Pre-Dawn Running: Wildlife Protection? (Read 243 times)

It would help to know your general location.  That makes a big difference in the threat level one can expect from wildlife.  For example there are limited locations where what you ran into could actually have been wolves.

Runners have been taken down by coyotes but it is very rare.  Whether you feel you need protection is a personal threat level assessment.  Some people carry pepper spray.  A few people carry firearms but frankly unless you are running into grizzlies that seems overkill.

Given that I run in Virginia, you are right; they were probably coyotes. It seems like my mind got the best of me this morning. Every creak in the dark always seems more terrifying than it really is

 

Thanks for the input!

Unless it was a wolf/coyote hybrid, it is extremely, extremely unlikely that you would run into a wolf in Virginia.  Someone can correct me if I am wrong but I'm 99% certain there are not resident wolves anywhere close to you.  You'd be able to tell the difference; wolves are extremely large, with adults around 100 lbs.  Coyotes are more in the 30-50lb range.  Coyotes tend to make some awfully weird wailing/yapping noises as well.  Pre-dawn hours are a very common time to encounter them traveling and they do well in suburban areas.

Frankly I wouldn't be concerned, I encounter them off and on, but I'm a 150lb male.  A small pepper spray canister would suffice to put your mind at ease and would also come in handy against ill-intent two-legged predators more likely to cause you harm when you are out running in the dark.

Raccoons are the worst.  Those things are vicious.

I would have never thought of a bell! Perfect. It certainly seems like the less exhausting option. Trying to run while clapping or whistling adds a bit more challenge to my run than I'm ready for in the AM.

Mostly I encounter rabbits. But they can be pretty vicious too.

I often see deer on my trail runs, once I came across a mouflon. They are beautiful and they're one of the many reasons I like trail running (although not doing it lately for various reasons).

But one winter in pretty thick snow coverage I got lost in the woods and off the trail. Crossed the path of a boar family. I was terrified and immediately froze motionless behind a tree. Adults in front of the pack and in the back and a lot of piglets in the middle. About 20 of them in total. What I hear is they can be quite deadly when protecting their young. I waited until they had casually trotted out of sight - by then I was shivering with icy sweat.

In spite of this, I just take my chances and hope not to get lost again.

Wild boar are vicious. You were right to be cautious and to take cover, and lucky they didn't go after you. Pigs are smart. And they're omnivores.

For the OP, almost certainly what you heard were coyotes, however coyotes on the East Coast apparently do have a fairly high amount of wolf DNA in them -- much more than the little guys on the West Coast that are mostly dangerous if you're a cat, dog, or small child. (Or a bunny rabbit.)

The dilemma in my area is this: wear bells to alert bears that a human is approaching and reduce the chance of startling them, or stay quiet because noise is likely to attract the attention of a mountain lion? We have more mountain lions than bears in southern California.