Coyote

On Friday I took a walk and saw two coyotes.  It startled me but they seemed startled also and I walked away and didn't worry too much after that.

Yesterday I took the same walk and saw nothing.  Ok, cool.

Today I set off to run 5 miles and was very aware the whole time.  About 2.5ish miles into it I saw a dead cat on the sidewalk.  And trust me when I say dead - I'm glad it was still dark so I didn't have to really see it.  Naturally this made me think oh no is there a coyote around here.  I get off the sidewalk to avoid the poor cat, stop running, look around, and sure enough there's a coyote up ahead.  It's running away and then stops and turns and stares at me.  It's not super close, thank God.  I go the other way and eventually take off SPRINTING to get home.  I saw my mom walking and told her about it, then did a 1 mile loop right by my house so my run could total 4ish miles.  I was bummed to not get 5 miles in, but technically I was only supposed to run 4 anyway because the half-marathon is Sunday.

Because I'm a paranoid freak, I googled coyotes all day.  The jist is that generally they are fearful of humans, but they are also very adaptable so if they learn they can find food in neighborhoods, etc, they start to lose that fear.  I also found the animal control phone number for the city and on its website it says to report any dead, injured, or sick animals (but there's no point in reporting a sighting because coyotes are considered wildlife and therefore are protected by law).  So, I called.  I learned that there were already two calls about coyotes today and it sounded like two coyotes were picked up.  I asked where, and the lady told me one on Euclid and Lambert and the other on Ridgehaven.

Ridgehaven was the street I was running on.

I felt better knowing that something happened, but I know that two coyotes being picked up does not mean there aren't more.  However, from googling I learned that when coyotes are threatened by humans, the natural fear returns.  The lady on the phone also said, when I asked, that I should obviously be aware but that they are generally afraid of us and to just leave the area.

So, I'm still a little freaked (I think the poor cat has a lot to do with that) but everyone around me isn't too worried so I figure I should just calm down.  That and keep on carrying the pepper spray and not be afraid to yell or throw a stick at it.