(no subject)
Kind of terrified that I semi-encountered a coyote on a walk yesterday morning while out with my baby.
A say "semi-encountered" because I saw it from a partial distance (it was up the street and distracted by a man out walking his dog).
The man claimed it was a fox (and he said there were two of them), but what I saw was absolutely not a fox. It was thin, but as tall as the man's golden retriever, if not taller. It was a dark motley grey with patches of blacks and greys. Based on the pictures I've look at online, it was definitely a coyote; moreover, coyotes are known to be in this area (the local park has a warning sign as such).
Obviously, I veered off and took a different route although I feel I could have turned back directly. I was nervous enough to continuously check behind me, not wanting to turn my back if it was there; I felt a bit more safe because there were other people out walking, and the same man with his dog was a little ways behind me. I warned another dog-walker to avoid continuing in that direction.
I feel concerned about taking my baby out again for another solo walk, granted - on that day - the morning was heavily overcast, so it may have felt like twilight to the coyotes, hence why they were out and more visible.... Nope, didn't help ... still feel concerned lol
I think my concern is also related to how the animal responded to the man and his dog: I saw it as it ran across the road; it looked like it was going to join the man and his dog (I thought it was a pet dog at first); it paused ahead of the man and dog, bobbing its head, watching them. It appeared "curious" to me, and not fearful. The man had the sense - at least - to back away while urging his dog to follow. The dog behaved both nervously and aggressively (straining at the leash to run at the coyote). I did not wait around to see what would transpire (mainly because I had my thirteen month old with me!), so I did not see how the encounter ended/in which direction the coyote travelled. The man and his dog did continue their walk as I saw them behind me later on down the road onto which I had veered off.