MACHIAS, Maine — Opening day of turkey season turned out to be a bit more than Bill Robinson had in mind Monday when he set out his decoy at dawn’s first light.
“I’ll never forget looking up and seeing a jaw full of teeth coming at me,” Robinson said Tuesday, the day after being attacked and bitten on the right arm by a coyote. The wild canine sprang while the Maine Guide was hunkered down in the brush, using a mouth-call to lure a turkey into the open while hunting on private property near the Washington County community of Cooper.
“I had placed my turkey decoy in a field in front of me and then positioned myself in some cover,” said Robinson, 39, who lives in Edmunds Township, near Dennysville. “It was about 10 minutes after dawn, and right beside me was a short, thick spruce tree that had grown so thick you couldn’t see through it. That coyote came up the edge of the field and was one side of that tree, with me on the other.
“The distance involved was only about four feet,” Robinson said. “But that tree was so thick that he couldn’t see me, and I couldn’t see him. He was determined to have turkey for breakfast and was also determined that the sound he heard was a hen turkey.”
Robinson said the coyote “came in high,” a hunting maneuver designed to ensure his feathered prey couldn’t fly off.
“When he bit down on my upper arm, he went through four layers — a heavy jacket, a sweatshirt, a long-sleeve shirt and a T-shirt,” he said. “As I peeled off each layer there were two holes in each one. When I got to my arm, it was just burning and bleeding out of two holes.”
Once the coyote realized it had jumped a human, not a hen, it sprinted away.
“It turned and ran 100 miles an hour across that field,” Robinson said. “It was as shocked and surprised to see me, as I was to see it. I took a shot at it, but it was too far off by then. I turned it around for a second when I hit him in the haunch with a few pellets from my turkey load, just to say goodbye.”
Robinson packed up and headed to the nearby home of a friend, Joe Gardner, who is a district game warden. Gardner examined and took pictures of the wound before counseling Robinson to seek medical attention at the Down East Community Hospital in Machias, where he began a two-week regimen of precautionary rabies vaccine injections.
Robinson was given seven shots Monday, four in his right arm, where he was bitten, and three in his left. There are, he said, many more shots in his near future.
“I walked into that hospital with one sore arm and left with two,” he said Tuesday. “But I don’t blame the coyote. It was doing what coyotes do, hunting. My guess is that coyote was perfectly healthy and was not rabid. He was big, probably 50 pounds. I’m just glad it didn’t grab my neck.”
So is Gardner, who has been friends with Robinson since they were boys.
“That was a first-time event for me,” said Gardner, who patrols the Pembroke area. “I’ve heard people tell stories about coyotes coming into an area where they are calling turkeys, but then running off when they realize what they’re hearing are hunters, not turkeys. I told Bill that he must be really good at calling turkeys.”
A Maine Guide for eight years, Robinson said he’ll be turkey hunting again soon.
“I’ll be a little more prepared next time, in terms of not positioning myself where there’s a blind spot,” he said. “It was a freak thing. And an unforgettable thing.”
I have had rabies shots, you dont get them all in your arm, you get the Rabies Human globulin in the buttocks, and the amount of shots is dependent on your weight, and you get ONE rabies shot in the arm.
Then you get ONE rabies shot 3 times more: 3, 7, and 14 days after exposure
oh thank God you clarified!
maybe protocol has changed
Only got my shots 9 months ago, so not sure about that.
Maybe a different hospital decided to do something different?
I am mopre inclined to think it was the BDN who took what was said to them, and twisted it around and made it something it wasnt.
The other shots were mostly likely tetenus (sp) and precautionary immunizations against diseases other than Rabies.
===
Yes, the rabies shot is in your arm, leg, wherever you get bitten, and it is ONE shot.
The Rabies Human Globulin, which acts immediately is given in the buttocks. It is a thick substance, and it is weight based. It is a one time deal on the day of exposure.
So the hunter is just flat-out lying, obviously. Y’know, since he’s the one whose arm got the shots.
No, I am more thinking the BDN twisted what was said to them and came up with their own version.
If you bother to read any literature, you can see exactly how the procedure takes place, or you could even call Maine CDC and ask them.
wait BDN publishes misinformation on their website?!?! say it aint so.
No I am thinking he got shots for Tetanus and other communicable diseases
No I am thinking he got shots for Tetanus and other communicable diseases
Yes, I think you are prob right — but the way BDN writes it, they were trying to freak people out that rabies shots consist of lots and lots and lots of shots, simply not true.
Great article! I am happy to hear that there will not be a coyote witch hunt! The coyote was more shocked and scared than the man that was bitten!
Bet that coyotes ears drooped like Wile E. Coyotes when he realized his error.
I love irony.
I would have needed new underwear!!
Too funny!
im in that boat
The coyote took a few shots. The hunter took a few shots. The score is even now.
Glad you’re all right Bill. Thankfully it was your arm.
Had that happen to me one time while hunting with a friend several years ago. We were taking a break in mid morning and were resting with our backs to a large stone wall. My friend tried some calling and shortly after that, I turned and saw a coyote about 10′ away on the top of the wall. As soon as he realized we were not his intended lunch, he took off faster than “Wylie Coyote” and was out of range before I could get my shotgun trained on him.
Just a good reminder to always carry your standard issue ACME anvil at all times!
They should raise the bounty on Coyote, Glenn Manuel made a mistake when he brought them into Maine in the lat 60’s early 70’s. They don’t belong in Maine, they kill all the Deer.
Right, hunters should be the only ones allowed to kill all the deer.
They belong out West where they originally came from. They controlled the prairie-dog population. Now, out there, they have to spend money on poisoning the prairie-dogs. And we here are suppose to learn how to live with the Coyotes because our Big Shot Officials brought them here for the dumbest of reasons.
The reason they are here is because people keep trying to kill them. They have what is referred to as compensatory reproduction. When you try to eradicate them, they respond by increasing their litter sizes. This creates larger populations where some disperse to find better territory. It is this means that now has coyotes living in all 48 contiguous states. As long as people continue to try and kill coyotes their populations will only increase. Our state biologists know this, but it is such a political issue that it is rare that they will admit it. That is the science, the facts, and statistically it holds true. We need an alpha predator and since we extirpated wolves, we now have these coyotes with wolf genes to take their place. Man does not hold the patent on killing deer, they only believe they do. Arrogance.
So if they aren’t killed….they won’t breed?
How come wolves are not the same if the coyotes have wolf genes?
Different breeding techniques.
Wolves are a top predator and therefore have a lower reproductive rate to avoid over population. Coyotes are a mid-level predator that is sometimes prey and therefore has a higher reproductive rate.
Each breeding techniques works best for the type of prey/predator.
No, I didn’t say that, nor does science. What coyotes will do, if left alone, is breed at a rate that compliments the available food and habitat, just like any other wild animal. Although it seems hard for many peoplein Maine to believe, the coyote serves an intrinsic purpose. Their compensatory reproduction kicks in in response to attempts to lower the population, and it overcompensates. This is a trait shared by some wildlife species and not by others.
Just because something has some of another species genes does not mean it shares all or at times even some of the other species characteristics. Nature is not something we know everything about, but the things I talk about here are things that anyone who cares to know about can easily verify.
So by not killing them the population will soon dwindle?
No, lovesnow, it will remain stable as long as there is food and habitat. As long as we stop cutting the woods of Maine into extinction there will be plenty of both for all wildlife. It’s only man who never has enough. Nature requires predators and prey. Man is a poor predator. We look for the biggest and strongest, which leads to weaker prey populations . This is biology 101, not hard to fact check.
You can affect the population numbers by removing 75% or more of the individuals. You can also remove the dominant female (if you can get them) before they bear their litter, though that is less effective, as the male will probably breed another female.
Stop trying to confuse people with facts dear Daryl.
what a bunch of bologna!
Sorry, that’s the biology, the science of it. That is nature. I guess it’s easier to just believe your buddies who hate coyotes, though.
There is a bit more to it than their reproductive habits. They were going to spread as an eventuality, but the lack of a significant predator to keep them at bay they have gained footing and will now be here forever. You can affect the population by removal of the coyotes, but to be effective you need to remove somewhere around 75% or more of the local population. The killing of coyotes will not increase their population as you so erroneously state, but the removal of individuals will allow for more food in their territory. Which in turn will trigger a response in the female that will have a larger litter to replace the lost individual. This is why you see a “crash” in the population when food sources are low, and an increase when food is plentiful.
Its hard to figure out where people get their information when it comes to coyotes. Not a single word of what you say here is true.
Glen Manuel brought coyotes to Maine? He was not a knowledgeable Commissioner, but he also hated coyotes. Where do people get this stuff???…..
He actually wrote a book aboout it. My Brother use to guide him and it was at Spenser lake area where he did it. (-;
If Glen Manuel says he introduced coyotes to Maine then let me be the first to call him a bald faced liar.
“…they kill all the Deer.” ALL the deer? I see live deer all the time so you are exaggerating, no? Just like 9/10’s of your posts here, all over statements and exaggerations / half truths and prejudices. There are plenty of deer. Enough to share with a few coyotes. They’ve as much right to them as you and I do.
Do I have a stocker?
real life= 10 points.
Text book=professers word on it.
I agree, but I’m very glad that they are killing Turkeys too. NO use for them, they eat a heck of a lot of Deer food. Like Acorns and Beechnuts. Would much rather see a big Buck than a big Tom any day……..
I agree!
So accordingly, the coyote should have been able to keep the man, providing he has a license.
The coyotes’ attitude is, “We don’t need no stinkin licenses.”
he is a coyote not a honey badger.
ithought turkey season was year round according to the wtf wild target federation
Man, I spend time looking FOR coyotes to hunt, and they just come up to this guy. >:[
He was making turkey noises and the coyote thought lunch was just on the other side of the tree…
I think it’s nice to see a story where the hunter becomes the hunted. Kind of makes the playing field seem a bit less lopsided.
So in other words, your ok with this person being injured?
See my comment..
Well, yeah since it’s a risk one assumes when going into another creature’s habitat with the intent of killing it for no good reason.
If you can’t accept the risk, stay home.
The reason people hunt game is to put good, nutritious food on the table.
Wild turkey is nearly toxic to living taste buds. Compare the cost and effort to going to Hannaford and obtaining a delightfully edible one at a fraction of the time and expense involved.
Turkeys are hunted primarily to sate the need for killing something.
What’s wrong with killing something?
You must think the turkeys in Hannaford were manufactured?
Wild turkey isn’t bad, it’s all in how it’s prepared. What someone decides to do with their time and money is their choice. I don’t hunt turkeys but I know enough, and am open minded enough to respect what others do to recreate in the outdoors, whether I share their tastes for table fare or not.
Figure the source of the comment.
Why not? He is hunting and in nature all animals are at risk of injury while getting attaining food.
Happy to hear that we’re on the same page! Hey, would you happen to know The Thayers from Bangor?
See, because of precationary reasons for insurance purposes, but no reason to believe the creature was rabid, our health expenses go up raising our health insurance. I’m surprised they didn’t say or give an antibiotic as another precationary measure.
I thought I recently read an article about trying to take out unnecessary procedures to save the health insurance companies money?
I think we need to get all insurance companies and lawyers on the same page. How can anyone make a profit, besides lawyers, which is a bulk of congress, make a profit if as much money does goes out to insurance and lawyers to protect oneself from getting sued, or losing rights to life, liberty and property.
the precaution was purely medical. once you are infected with rabies, death is 100% and it will be ugly and painful.
I believe that’s for the folks on mainecare…
You can’t wait until Rabies symptoms appear. If they appear you are dead. Period.
I’m wondering … are there any types of common birds that carry rabies or is it only animals that can carry?
Mike,only mammals can carry the Rabies virus.
To bad he didn’t blast the darn thing…No closed season on them for a good reason..Shoot on sight…
Right, shoot everything that moves. Some “sport”.
Wouldnt hurt my feelings to kill them all
Yessah! I had a fox come in once to a turkey call once.
Great story as well as a great lesson! The woods are always a place for learning and in this case both the coyote and the man learned a lesson.
60,000 people in the U. S. get bitten by dogs every year (many of them kids bitten in the face) and yet we seldom read a story about a dog biting someone. And, of course, the last person in Maine to die of rabies was in 1935 – 76 years ago. But oh my gosh – a thrill hunter trying kill a dumb turkey and a coyote merely doing what is natural – trying to survive – makes national headlines. Sounds to me like way too many people have been inflicted with coyote phobia.
Still fuming over that poaching and assault charge, I see.
No, lovesnow, Bill’s just telling the truth again. That really seems to get your goat.
Should have known you two anti-sportsmen were in cahoots.
Yes, in your view anyone who doesn’t agree with you is an “anti”. I’m more than used to that mentality. Fortunately, common sense is prevailing more and more and slowly but surely the dinosaurs, the blood sport lovers, not the good, fair chase hunters, are dying out and outnumbered in a big way.
I’m glad you are ok Mr. Robinson. Must have been an eye opener seeing that coyote.
… And I bet that Robinson delighted in pulling the wings off of butterflies when a kid. Next stop .. kittens verses kerocene.
AWWWWWWWWW…….Tissue???
You need help.
I think that is a major at MMA. Your favorite school of higher learning.
It is refreshing to know there is another predator able to successfully bag a turkey. Where there are no natural predators, turkey clutches of 12 young often survive into young adulthood and beyond. Where there are large gregarious flocks of turkeys, with dozens more young produced each year, their foraging can get out of hand, and they can out-compete other game birds for the same resources.
Sorry the encounter in this case ended in an injury to the hunter, but it is obvious the coyote never would have lunged for the calling “turkey” (no pun intended!), if he or she realized it was a person.
Actually turkeys have plenty of predators and any small varmint that can get a hold of the eggs can and will do so. As for more developed specimen, they have a multitude of predators as well ranging from large birds of prey to mammals such as bobcats and coyotes.
So much for Coyote’s Acme turkey catcher….
That should go into Outdoor Life or Field & Stream magazine under the heading, “THIS HAPPENED TO ME!”
What is it the biologists claim? The coyotes only go after the weak and the sick? YEAH, RIGHT!!!
The coyote was reacting to a turkey call and did not see the hunter until the attack started. As soon as the coyote realized it was not a turkey it released the bite and fled but you would know that if you read the story and did not just mindlessly post garbage.
What makes you think that the coyote can’t smell it’s prey??? Most canines use their nose for more than breathing so think before you speak. This gentleman was very fortunate that more damage had not occurred.
A couple things.
First, sense of smell only works if you are downwind from your prey whereas sense of sight or sound does not depend on wind direction. The hunter was most likely wearing camoflage and was hidden from sight by the tree that was between the coyote and the hunter. The hunter was making turkey hen calls to attract turkey toms to him. The coyote was using its incredible sense of hearing to stalk and attack what it beleived to be a turkey.
Second, the coyote released its bite as soon as it realized it had not attacked a turkey but instead had attacked a human and ran as fast as it could away from the hunter.
Again, if you actually read a news article before posting you would not look so foolish.
That poster had to be able to read words with more than two letters to know that pbmann. Don’t fault her, the woods are full of people who would be far beter off reading a good book than out trying to kill everything they are allowed to….
So by that statement I have to believe the goal of Wildlife Alliance of Maine is to outlaw ALL hunting.
Seems like you are heading up Maines own little PETA party.
Too bad I don’t believe a bit of this story. It is such poppycock.
Really, why?
Glad to hear your ok Bill!
I have a question…if this happened now, in May, why is anyone hunting wild turkeys? Isn’t this the time of year when the hens are sitting on nests, hatching eggs and rearing young ones? Why would hunters be killing these hens now, when the turkey poults will be left without their mother to protect them and educate them? This makes NO SENSE…hunting game generally occurs in the fall or AFTER breeding season, not DURING breeding season. So, what gives?
Maine is over run with turkeys and they have become a nuisance to farmers and other people, so I am told. Allegedly, turkeys are also adversely affecting the population of Maine’s sacred god, the whitetailed deer. The wildlife biologists who claim to “manage wildlife,” tell me that most of the turkeys will soon die of a disease called “black thread.” It’s Mother Nature’s way, they say, of controlling populations like she does with the coyote population. Men aka hunters are mere meddlers who enjoy killing – and it also includes killing men in the atrocity of atrocities – WAR.
You can’t shoot hens in the spring.
A good lesson on being who we really are. That coyote thought the gentleman was a turkey. He sounded like a turkey. And that coyote thought he was. We know, however, that he was a man. Sometimes we go about acting like we are someone we are not…it gets us into trouble. May we see the larger lesson, and be ourselves, and not try to be otherwise. Thank you. ( and may all hunting be safe ) Blessings to you today.