When Coyotes Attack

     Last week, a man named Faron Scarberry of Washington, was attacked by three coyotes at his home. He was with his dog in the backyard when the incident occurred."One of them lunged up toward me and I kind of pushed it away with my hand and its front claws scratched my hand and wrists," Scarberry said of the encounter. "Then one of the grabbed me by the pant leg and started shaking my leg so I just started kicking and hitting at them to get them off of me and they ran back under the fence." Luckily, he wasn't hurt bad enough, so he was able to fight them off. Faron had to receive 24 rabies shots in his leg and 2 in his hip.
     Coyotes are beginning to become a problem within suburban communities. Much of their habitats have been destroyed due to logging so they come to the suburb to look for food. Coyotes are wild animals and must be treated as such. Even though this is a rare case it could happen to anyone. "I love wildlife," Scarberry told KOMO News, "I like looking out the deck, looking at them. But when they're starting to threaten the animals and people in the neighborhood, it's gone a little bit overboard."

     There are several steps you can take to protect yourself from the chances of a coyote attack. Coyotes are scavengers and will look for anything to eat. Putting your trash in a closed container will help a lot with coyote control. Having a good barrier or fence between the wild and your backyard will help as well. Taking these steps will ultimately lower your chances of ever being attacked by a wild pack of coyotes.