Coyote in the Park

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On Sunday, I went for an afternoon walk in one of our local city parks just down the street from my neighborhood. The park is about 75 acres in size, and is shaped like a T. There is a decent size creek running through the middle of it. Even though I live within city limits, my area of town is suburbia at its best, heavily wooded, sparsely developed, and full of nature parks. As I was walking, I spotted a coyote standing in a field at the edge of the woods. Not too big a deal, as I’ve seen coyotes at night quite frequently. But this is the first one I’ve seen during the day. Another park patron brought their little yappi dog over to the field and let it off the leash to run around. The little yappi dog spotted the coyote immediately and made a beeline towards it. The coyote stood there quietly, but when the little dog got close the coyote got aggressive and bit the little dog. Nothing ferocious, the little dog seemed to have a hurt ego more than anything, but it was still interesting to see. I don’t think the coyote was rabid, but I do hope the dog owner took the little dog to the vet to check for rabies. What do you think could have been going on with the coyote in the park during the day? I’m thinking maybe it had pups nearby.