As an aside: there are coyotes and then there are coyotes.

The ones we get on the Canadian prairies aren't worth worrying about, unless you get one that's rabid. They're pretty small and generally timid. In the rural areas or the bush, they're mostly invisible. Though in the large cities with parks running through them (and nobody showing them 'which way it flows'), they've become quite bold and might even attack a small dog on a leash. Big stick time.

I was initially surprised at the fatality on the East Coast. Coyotes? Really? But apparently the Wile-E's out there are twice the size of their prairie cousins, and aren't terribly afraid of a lone hiker. So it's a different ball game. I would not want my kid sister to be tag-teamed by a couple of big, hungry dogs; nor by E.Coast coyotes. A can of bear spray would be appropriate gear. (I find myself taking it more and more; it's light and effective in many situations.)

End aside.