice.

Peculiar behavior from the coyote nonetheless. Thankfully a chunk of my leg didn't get eaten on Saturday.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

ragin' coyote

Strange story. I encounter coyotes all the time, but have never been followed. Maybe he was sick (rabies). As far as coyotes hunting in a pack, you're thinking of wolves. Coyotes don't hunt in packs. They're mostly solitary, maybe hunt with a mate and pursue small prey such as rabbits and...roadrunners?:lol:

 

Riding with headphones is unsafe, IMO. You won't hear that rattle snake warning you you're too close, that coyote growling, or that hiker about to swat you with his walking staff! I've encountered WAY too many hikers/bikers on an uphill trail that won't let me pass because he/she's wearing headphones and can't hear me! I see runners doing the same shit on the road. You wouldn't drive with headphones on, would you?

 

I hear this stuf works really good and you can clip it on to your pack:-k

 

But they do hunt in packs.Not as a rule but they do. As a kid working on a ranch with 3,000+ head of sheep I watched them numerous times stalk lambs, while one would work to distract the ewe the others would try to cut the lamb from the flock. I have a lot of stories of how smart these animals are. They are really quite intelligent.

 

Coordinated group hunting among coyote packs is rare because of their ability to survive on small mammals such as gophers (Bekoff & Wells 1980). However, when coyotes do attack large prey they form a coordinated hunting group and target the weak or old individuals (Bekoff & Wells 1980). In addition, coyote packs have been observed to collaborate in order to protect and defend a valuable resource from intruders (Bekoff & Wells 1980). Due to the fact that coyotes depend so heavily on small mammals for much of their food source they have developed an efficient solitary hunting method..http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/vecase/behavior/Spring2004/holmberg/Holmberg4.html

We can all be smarter now!

 

Painfreak: Concur with the pack hunting. I had a friend in San Juan Capistrano that told the story of a pack of coyotes sending a female coyote in heat into his back yard. My friend's male dog went to check it out. Suddenly, 4-5 other coyotes attacked the dog and killed it.

They are very smart and work together.
JEFF