Coyote attacks Lake Tahoe, CA

"Details from:

http://www.rgj.com/article/20090106/NEWS16/901060345/1047/TT


Coyote chases 9-year-old skier at Tahoe resort

By FRANK X. MULLEN JR. • fmullen@rgj.com • January 6, 2009

Nothing gets a mother's attention as fast as a coyote chasing her 9-year-old son down a ski slope.
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On Sunday, Cindi Dyer of Reno and her son, Nicholas, were skiing down a black diamond run at Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort about 3 p.m. Dyer said the run was well-groomed and hard packed.

"I was telling (Nicholas) to carve his turns a little bit more," she said. "All of a sudden, out of the trees came a coyote that pursued him straight down (the run). Nicholas caught him out of the corner of his eye and knew something was coming at him, and he came straight down the hill.

"I was telling him, 'Keep skiing, keep skiing.'"

Dyer said a male skier wearing a black cowboy hat saw the chase and skied toward the coyote.

"He immediately started chasing the coyote and yelling at him and chased him away," she said. "The man was in a panic, a big guy waving his poles and yelling. The coyote didn't seem too worried. He just headed over to the other people."

Dyer said the animal was very close to the back of her son's skis.

"He was going as fast as my son," she said. "If he had fallen, he would have been attacked."

Dyer said she didn't notify the ski patrol about the incident because patrol members were busy when she saw them. Northstar officials did not return several telephone calls from the newspaper Monday.

California Fish and Game officials said they received no reports about coyote activity in the Northstar area but said coyote attacks, while rare, can occur.

Last year, there were at least two reported coyote attacks in California. In February, officials of the Colorado Division of Wildlife killed a coyote after he tried to bite a woman and charged at a 3-year-old boy on the slopes.

In February 1997, a 4-year-old girl was seriously mauled by a coyote near South Lake Tahoe. Two years later, eight people were bitten by coyotes near Stateline, prompting federal officials to track and kill seven of the animals.

"It's rare, but coyotes will occasionally act in an aggressive manner," said Kyle Orr, spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game. "Often, it's when the animals have been fed by people or have been getting access to food."

Dyer said other skiers, including her daughter, Alexandra, 14, saw coyotes on other Northstar slopes. She said she doesn't blame the resort, but "there needs to be a warning out there. Some people from the Bay Area thought they could approach them and pet them. They look like little fluffy foxes."

Dyer said she and her children will go back to Northstar.

"We're still going to ski, but I think you really need to be aware of your surroundings and be prepared for what you would do in this situation," she said.

"We've skied all over Tahoe and in other states. We've never seen this before.""