SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – The National Park Service is casting doubt on a Bay Area ultramarathon runner's claim that he was attacked by a coyote in the Marin Headlands.
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Last week, a Bay Area ultramarathon runner, 59-year-old Dean Karnazes, took to social media to document the aftermath of what he called a "terrifying" coyote attack. Coyote experts and officials from the Golden Gate National Recreation Area are now questioning the legitimacy of Karnazes' story.
"I just had something rather terrifying happen. I'm out on a 150-mile trail run, and I just got attacked by a coyote," the athlete said in an Instagram video with blood running down his chin. "That was a first. It knocked me over. Thankfully, I was running with poles, so I whacked it and it ran away."
National Park Service spokesperson Julian Espinoza told KCBS Radio the NPS "disagrees with the characterization of this incident as an 'attack'" because "no injuries were directly caused by the animal."
In a Twitter post, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area clarified that Karnazes' injuries were from his fall, not from the coyote itself. "The coyote did not bite the individual involved in this encounter," they stated.
Karnazes is encouraging people on social media to stop feeding the coyotes around the Golden Gate Bridge, as his run-in with the wild animal may have been food-motivated. According to the ultramarathon runner, he was opening a granola bar when the coyote struck him from behind.
Espinoza called the incident unlikely. "According to our park biologists, this kind of reported activity from a coyote would be extremely unusual, as coyotes do not sprint at people when they approach them for food," he explained.
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