I think I saw a coyote the other day when I was out for my morning walk. It wasn't completely unexpected. I live near a park on the edge of a wooded area, so it makes sense that there might be some wildlife about. The last time I saw a coyote, it was crossing Centennial Parkway on an early morning before things got busy.
Anyway, I was alarmed. It, thankfully, seemed alarmed as well. It was about to cross my path, but turned back when it saw me. As I approached the spot where I saw it, I looked to where it had gone and saw it stuck around, just far enough away from me. I turned to continue my walk, but instinct (smart or not, I'm not sure) made me walk backwards away from the coyote for a 100 m stretch so I could keep my eye on it and not be surprised by a sneak attack from the rear. Eventually, I turned to walk forwards and finished my walk unscathed.
When I returned home, I googled "coyote daytime" and learned that coyotes are not nocturnal, and in the spring are likely out hunting rodents to feed their young. The next time I walked past that area, I noticed a spot where one of my neighbours leaves birdseed and saw a gathering of puffy tails where a dray of squirrels was enjoying brunch. Seems like a good brunch spot for coyote as well. I also learned that coyotes who live in proximity to humans are not afraid of us and are more likely to attack. Concerning.
The last thing I learned is that, according to Google and not independently verified, the Navajo believe that a coyote crossing your path is a sign of bad luck or misfortune to come and you should turn back to avoid it. Though I'm not necessarily one for flights of google-based fancy, these unprecedented times have made me fairly bad luck-averse. I did worry a bit about what misfortune would come my way after this encounter. Then I remembered that the coyote was about to cross my path, but then IT turned back. Maybe the coyote believe that a human crossing your path is bad luck, too.
They're probably right. We ruin everything.
