Curious Coyote?

by Tammy Johnson Mayer
(Napanee, Ontario, Canada)

As my little Bichon dog and I were walking along a rural dirt road near our house, we saw a truck parked at the side of the road.

A township employee was using a steel pole to clean a drainage pipe under the road, and as I came up to the truck, I saw the flash of the big white canine tail right next to us, on the edge of the woods.

I picked up my dog as I wasn't sure if the worker's dog was friendly, but it turns out he didn't have a dog!

We had startled a Coyote!

The guy's truck was idling pretty loudly, too.

Oddly, a turkey vulture was also flying low, right overhead.

Very surprising encounter.

Not sure what the coyote was doing, but I'll bet it's the first & last time I'll ever surprise a Coyote!

I respect them as an integral part of our native wildlife.

Thanks for sending us your amusing report - I bet you and the Coyote were both startled!