Wild Animal Attacks

There is an article in The Daily Camera of Boulder, CO about a nine year old boy being attacked by a coyote. He defended his little brother and himself with his snowboard and managed to escape, though not before being bitten. Now he is receiving rabies shots. Because the fact the animal attacked them with no apparent provocation is very unusual.

Not too long ago there was another story about a man being attacked by a deer. Every year several people are killed by deer here in Texas. Most people know to be cautious when confronting a predator, but many think of prey animals as helpless.

Some of the misunderstanding about prey animals is because the word prey is commonly used as a synonym for victim. While the type of people who "prey" on other people can be called predators in the animal world the predator isn't always the winner.

When hunting, a pack of wolves may plan and attempt to catch their dinner ten times before being successful. During the hunt it is likely that several wolves will be injured or even killed by various prey animals. These numbers are valid for coyotes, foxes and the big cats as well. A lot of effort and danger goes into catching a meal when you are a predator.

The fact is all wild animals should be treated with caution and respect. I've had opossums; you know those funny animals that are supposed to play dead, attack when cornered. In forty plus years of wild animal experience I've only had one opossum actually freeze up and it was being attacked by some dogs. When it lay there curled in a tight ball, perfectly still, the dogs sniffed around a bit and then left to find something more interesting to do. Once it was safe the opossum got up, shook itself off and trundled off.

Lately I've been getting up close and personal with raccoons. It is very dry and getting cold around here. They keep trying to move into our attic and we keep trapping them and releasing them in an area with water and food well away from human habitation. They do not take kindly to these and make it plain they would gladly tear strips off of us could they but get to us.

To further make my point that ALL wild animals need to be treated with caution I'll just add the story about my first week working for a veterinarian while in school. A man brought a young dog in. He was a rabbit hunter and he'd taken the dog out for its first hunt. It was unfortunate to be the first dog to capture a rabbit. The rabbit was a wily old buck that turned over and used its back legs to such purpose that it disemboweled the dog.

So, no matter what you've seen on various TV shows about wild animals it is better to leave them alone. This is especially true if they seem unduly friendly. Any wild animal that willingly approaches an unknown human is not to be trusted. If it isn't a human raised or fed animal then it may well have rabies.

If a wild animal does get aggressive the most critical thing to remember is DON'T run away. Whether it is a wolf or a deer this will trigger a chase reflex. If you can't scare the animal off by throwing your arms up and out and yelling at it in a DEEP voice (animals being attacked use high voices which eggs on the attack) and even jumping towards it, then curl up in a tight ball and use your arms to protect your head and face. Remember the opossum I spoke of earlier? Take a page from its notebook and keep absolutely still until the animal leaves.

Sad to say this won't work if you are confronted by a group of animals. Best to avoid this scenario entirely if at all possible.