Originally posted by bear bowman:
I was hunting in western Pa some years ago. I was perched in a tree and as it neared dark, I heard what I thought was a doe snorting way down in the valley below me. Well it got dark and this "doe" was still snorting her head off and heading towards me! I stared heading back to where my buddies truck was parked and this thing kept getting closer and it wasn't snorting it was more like hissing. Til I got to the bottom of the hill, I was pretty much at a dead run. I hit the road and shined a flashlight down the road and a yote crossed right below me. I never did figure why it followed me out or if it even had an interest in me but it scared the crap out of me.
I had a similar experience ten or twelve years ago.
I was hunting from a tree stand, and it was getting late. I took one last look around, and started to reach for my quiver.
Just as I reached for it, I saw something move in front of me and to my left.
I realized it was legs, and the lower part of a brownish body moving away fast. It was in the shadows under the spruce trees, and my first thought was that a deer had come in unseen, and busted me.
I sat there for a couple minutes, mentally kicking myself for letting it happen, then started to climb down from my stand.
I got about halfway to the ground, when a coyote howled in the direction the "deer" had gone.
In the short time it took to get the rest of the way down, I had a line of coyotes howling, what sounded like a hundred yards in front of me.
I turned my back to them to head back to camp.
By now, it was getting pretty dark, and the coyotes were still lined up across my back, howling, and following me.
I hadn't gone far, when a line of them cut loose in front of me too, not far from camp.
I could hear one pass me some distance off in the dry leaves, headed for the ones in front of me. I shined my light in that direction, but couldn't see it.
I kept walking, with the coyotes carrying on in front of, and behind me, and as I got closer to "home" I could tell that the ones in front of me had crossed the road now, and were still howling and barking on the other side.
The ones that were behind me split up at this point, and passed me on my left and right, headed to where the rest were, howling the whole time.
I could hear some of them in the leaves again when they passed me, and they sounded close, but I still couldn't see them with my flashlight.
Once they all got to the other side of the road, they shut up, and I didn't hear another peep out of them.
I doubt I was in any danger at any time. I think their boldness was a probably combination of curiosity, and the fact that it was dark.
I actually thought it was a pretty cool experience once I got back to camp, and all the hair on my body laid back down. :D
Bob