[pct-l] Animal attacks

[William Skaggs]

> Am I significantly more likely to be stalked/attacked when hiking solo? Am
> I really going to be actively hunted by coyotes in the dessert night (I plan
> on walking mostly at night)? Do animals out there really see me as a meal?
> Or are my survivalist family members just being overly paranoid?

The biggest animal problem by far is bears trying to take your food.  The
only places they are really aggressive about it, though, is in the Yosemite-
Sequoia zone, where you are required to carry an approved canister.  If
you ever saw a coyote, you would realize how ludicrous the idea of one 
attacking you is -- they're pretty small and tend to be really skinny.  They
will be happy to eat you if you're already dead, but if you're alive, they
wouldn't dare attack you.  Coyotes are wily and enterprising, but bravery is 
not one of their notable virtues.

Other than bears, the animals I have had the most problems with are 
deer and porcupines, which like to visit you at night and chew on
anything you leave sitting around that is salty, such as your boots or
the straps of your pack.  And mice.

  -- Bill