Marcy Sterlis was taking a leisurely stroll on a Cape Cod beach when she suddenly realized she was being followed by a coyote.
It was a moment totally unexpected. One she would remember all her life.
Had it not been for two men on boat, things could have turned out very differently.
It was ten long, agonizing minutes with Marcy doing everything she can to make the animal go away.
“The coyote seemed content that he had cornered me.”
Says Sterlis.
You can hear Marcy crying out for help as she swings wildly at the coyote.
So much for a leisurely stroll along the beach.
She had to ask her boyfriend to look up ways on how to get rid of a coyote.
To think he just called her to ask about her day.
“I was like, ‘I need you to look up online what to do about a coyote,’”
It’s not like she’s the road runner or something!
“Everything you hear about, what you’re supposed to do when you encounter a wild animal, I was doing. I had run out of options,”
Sterlis said.
The men filming her tried to get as close as they can, eventually making noises and succeeding in driving the coyote away.
These guys made sure Marcy would live to see another day.
The coyote chased her from the dunes, down to the water’s edge.
Marcy had a stick but it was of no use, and even her voice wasn’t enough to scare the animal away.
Getting chased by a stray dog is terrifying enough, but a wild animal is on a different level.
“I knew we had to get her out of there. We had to do something. No one else was,”
Bill Kelley, one of the fishermen on the boat, said.
Marcy got on the boat and it was there that she finally began to breathe normally.
“I was terrified,” she said. “And if it weren’t for the two fishermen coming to get me, I don’t know what I would have done, because they were the only ones there to help me.”
In the summer of the previous year, a coyote bit someone and killed a dog. Experts think that people have been feeding the coyotes and this one was waiting for a meal.
Dave Wattles, with the Massachusetts Fish and Game, had this to say.
“The cape provides great coyote habitat. That animal wasn’t responding, so that’s what made me think that it has been fed by people. And it’s comfortable approaching people, and maybe that’s what’s happening there.”
Marcy got to speak to both her rescuers again.
She thanked both men, saying that she was glad to see their faces again.
It was a “dire” situation and she’s extremely grateful for their help.
It was perfect timing for Marcy, alright.
Experts say you should never turn your back on a coyote. And don’t run.
Also, don’t let them intimidate you.
Threaten them with loud noises and perhaps… say a prayer.
Click play below to see Marcy’s hair-raising coyote encounter!
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