The Story of Tricky Coyote

On Monday, October 12th I arrived at my office to find a car with a live coyote stuck in the bumper. I took a few photos on my iPhone, which have now been used nationally and internationally to help tell the story. Below is the most accurate version of the story.

As told by Jeff Adams, managing partner of Willow Springs:

Daniel and Tevyn East had an encounter with a coyote during the early morning hours of Monday, October 12, they will not soon forget.

On the final stretches of a cross-country drive to North San Juan, the brother and sister had just crossed the Utah-Nevada border heading west on Interstate-80, a little after 1 A.M. Daniel was at the steering wheel of their 2010 Honda Fit driving at a steady 75 mph. In the distance to the right, they spotted a family of coyotes running along side the highway.

As they neared the pack, an adult coyote, perhaps confused by the headlights, suddenly bolted straight to the left across the highway immediately in front of the fast-moving car. Daniel had no time to react and heard a seemingly tragic thud upon impact with the coyote.

Tired from a long four days of driving, Daniel and Tevyn chose not to stop assuming that the worst had happened, and after all, what could they do in the middle of nowhere during the dark of night? They stopped a couple more times for gas, but did not think to inspect the front of the car. After spending an hour writing letters to friends and soaking in a breathtaking sunrise at the classic overlook on Highway 20 above Washington, Daniel and Tevyn finally arrived in North San Juan around 9 A.M. They got out of the car, stretched, and then took a look for any damage to the car.

What they actually discovered was almost impossible to fathom. The coyote was lodged inside the cavity between the composite front fender and the radiator of the Honda Fit. The coyote had somehow been sucked through the open grille at the bottom of the fender piece. Daniel gently poked the coyote to see if it was alive and stunningly it flinched. The coyote was, in fact, still quite alive and breathing regularly.

Daniel and Tevyn alerted their host in North San Juan, Jeffrey Adams, who upon absorbing his shock of the situation, went into his office to make some phone calls. Eventually he reached Jan Crowell of Wildlife Rehabilitation & Release. After Jeffrey described the story, Jan initially suggested that it might be best to call Nevada County Animal Control to euthanize the coyote as she assumed its viability would be minimal given the circumstances. And in any event, she could only come out to get the animal if it was already in confinement (though it already was to a degree).

Not ready to give up on the creature (named in the meantime Tricky by its involuntary captors), Daniel and Jeffrey began to take apart the front fender to get a better look. It appeared that there was only minor bleeding. And it would definitely be possible to pop off the front fender and gain access to the coyote. Jeffrey called Jan again to plead for her to come out, and around 11 A.M. she arrived on the scene. As Daniel, Jeffrey and a couple other assistants began to loosen the fender, Tricky became surprisingly active while trying to escape. However, with concerns that it may have severe internal injuries, Jan managed to loop a snare around the coyote’s neck and ultimately lead it into a cage to bring back to a veterinarian for examination.

Amazingly, after somehow surviving this miraculous voyage, the only injuries found on Tricky were a few lacerations and abrasions to its front legs and paws. While figuring out where to release this courageous animal, Jan kept it in a kennel in her yard. However, on Thursday, as she was arranging for its release, Tricky managed to escape by getting under the bottom bar of the cage and ran off to its ultimate freedom. A tricky coyote indeed.