“We suspect this coyote may have been starving due to having porcupine quills in its lower jaw and inside its mouth. Its young age likely led to its poor condition and irregular behavior.” –Yellowstone Wildlife Biologist Doug Smith
A skier in Yellowstone National Park was bitten and pulled to the ground by a young coyote Tuesday. The Jackson Daily reports the victim is a 43-year-old female resident of the park and was out on a cross-country ski tour on the groomed Grand Loop Road near Yellowstone Falls when the coyote attacked:
“She did not see it coming, and it came up behind her. It bit her in the arm and then she fell down to the ground.” –Yellowstone Spokeswoman Linda Veress
The duration of the attack is unknown but at some point a snowcoach came upon the scene and its occupants pulled off the attacking animal. The woman sustained lacerations and punctures to her head and arm:
“Some witnesses came on scene and helped to get the coyote away from her. They had to physically remove the coyote.”
The woman was taken to a medical facility for treatment of her wounds. Yellowstone rangers closed the road, went back to the scene of the attack, located the coyote and killed it. A necropsy of the coyote will be conducted including testing for rabies.
images from NPS.org