A new video reveals a cat fending off a coyote during a nighttime attack earlier this week.
The surveillance-camera footage, posted Thursday by a man in Surfside Beach, Texas, shows the wild animal lunging repeatedly at the feline on a deck. Clawing and hissing, the cat makes its way under a folding lounge chair against the deck's railing, making it hard for the coyote to reach it.
The coyote makes failed attempts to follow but continues to lunge at the cat. When the feline jumps onto the railing, the coyote briefly holds it in its mouth. The feline pushes the coyote back and climbs up a beam on the deck. The coyote, unable to reach the cat, eventually darts away.
Tony Gray posted the video on Facebook Thursday morning. "Coyote upstairs on my beach house rear deck," he wrote.
Feline 'Fighter'
"I am amazed at the diverse and healthy population of wildlife on this island. Surfside is an amazing place, but we need to keep our pets inside and safe," Gray wrote in a message to Newsweek on Friday.
Gray said that the cat in the video isn't his.
"He is a fighter and i saw no signs of anything in my yard the next day, to indicate he lost," Gray said of the cat.
His post had received nearly 5,000 views on Facebook as of Friday afternoon. News station KTRK first reported on the video.
Keeping Pets—and Children—Safe
Attacks by coyotes and mountain lions on pets and children are not unheard of.
Last month, a coyote in attacked and killed a two-year-old girl in Huntington Beach, California, according to the Associated Press.
Last month in Dallas, a coyote attacked a child on the front porch of a home. The child ended up in the hospital in critical condition.
In 2020, a coyote went after a grown woman on a remote California beach. She suffered a bite and minor injuries.
Last November, a video captured a red-tailed hawk attacking a 12-week-old chihuahua. "I didn't even see it until it was right on top of her. That's how fast it happened," said the dog's owner.
In another video posted on social media in December—viewed more than 3.5 million times on TikTok—a "powerful and frightening" mountain lion can be seen pawing a glass patio door with a small family dog on the other side.
"He wants to eat my dog," says the owner of the 13-year-old shih-poo in the video. "Not going to lie. This is really scary."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Xander Landen is a Newsweek weekend reporter. His focus is often U.S. politics, but he frequently covers other issues including ... Read more
