Kent man attacked by coyotes in his own backyard
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KENT, Wash. - A local man was attacked by coyotes in his own backyard and spent most of Friday night in the emergency room.
Now he is now warning others to be on the lookout - and he's especially worried for pets and children in the area.
Faron Scarberry says he moved to Kent about two weeks ago and he's already facing an unexpected danger in the neighborhood.
"I love wildlife," he says, "I like looking out the deck, looking at them. But when they're starting to threaten the animals and people in the neighborhood, it's gone a little bit overboard."
Scarberry says three coyotes attacked him Friday night while he was walking his dog in the backyard.
"They come up toward my face, and I kind of blocked them and pushed them away, and that's when the one grabbed me by the leg," he says.
Scarberry spent most of the night in the emergency room - diagnosed with a coyote bite and scratches. He got 24 rabies shots in his leg and two in his hip.
"It didn't hurt me bad, but I don't want any of the neighborhood kids to get hurt," he says.
Scarberry's property in the Arbor Village neighborhood off Kent Kangley Road backs up to a wooded area and Horizon Elementary School.
The attack wasn't the first coyote sighting at his property this week. His son saw the coyotes a day before. Scarberry says they're coming into the neighborhood at all hours, and got into his backyard through a hole in the fence.
Sgt. Kim Chandler of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife says urban coyote issues are "pretty constant," especially this time of year as they go out looking for food.
"They rely heavily on fruit. All the fruit is gone now, so they're now in scavenging mode - cats, little dogs are a treat, and they'll eat them," Chandler says.
Chandler advises people dealing with coyote problems to keep garbage away and pets inside.
As for Scarberry - he still has appointments for more shots over the next three weeks.
If there's a coyote attack in your neighborhood or one showing aggression, you are urged to contact the Department of Fish and Wildlife. In some cases residents can pay to have the coyotes trapped and removed.
Now he is now warning others to be on the lookout - and he's especially worried for pets and children in the area.
Faron Scarberry says he moved to Kent about two weeks ago and he's already facing an unexpected danger in the neighborhood.
"I love wildlife," he says, "I like looking out the deck, looking at them. But when they're starting to threaten the animals and people in the neighborhood, it's gone a little bit overboard."
Scarberry says three coyotes attacked him Friday night while he was walking his dog in the backyard.
"They come up toward my face, and I kind of blocked them and pushed them away, and that's when the one grabbed me by the leg," he says.
Scarberry spent most of the night in the emergency room - diagnosed with a coyote bite and scratches. He got 24 rabies shots in his leg and two in his hip.
"It didn't hurt me bad, but I don't want any of the neighborhood kids to get hurt," he says.
Scarberry's property in the Arbor Village neighborhood off Kent Kangley Road backs up to a wooded area and Horizon Elementary School.
The attack wasn't the first coyote sighting at his property this week. His son saw the coyotes a day before. Scarberry says they're coming into the neighborhood at all hours, and got into his backyard through a hole in the fence.
Sgt. Kim Chandler of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife says urban coyote issues are "pretty constant," especially this time of year as they go out looking for food.
"They rely heavily on fruit. All the fruit is gone now, so they're now in scavenging mode - cats, little dogs are a treat, and they'll eat them," Chandler says.
Chandler advises people dealing with coyote problems to keep garbage away and pets inside.
As for Scarberry - he still has appointments for more shots over the next three weeks.
If there's a coyote attack in your neighborhood or one showing aggression, you are urged to contact the Department of Fish and Wildlife. In some cases residents can pay to have the coyotes trapped and removed.
another problem..its really not the coyotes fault...humans  are moving into there natural enviroment,,Â
wow....i was walking my cat tonight, i live next to the north moutain reserve in phoenix, apartment complex...i was walk close to the laundry building, and looked down the sidewak, there was a bush there, and i noticed something not normal, it was brown statue....it was a coyote...i sort did not know what to do , since i had my cat on the lease...and he seemed interested....i picked up my cat and walked away, went around the swimming pool....and looked behind me....there he was , just coming around the opposite corner....i then proceeded down the sidewalk,,,he stopped following me, and i believe he was headed for the preserve, just across the parking lot from the swiimming pool....i was sort of frightened buy this one, because he did not run away...i saw another 2 weeks ago, and he took off like a scrared rabbit...
well...i can see the problem herre without being a coyote expert,....you don,t walk dogs near coyotes...they just don,t get along...that is why the attack accured,,,if the dog was not around, the attack probably would not have happen
Solution? Gun. Common sense is not common enough.
the wolves will be in your neighborhood within a  few years.  they are already near ellensburg and oso...and killing pets and deer.  the coyotes tend to move out when the wolves arrive, but will return as the wolves move around.
enjoying the laws concerning trapping and shooting inside city limits? Â then change them. when the trapping laws changed a few years back catching moles, possums, mice, rats, etc. had to be done via "live traps". Â but only companies that specialized in this business actually had to follow the laws because no one else paid attention to those laws and a majority of people didn't even know that the law covered these pests. Â when the law came into effect on using dogs to chase animals most of these hound hunters moved away from washington and that caused problems for the WDFW because they had to hire people and train them and their dogs. Â when a law is proposed people should consider ALL the effects that the law will have, NOT just what is advertised by the people proposing the law.
this is true for the endangered species act --- i like most of what the ESA includes, but i hate what it doesn't include; a legal way for states to control the population of an endangered animal. Â take a look at what happened in new zealand and australia. Â both countries had problems with an over population of rabbits and/or deer and/or possums. Â the kiwis put a bounty on possums of $6; per tail. Â They hired 600 hunters to kill deer and turn in the tails. Â after a few years they stopped the program because they had the deer population under control. Â these hunters killed an average of 25 deer per day. Â Note that hunters were not controlling the population. Â wolves could be considered as being over populated in at least 4 states. Â there are no legal population controls in washington state because congress hasn't approved the controls for WA. Â the ESA needs to be changed to include state control of population. Â California now has one resident wolf. Â how long will it be before there is a pack there? Â How long will it be before there is a pack roaming around Seattle? Â Without legal population controls all that currently exists is WSFW eliminating a pack like the Wenge pack. Â This is already a very unpopular control in WA. Â So eventually IMO there will be more packs until WA applies to congress for controls as did Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, etc. Â In other words, killing packs will no longer be unpopular.
I've talked with a local fellow that was out hunting and a pack attacked him. Â he killed one, shot at another but missed, shot again in a real hurry because the wolf was so close and missed again, the wolf brushed his leg as it went by. Â he reported the attack to FW and they said, "we didn't talk to you, we know nothing about this." Â
Don't tell me that wolves don't attack humans. Â Just recently a wolf attacked a guy on a snowmobile in Alaska.
reported in ADN.com. Â he lived, but the wolf tore through his really thick snowmobile suit down into his arm.
I'm not against wolves...they have their place in the world. Â I'm just against how the ESA was written without state controls.
the wolves will be in your neighborhood soon (within years). Â they are already near ellensburg and oso. Â then the coyotes will leave.
Keep your pets in...especially at night. Coyotes have eaten a number of cats around my neighborhood.Â
 @SheilaKA That would be a beneficial service in my book.
I reside in E. Washington State in Coyote Land. We are the winter feeding area for many wildlife. There is a bounty here for the pelts of Coyote due to the abundance of them. I hear them every night but don't fear them coming close to my house due to the Donkey's. I have had Donk's kill coyotes for crossing our land into their pasture. We have had a coyote follow us while out riding our horses. I had my cattle dog with us and was able to voice command our dog to stay away from the coyote and to stay by my side while my husband and his horse ran the yote off. We have multiple dens in our aread due to the feeding/bedding grounds of elk near by. You have to accept mother nature and her "pets" just as we have to accept our criminals living next to us. It is all called percaution, that fence should not have any holes in it, it wont even keep a racoon out and they are more "gutsy" than coyotes. If you want to live in their back yard you need to prevent them from getting close to your family or animals.
 @vondenwald It's obvious you have more experience than most--I agree that we are the ones responsible for keeping our animals and livestock safe. You can't expect raccoons and coyotes to pass up domestic critters as easy prey. It's nice to have the guardian animals and good fences *and* the wildlife.
"Kent man attacked by coyotes in his own backyard!" Ironically, it is not "his backyard." The yard belongs to the coyotes and whatever else decides to walk through it. Faron Scarberry is a temporary fixture on a piece of land that will endure long after he has evaporated.
 @Jimmy Five Fingers - I thought nature was about the strong and the weak? Survival of the fittest? If so, the back yard belongs to anyone capable of holding it against competitors...so Kent (the man) wins. Coyotes need to find another back yard.Â
If it is anything like coyote attacks in SE Canada and Nova Scotia, theyâve found the coyotes are actually coyote/wolf hybrids. Unlike standard coyotes, they are not intimidated by people, and you cannot stare them down.Â
 @Karl T We don't have wolf hybrids here. Occasional dog/coyote hybrids I'm sure, but there are only a very few wolves in Washington and only very recently and with no chance of hybridizing with dogs.
 @Karl T LOL I don't think so. My wolf hybrids run like the wind from people. Wolves and coyotes are naturally fearful of humans. In urban area, coyotes come in contact with people who feed them, gawk at them etc and they lose their fearfulness. Don't spread lies about hybrids.Â
 @Northend  @Karl T I can only imagine a coyote being aggressive with a human if it is somehow habituated to being fed by them. He is correct about what are called "coy-wolves" back east, as well as "red wolves"--many have some wolf ancestry, as confirmed by genetic analysis. I can't speak to their behavior, but he's correct about the hybrids.
All of you people saying that this is not true because Coyotes are terrified of human are just ignorant. First of all, any wild animal that feels trapped (NICE or NOT) will attack. Read the story, they were INSIDE his FENCED back yard. They did not attack because they were bold but they attacked out of fear. These are not aggression bite or scratches but rather defensive trying to get away back into the fence hole. Also these injuries make sense since the Coyotes were probably just trying to get away instead of actually attacking to kill. If there was 3 of they, there is a very big possibility they were young and not strong enough to actually cause severe damage to a grown man. But reality is that any wild animal that lurkes around an Elementary School should be considered a threat
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blah, the second picture is of his right leg and those are either jeans or jean shorts. You my friend need glasses or a class in human anatomy ;-)
Once had a coyote trot up to me, practically ran into the barrel of the '.06. If I'd had a bayonet on it would have impaled himself. Fired a shot and he hit warp 2 in 20 yards. Had a coyote trail my girl friend for 1/2 mile. He then saw me and came toward me. Stopped about 25 yards away just watching me. I put a .41 magnum through the hair on his back and he levitated straight up, came down paws moving like a blur. Gravel flew in all directions as he couldn't find traction. When he finally got traction he hit warp factor 4 in about 25 yards. Nearly died laughing. City folks don't know nuthin' 'bout critters.
 @David Kimber Howard But city folk can recognize sociopaths when they see them, and only a sociopath would laugh at something like this, let alone boast about it in public.
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Take a look at a dog's front claws. Two toe nails are prominently closer together with one a little longer, the other two are lots shorter and off to the sides. That's a total of four nails. The scratches in the photo have six skinny little lines. I'm assuming a coyote's feet have the same design as dogs. Whenever I have been accidentally scratched by one of my playful dogs the scratch lines come in ones or twos, Also their sturdy wide claws make wide tears to the skin. I say he's probably fabricated the story because he's scared. and ignorant of the coyote's habits. Maybe, he thought if he called the cops, they would come out and eradicate the (imagined) threat. End result was the only thing that got shots was him, yuk, yuk. Do online research: Coyote attacks on humans
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 @Beckerooney I have a few dogs and one always scratches me. he a big furry wolf hybrid and my scratches do not look like that. I have also been bitten and most of the time it's a puncture wound. The scratches in the photo look like cat scratches.
@Northend @Beckerooney I agree these wounds are not inflicted by a coyote! this guy is full of crap...... these comments should be less about coyotes attacking people and more about calling this guy out on his BS!!
I've come across coyotes in Ohio while out with my kids in parks and aside from them being beautiful to look at as soon as they see us looking at them they take off in another direction. Â Why do I get the feeling that this guy may be one of those attention seeking high maintenance type of individuals. Â We face more danger from the thugs running the street than we do coyotes. Â Heck I'd swap out every gang-banging, drug dealing, raping and robbing POS on the streets for coyotes, wolves, bears, racoons and even the very unfriendly honey badger.
@Barbara I grew up in Ohio and not all the coyotes there are timid. I used to spend my summer nights helping one of the neighboring farms protect his sheep and cow herds. The worse ones are the Coyote/dog hybrids (Coydogs) they're twice as mean and aren't afraid of people.
Coyotes who are used to people get lazy. Â Much easier to feast on Fifi than catch a rabbit. Â With no natural predators left, the live longer and get slower. . Can't catch wild prey so they go after fast food - pets. Â Have lost cats, goats, ducks, chickens. Â Something even attacked a young llama - it died. Â They are large rats. Â Keep a rifle next to the bed to deal with these things when the live stock make noise. Â Our kids pet pygmy goat was torn apart in the sandbox. Â Very nasty. Â Oh, and city folk - stop with the trap and release thing. Â We in the country have enough of our own and don't want yours.
 @jac666 Mortality has no effect on most predator populations--only good fences or livestock guardian dogs will keep livestock safe. Domestic dogs are an even bigger problem in most areas. Once animals have found that you have food--live or dead--that they can access, they will be back.
Video footage of coyote chewing on a man's foot in B.C.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqVE9qfg7yI, List of coyotes attacking children: www.varmintal.com/attac.htm, after reading many of these comments I too believe the story is bogus, however... coyotes could be a danger to humans under dire circumstances, so be warned and cautious.Â
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On the other hand, wild dogs have killed humans in Georgia: APRIL, 2009Â Â An elderly Georgia couple were killed last Friday evening by a pack of feral dogs near their home in Lexington, Georgia. Sherry Schweder 65, went for a walk and when she did not return her retired professor husband Lothar Schweder 77, searched for her and discovered her body only to be killed by the dogs also, see:Â Â firegeezer.com/2009/08/18/elderly-couple-killed-by-wild-dogs; www.liveleak.com/view?i=5f8_1250684317; www.digitaljournal.com/article/277881... very sad, very sad.
This is after marijuana was legalized in Washington state, I wouldn't believe anything coming out of there.
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 @Viking Patrick Yeah, because drunken idiots are so believable.
A bit confused by the story.  A number of years ago while I was dog sitting I had come in from a dog walk when I noticed at dusk what I thought was the cat coming in from under a truck parked on the street. Well, it was a coyote one of 4, grabbed the dog and went to take off, but I was atttached to the end of the leash, needless to say after a 'run with the coyotes' up and down the long street to and from the woods and country club, this mother coyote pretty much left the dog and me at my doorstep. Thankfully the dog was okay, shook up naturally and thank goodness for a bruiser collar too. But didn't even have a serious wound having been checked out by the vet. The coyotes had no aggression towards me, matter of fact the little ones ran alongside licking my knees it was quite an adventure, it was a few minutes of dropping off the dog and me at home when a wild rabbit met their needs for a meal. All I know is for quite some time this female and her clan would come by with the newer pups, never an incident nor any aggressiveness or loss of other pets. I know I certainly wouldn't want anyone to lose their life or have harm from any encounter with an animal but I suppose we need to be reminded whether we are in the country or inner city setting we will be subject to some form of predatory animals and need to be 'street smart' for safety and well being of our families and pets.
Have to remember too if you live in the middle of the woods you are in their territory.
We have lived in "coyote country" for 20 years and ours are extremely afraid of the people around here. I also didn't know they were mainly a fruit eater. I am asking a serious question--does that mean they reach up and get apples off or tree or are we talking berries? We have lots of blackberries and apple trees in our area(wild ones.)
 @Robert They will eat lots of berries in our area--you can see their scat is full of berries when they are in season. I have no doubt that they will eat apples too, but rodents are likely one of their mainstays. You often see them hunting voles out in open fields.
@Robert Everywhere is Coyote county. I used to hear them in the valley in Kent just off Kent-Des Moines road all the time, and when I worked in Tukwilla I'd see them often in the mornings along Southcenter BVLD and 188th.
that's pure b.s.....i live in coyote country.(.Kansas).and have even raised one...they are terrified of humans...the only way that they would attack...is if you were hurting the puppies, of the parents....then and only then....this story is pure fiction....
@kansas-country I grew up in Ohio and have had them attack before. So just because you've not seen it happen doesn't mean its BS.
 @kansas-country So a starving coyote wouldn't ever act this way? Â
@AJ Simkatu @kansas-country Not necessarily. We just had a starving coyote sleep on our front step (in Kansas, maybe our coyotes are nicer) for the past 2 nights and doesn't pay us any attention. He's stickin' around waitin' on a calf to die.
I live in a Gaithersburg, Md. just outside Washington, DC. Â This is a very busy suburb!! Â We started seeing coyotes here about 5-6 years ago. Â News articles come out from time to time over here reminding dog walkers and moms with kids that they could be targets. I happened to be in my car near a local park when it walked by. I just didn't believe it until IÂ actually saw one myself.
I live in the country here in Oklahoma, and this attack tells me they may have a rabies problem. Coyotes will run from humans 99% of the time. Looking at the pictures I have to agree with some of the comments I've seen though, I've had scrathes like that from trapsing through the trees hunting. He stated he was walking his dog, did the dog have any injuries?
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 @Jackie Boyd Rabies is really rare here and in Washington, bats are the primary terrestrial reservoir. Other main reservoirs in the states are skunks, raccoons, and fox, with rabies in coyotes being much more uncommon. The CDC keeps great records and tests wildlife populations. So I think rabies can be ruled out in this case.
@Jackie Boyd I thought same thing Jackie.
He needs to get two Cane Corso and I bet that coyote problem of his will go away.
Well, people like to live in the country. He had better make sure his fence is secure and take precautions. Just as a person will steal and injure another person for something they want, the same applies to wild life (animal kind) if they are desperate enough for food. He lives in the coyotes territory, adjust.
@Victoria Well said.
This sounds pretty contrived. Â The behavior of the coyotes is certainly questionable but the wounds on his arm and leg look little like something a canine species would produce and more like that of a blackberry bush or worse yet, self inflicted. Â Sadly I think this man has created a fairy tale to get some attention. Â I think Fish and Wildlife would be far more concerned if they were buying his story. Â
I live out towards Eatonville. We have all kinds of coyotes around. The last thing they do is stick around when we go outside, or even if I tap on the window they take off. Also having dogs and getting in between two that started to fight I got bit and scratched...it looked nothing like this guys arm and leg. His look like he fell into sticker bushes.
 @Somer Jernigan I totally agree, this story seemed wrong to me even before I saw the wounds but once I did I couldn't help but say something.  I have worked both with wildlife and domestic animals and these scratches don't bear any resemblance to bite wounds or scratches from coyotes or even a dog for that matter.  He may have even received the scratches from going under that opening in his own fence. Â
Having lived in rural King county for 40 years, I agree with a few others who have posted their skepticism over the validity of this guys story. Every time I have come across a coyote, whether in the neighborhood or out on the trail, the last thing it does is stick around.  Raccoons on the other hand I always steer clear of because those cute little critters are aggressive and will stand their ground.  This guy got into a scrap with something.  Maybe he trapped a coyote and thought he would make a pet out of it and it all went wrong, but I doubt very much that he was flat out attacked.
 @ErichBritton I agree--I have seen a coyote do anything but run away when it sees or smells humans and I have been around plenty. I chase the ones in my pasture away with a few claps of my hands.