That is really bizarre. People can lose even big dogs to packs of coyotes, but give me a baseball bat and I can vanquish legions of coyotes. I’ve heard of coyotes attacking humans before, but never more than one quick nipping bite before the coyote skeedaddles.
My perception is that coyotes are much bolder acting as a pack predator than when solitary. This attack in Nova Scotia is an example. My heart goes out to the family of the victim.
A former neighbor of mine had a half-coyote dog that he would let roam at night. Occaisionally it would run through our backyard during daylight. Then it was a friendly creature to people so we knew each other.
Early a.m. about 5:30 I was out jogging and was approached by two dogs; my neighbor’s half-coyote and a very large, friendly Irish Setter. The setter came up and wanted to be pet so I didn’t pay attention to the other animal which had circled behind me. Surprise! That formerly friendly half-coyote sank its teeth into my left calf muscle.
I whirled about shouting and chased that son-of-a-coyote all the way to his owner’s house where he hid under a truck (the setter meanwhile disappeared). When I finally limped home I called the cops. I realized later how lucky I’d been that a vein or artery hadn’t been punctured.