Yesterday in Kensginton, New Hampshire, Ian O’Reilly and his family were walking on a trail near a local pond when a coyote attacked his two-year-old son. After fighting with the animal for ten minutes, O'Reilly strangled it. According to police, the same coyote, likely sick, was responsible for other attacks earlier that day that apparently didn't result in injury. O'Reilly described the confrontation to Boston 25 News:

“There was no interest in (the coyote) going away. [I] ultimately had to make the decision to become the aggressor and jumped on it, attacked it and [got] it to the ground," O’Reilly said. “When I was able to get on top of it, I put my hand on its snout so it wasn’t able to attack me. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground, so I shoved the face into the snow and then eventually was able [to] put my hand on its snout and expire it through suffocation. Ultimately one hand on its windpipe and one hand on its snout did the trick.”

O’Reilly was apparently bitten in the arm and chest by the coyote. The child involved was also bitten, though the animal did not break the child’s skin due to the snowsuit he was wearing at the time. Since the incident, O’Reilly has already received his first round of rabies shots; he’ll have four more follow-up visits with doctors for more.

Attacked by a rabid raccoon and looking to her phone for answers, Rachel Borch noticed she'd dropped her cellular device near a puddle. Thinking that a drowning might stop the animal, Borch held it under until it was dead, dead, dead. Fear took over, and Borch ran home. Read the rest

Near Glacier National Park, a surprised grizzly bear attacked three mountain bikers. Two were able to escape, but the third, Brad Treat, was killed.

Via Alaska Dispatch News:

Treat died Wednesday afternoon after being attacked by a grizzly bear just south of Glacier National Park. Though he had maintained his athleticism — he was riding his mountain bike, after all — Treat, who was just 38 years old and a law enforcement officer with the U.S. Forest Service, couldn't escape his fate.

But his companion did. Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry told the Associated Press that Treat and another man had been biking near Halfmoon Lakes when they came across the bear, surprising it. The other man escaped unscathed and sought help while the bear knocked Treat off his bike.

Help arrived too late, and Treat was declared dead on the scene. The bear has not been found, though authorities are searching for it, and campers were briefed on the incident.