Coyote bites Yellowstone National Park skier. It was probably starving, officials say

Yellowstone National Park staff identified and killed a coyote Tuesday after it bit a skier.

Park dispatch received a call Tuesday morning that a coyote had bitten a woman who was skiing on Grand Loop Road near South Rim Drive, a park news release said.

Rangers treated the 43-year-old woman’s puncture wounds and cuts on her head. The woman was later taken to Mammoth Springs in Wyoming and then a medical facility.

Staff identified and killed the coyote, which is being examined and tested for rabies, the news release said.

“Encounters like these are rare, but they can happen,” wildlife biologist Doug Smith.said in the release. “We suspect this coyote may have been starving due to having porcupine quills in its lower jaw and inside its mouth. Its young age likely led to its poor condition and irregular behavior.”

Park officials encourage visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from coyotes and to be aware of their surroundings.

“Park staff scare coyotes from visitor-use areas and becoming habituated to humans with cracker-shell rounds, bear pepper spray, or other negative stimuli,” the park said. “Animals that continue to pose a threat to themselves or to humans are killed. Coyotes and other park wildlife are wild and potentially dangerous and should never be fed or approached.”

This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Coyote bites Yellowstone National Park skier. It was probably starving, officials say."