This sounds like just another reason to not go hiking.
Hiking is a great form of exercise, especially if you get your heart rate up by fighting for your life. That’s unfortunately happened to a number of outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen, and most recently played out with a Rhode Island resident who was forced to fight a rabid coyote with his bare hands.
A hiker who’s name has not been disclosed to the public was walking in a wooded area in Johnston, Rhode Island when he was attacked and bitten on the leg by a coyote with rabies.
The man reportedly fought back, and eventually pinned down the coyote by the neck, and choked it out in self defense. This came only a day after another coyote attack was reported in the area by a man that was walking with his dog outside.
Michael Healey, the Chief Public Affairs officer for Rhode Island’s Department of Environmental Management, told NBC that they are still working on linking the two attacks to the one coyote:
“We don’t know this yet. We’re trying to confirm it. But it would be great news that this rabid coyote is dead. We need to confirm that by going through this process of checking the bite marks.”
It would be a small victory if they were able to confirm that it was the same coyote in both attacks, though it is unfortunate that two different people and a dog had to face off with it before the wild canine met its demise.
Rhode Island State Veterinarian Dr. Scott Marshall confirmed that the coyote that was killed had rabies, and issued this warning in a statement:
“I urge anyone in Scituate and Johnston who may have come into contact with the coyote to call the Rhode Island Department of Health’s Infectious Disease division.
If pet owners in these two communities believe their pet has interacted with coyote, call or visit your veterinarian.”
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management went on to say that coyote attacks, which are rare in their own respect, can potentially be avoided by following three rules:
-Be big and loud
-Don’t run or turn your back
-Don’t leave out unattended food or scraps
Officials reported that it is only the third known rabid coyote attack to take place in Rhode Island since 1994. It was considered to be so rare that even NBC News covered the story:
