Coyote Bites Woman at Conn. Rest Stop

[warpedskydiver 0]

Coyote Bites Woman at Conn. Rest Stop
Tuesday, September 19, 2006 10:42 PM EDT
The Associated Press


BRANFORD, Conn. (AP) — A New York woman is receiving rabies shots after being bitten by a coyote at a rest stop along Interstate 95. The animal had been hanging around the McDonald's restaurant at the rest stop and was being fed by employees, authorities said.

The bite victim, Maria Gicana, a nurse from Queens, said she was driving home from Cape Cod with her boyfriend Sunday night when they stopped at the rest area. She was walking toward the restaurant when the animal attacked her from behind, biting her on the back of her knee.

"I looked around. I thought it was my boyfriend playing tricks on me," she told the New Haven Register. "So I turned around and saw this coyote. Actually, I thought it was a dog."

Fire Department Deputy Chief Mike Klarman said the animal also advanced on him after he responded to the incident Sunday night.

"The coyote got down into what I'd say was a stalking position," he said. "As I began to retreat, it actually stood up and began to walk toward me, and I began to run back to my car."

A state trooper drove her cruiser between Klarman and the animal and it ran into the woods, he said.

Paul Rego, a wildlife biologist at the state Department of Environmental Protection, said coyotes have been known to attack dogs and cats, but attacks on humans are rare.

"To my knowledge, we haven't had anyone injured by coyotes before in Connecticut," he said.

Rego said that if employees fed the coyote, "it was essentially being trained not to be afraid."

He estimated there are 3,000 to 5,000 coyotes living in Connecticut

[StreetScooby 5]

I live in Westchester, NY. There was a coyote pack in my area preying on pets. We called our local police department to tell them. The police on the phone was on the coyote's side! I told him I'll just shoot the thing (...even though it's a crime to discharge a firearm in Westchester county). He told me I better have "bite marks all over me" if I did that.

Two weeks later, my 17 year old cat was caught by a coyote at night. We found fur in the corner of our house where she was hiding.

We are all engines of karma

[billvon 3,119]

>There was a coyote pack in my area preying on pets. We called
>our local police department to tell them. The police on the phone
>was on the coyote's side!

We have a coyote pack in our canyon. They eat dead deer, rabbits, small dogs and cats. I'm on their side too - they were here first.

Pet owners who live in on canyons here have a pretty clear choice. They can:

a) get a small dog/cat and keep it indoors or in a fenced outside enclosure; when it's out of those areas, keep it on a leash.

b) get a small dog/cat, let it roam and then later put up signs saying "Missing chihuahua named Bitsy; very loving and trusting! Reward." (Happens a lot around here.)

c) Get a german shepard (or similar dog that can defend itself.) You don't see "missing german shepard" signs.

[Shotgun 1]

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b) get a small dog/cat, let it roam and then later put up signs saying "Missing chihuahua named Bitsy; very loving and trusting! Reward."

Or signs that say "Have you seen Mr. Munch?"

(That was the name of our neighbors' cat that disappeared - likely eaten by a coyote.)

[billvon 3,119]

>Have you seen Mr. Munch?

Naming a cat Mr. Munch is like naming a fish Sushi. You've pretty much sealed its fate.

[ladyskydiver 0]

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>Have you seen Mr. Munch?

Naming a cat Mr. Munch is like naming a fish Sushi. You've pretty much sealed its fate.

Ok...time for a new sig line. Thanks, Bill!

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

[StreetScooby 5]

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I'm on their side too - they were here first.

So, Bill - hypothetical question.

A neighbor of yours has been there much longer than you. You have a young daughter. He's a sexual predator. What do you do?

This isn't a comparison. I'm just curious to hear what you would do.

We are all engines of karma

[billvon 3,119]

>A neighbor of yours has been there much longer than you. You
>have a young daughter. He's a sexual predator. What do you do?

a) Not move there to begin with.

If a) fails because I'm an idiot:

b) put in an alarm system, make sure the windows don't open too far, and keep an eye on her (and him.) Educate her on predators.

[craddock 0]

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Pet owners who live in on canyons here have a pretty clear choice. They can:

a) get a small dog/cat and keep it indoors or in a fenced outside enclosure; when it's out of those areas, keep it on a leash.

b) get a small dog/cat, let it roam and then later put up signs saying "Missing chihuahua named Bitsy; very loving and trusting! Reward." (Happens a lot around here.)

c) Get a german shepard (or similar dog that can defend itself

You forgot D) Shoot the Coyotes.

I am not about to keep my dog inside because of Coyotes. I will shoot any coyotes that I see on my property if they are endagering my dog.

That spot isn't bad at all, the winds were strong and that was the issue! It was just on the downwind side.

[billvon 3,119]

>I am not about to keep my dog inside because of Coyotes.

Then make sure you're OK with losing him. There are a lot of predators/hazards out there that will make short work of most dogs (not just coyotes.)

>I will shoot any coyotes that I see on my property if they are endagering my dog.

I would suggest that a fence works a little better (especially when you're asleep.)

[craddock 0]

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I would suggest that a fence works a little better (especially when you're asleep.)

My village is funny about fences. They are very limiting in what you can do. Also my dog is inside with me when I am sleeping. Strangely enough a Coyote has been spotted several times recently in my neighborhood so this topic comes at an interesting time. I live on the main street coming through my subdivision and one has been spotted twice a fewhouses down. I don't sleep very soundly and have been keeping and eye out when I awake in the middle of the night. I live on a populated street so I would have to be carefull to get a clean shot and not chase him down the sidewalk though.

That spot isn't bad at all, the winds were strong and that was the issue! It was just on the downwind side.

[billvon 3,119]

>My village is funny about fences.

So it's not legal to put up a fence, but it is legal to shoot at small animals in the middle of a populated street? Odd village.

[StreetScooby 5]

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I live on a populated street so I would have to be carefull to get a clean shot and not chase him down the sidewalk though.

Time to set some bait out

We are all engines of karma

[craddock 0]

Mabey I should tie my cats outside huh?

That spot isn't bad at all, the winds were strong and that was the issue! It was just on the downwind side.

[StreetScooby 5]

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Mabey I should tie my cats outside huh?

Personally, I like cats, alot. Right now, I have two of them that are outside decimating the local wildlife.

We are all engines of karma

[craddock 0]

I have had cats all my life although when these are gone I am done(hopefully). I was kidding. My luck they would not get killed and I would have to pay for surgery for the third time to put them back together.

That spot isn't bad at all, the winds were strong and that was the issue! It was just on the downwind side.

[Andy9o8 2]

>> there are 3,000 to 5,000 coyotes living in Connecticut ....

... most of whom commute to jobs in Manhattan. Some of them work at the AMF plant in Stamford.

[StreetScooby 5]

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... most of whom commute to jobs in Manhattan.

LOL!!!

We are all engines of karma

[headoverheels 334]

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We have a coyote pack in our canyon. They eat dead deer, rabbits, small dogs and cats. I'm on their side too - they were here first.

What has two legs and bleeds profusely? Half a goat.

That's a joke that my neighbor, former goat owner, did not appreciate (mountain lion).