Running safe with wildlife isn’t as complex as it may seem.  It’s as easy as familiarizing yourself with the creatures that are indigenous to the areas you like to traverse.  Getting to know their habitual behaviors and warning signs can spare you a lot of grief.  In this piece, I will only address the most common wildlife one might encounter while running in remote areas.

Coyotes

Most folks are scared to encounter them, when really, they pose little or no threat, unless cornered.  Like most animals, in that circumstance, they will attack.  By nature, coyotes are rather shy creatures that strictly adhere to their inner promptings of flight.  When they hunt, they do so solitary and if given the opportunity, will almost always flee at the sign of humans rather than risk personal injury by engaging.  The exception to that rule comes if you live in an area like I do where the hills are literally alive with the howls of coyotes who travel and hunt in great packs, often numbering up to fifteen to twenty or more.  These are not your typical coyotes.  Larger in stature than most—whose size compliments that of a mid-sized dog, these coyotes more closely resemble large German Shepherds with some getting almost as tall as smaller Great Danes.  These coyotes, which I suspect have crossbreed over time with local dogs, do no hunt solitary, by in their intimidating packs.  Cunningly surrounding their prey, they draw their circle around it tighter and tighter until there is little chance for escape.  These are the coyotes to be mindful of.

Image via Wikipedia

King Snakes

Many see a snake, any snake, and freak out.  I, myself, am not fond of them, but have trained myself to resist the urge to engage in a wartime incantation snake dance upon seeing one.  Well, okay, I admit, every now and again, I just can’t help the inclination to jump.  King snakes offer no threat to humans.  In fact, if spotted, they serve two purposes.

1. They indicate that rattlesnakes are in the vicinity, so keep alert.
2. They help to reduce the number of those snakes, as they attack and dine on them.

So, please, the next time you spot a King snake, don’t go all crazy and try to kill it.  They are there to do good.

Rattlesnakes

Okay, now these are the ones you want to be careful of.  Rattlesnakes, like all cold-blooded creatures, do not like extreme heat or cold.  You will most likely encounter them warming themselves, spread out across a pathway in the earlier or later afternoon on hot days.  On cooler days, they could be present almost anywhere at anytime.  Rattle snakes work off of vibrations when they attack.  This is great news for runners, as long as you’re able to remember this tidbit of information.  Here’s how it works.  When a rattlesnake feels the pounding of the ground as a runner approaches, they may become agitated and coil into a strike pose if they feel those vibrations are too close to them.  But fear not.  If and when they strike, it will be at the last spot that they felt the vibration.  If you are a runner, and are in perpetual motion, your foot and leg will almost always have cleared the “strike zone”.  That is, as long as you don’t panic, upon seeing the snake, and stop or back up.  I have been struck at while running by many rattlesnakes and, as of yet (and I hope to maintain this record) have not been bitten.  I must say, it’s not only unnerving to look down and see a rattlesnake strike between my legs, but it’s a bit of a rush as well.  Does tend to quicken my pace.

Image via Wikipedia

Deer

Until earlier this year, I had always felt safe around deer.  I encounter both male and female ones on a fairly regular basis while running the mountains and have never been bothered by any of them.  In fact, some have grown so accustomed to my running in their area that they make a game out of trotting “along with me”.  That’s always fun.  But I digress.  About six months back, I came across a male friend of mine on the mountain, who told me a chilling tale of a deer encounter he’d had.  Seems he’d come across a male deer about halfway up a steep rise.  When my friend saw the deer, like me, he thought little of his safety, that is, until without provocation, the deer lowered its rack and charged my friend, who, in an attempt to get away, backed up and allowed himself to drop off the steep edge of the pathway!  What we suspect is that my friend had unwittingly placed himself between the buck and his love interest (it was, after all, mating season).  Now, I too have found myself in that same position—between a buck and his intended doe during mating season—but have never encountered aggression from the buck.  What my friend and I suspect is that the buck picked up on the fact that my friend was male and somehow viewed that as a threat.  (Note to males, be keenly aware of when deer mating season is!)

Image via Wikipedia

Wild Boar

Ah, the slobbering, oh, so unfriendly over sized pigs of the wild, adorned with nasty tusks that can do serious damage should they choose to use them.  Have I painted a fairly clear picture of a fairly unfriendly creature?  Good!  These are to be avoided at all costs.  Do not allow their ample size to fool you.  They can be rather agile and easily can outrun a human.  And, they don’t like having their territory invaded.  By their territory, I mean wherever they are at any given time.  There are a few safety tips that will help you walk away safely from an encounter with a wild boar. 

1. Submission works well as a defense mechanism. Do not look them in the eye.  If you do, they will interpret this as a challenge and may be prompted to attack.  Instead, immediately lower your head and gaze and back away.
2. Wild boars are poor climbers.  Their short stubby legs are not designed to navigate steep terrain.  Knowing this, if you are near an edge of a hill and find you have no other form of escape, slowly backing yourself over said edge will create a safety barrier between you and the boar. 

Bears

Oh, my!  I personally love bears and have encountered them on a number of occasions.  I’m not particularly fond of the smaller black ones, finding that they are less intimidated and more unpredictable.  The golden bears, however, the ones that look like the adorable honey dispenser, tend to want to keep their distance, unless you are foolish enough to challenge them or their young.  There are a few things to remember about bears.

1. Bears come out at dusk, so, unless you’re looking to become a possible entree on their menu, you’d do best to stay away from isolated areas they dwell during those times.
2. Bears are not particularly fond of loud noises, so should you find yourself facing one that poses a threat to your safety (and by that I do not mean that it has turned and begun walking away), use whatever you have at your disposal to create an audible chaos.  Yelling, banging things together, etc, works well to cause a bear to think twice about attacking the obnoxious crazy creature (you) standing before them.
3. Standing.  That’s perhaps the most important thing to remember when faced with a bear attack.  Make yourself as large as possible!  Stretch your arms high over your head and wave them around.  Stand at your full height, even rising to you tip toes will help.  Do whatever you need to in order that you appear larger than you are.  Tragically, a few years back, a bear attacked a man.  In his anxiety, the man mistakenly thought that he was to roll into a tight ball to survive the attack.  He did not and was ultimately killed by the bear that thought he was a fun plaything.

Running with wildlife need not be scary or intimidating as long as you do your homework, investigate what creatures you might encounter in the areas you choose to run and are smart about the choices you make.