As we came down the hill towards the creek today a coyote came into view, calmly watching us from a little knoll. Once he satisfied his curiosity, he trotted off towards the west. Joy picked up on the movement and couldn't resist giving chase. He loped away, not particularly concerned until she put on a real turn of speed and started gaining on him. He took off, looking over his shoulder (in disbelief at her amazing athleticism of course), but she kept gaining. Almost to the top of barrel cactus hill, he pulled up and turned. Still as tree stumps, they stood for several seconds eye to eye.
Mr. Coyote (in a dangerous drawl), "Well you got yourself a real fast set of legs there, sweetheart. It'd be a such a shame if they were torn off and eaten by some wild animal."
Joy, "EEEEKKK!!! MOMMY!!!"
Joy's tail dropped and disappeared between her legs, and she was bolting back down the hill, lacking any hint of predatory poise. We were unpleasantly surprised when the coyote followed her, effortlessly proving his superior speed while nipping her backside, ankles, and tail. Joy began shrieking in utter horror, and the coyote, his point made, turned aside and (smugly?) watched her streak back to the safety of the pack.
Hopefully this experience will make more of an impression on Joy than our many discussions on coyotes, their sneakiness, and their willingness to eat even the most beautiful of labrador mixes.
2 comments:
good story! how exciting!!
I watched this from the house. It was scary. We think Joy is very speedy so how fast must a coyote be? M
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