Searra , Otenth - I saw a report about a woman out for a beach walk on the Cape who got harassed by a coyote!

Did the report include the video?

Yes. She didn't seem very effective, but she was scared.

What is your take on the coyote? I know it's from too far away, but it didn't strike me as obviously aggressive, and if it were rabid I don't think a stick would have kept it away.

I couldn't read its body language very well, and I didn't see any actual aggression but... I'm not too familiar with how they act. However, a single coyote thinking it could take on a larger mammal? That's kind of a demented act.

I'd probably react the same way in the moment, but from a distance I wonder if it was just curious, or hoping for a handout.

I can't find a recent population estimate, but they are found everywhere in the state. Mass Audubon reports there have been fewer than ten attacks on people in the last sixty years.

They're becoming problematic in a lot of places:

Coyotes kill Toronto singer in Cape Breton | CBC New...

Opinion | People in Toronto are deliberately feeding...

yeah, there are a lot of coyotes on the Cape (at least here at the tip), and I understand they're pretty large. Some locals on Facebook have reported their small dogs being harrassed or attacked and carried off from yards. Some people are feeding them, I think, or feeding foxes, which might end up being feeding coyotes

Mostly the advice here is that if a coyote comes towards you, you've probably come too close to its den or pups and you should just calmly move away.

I don't feed them, and one of the reasons I don't want to leave Onyx outside at night is that I know there are some around. I sometimes hear them owl.

howl

dkronfeld : Oh wow! That does suggest it was a pack action, though.

Otenth : Back away would be best. If you turn your back on canids, they're likely to chase.