Coyotes chase skiers, bite at least one in ‘highly unusual’ case, Idaho officials say

Officials don’t know exactly what’s causing coyotes to behave strangely in northern Idaho, but they’re planning to find out.

Several people reported “highly unusual coyote behavior” in and around Sandpoint in Bonner County in early January — in which coyotes have chased skiers down slopes and in one case, bit one of them, Idaho Fish and Game officials said in a news release.

The coyotes chased skiers at Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort as they navigated down the slopes, the release said. Fish and Game staff planned to “dispatch” the coyotes for public safety.

But before they could do so, one of the coyotes bit a female skier, officials said in the release.

“Although her injuries were minor, Fish and Game and Schweitzer Mountain Resort took the matter very seriously,” officials said in the release. They’re still on a mission to “trap and dispatch the offending coyotes.”

A person who identified herself as the bite victim’s mother commented on the Fish and Game Facebook post urging others who joked about the coyote’s behavior to take it more seriously.

“That was my daughter who was attacked,” she wrote. “She was bit in three different places. 52 shots the first day rabies, tetanus and around the multiple puncture wounds with 3 more rabies shots to follow. Please don’t take this lightly.”

Then during the week of Jan. 22, people reported two coyotes roaming a business district near downtown Sandpoint and said they seemed comfortable in the presence of humans during daylight hours. That’s “highly unusual,” the release said.

One coyote has since been captured and killed, and its body was kept for testing, the release said.

‘Highly unusual coyote behavior’

Officials aren’t sure what could be causing the coyotes “to behave so abnormally,” the release said. Because coyotes are secretive and largely nocturnal, it’s rare for them to appear comfortable near humans and especially to attack them.

Officials don’t think they’re rabid or defending dens since pup season is several months from now in April and May.

They have a hunch it could be habituation to humans, “which most often occurs when wild animals are fed by humans,” the release said.

“When wild animals become habituated to human presence or food sources, they can behave uncharacteristically and become dangerous to people,” the release said. “It is suspected this was the case with the coyotes involved in these incidents.”

Officials asked anyone who sees a coyote on Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort or in and around Sandpoint to contact the Panhandle Regional office at 208-769-1414. They asked that those who might see a coyote refrain from approaching, feeding, touching or harassing them.

Sandpoint is about 420 miles north of Boise.

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