Ian O’Reilly New Hampshire coyote drama: Kensington father saves toddler son’s life after strangling wild animal to death after 2 year old was attacked.
A New Hampshire father has been hailed a hero after strangling a coyote to death with his bare hands after the wild animal attacked his toddler child on Monday.
Ian O’Reilly was walking with his wife and three kids on a trail near Judes Pond in Kensington around 11 a.m. when the wild animal jumped out of the woods and grabbed the 2-year-old child by the jacket, according to a report via WFXT.
That’s when ‘the dad went into protection mode,’ kicking the coyote before choking it, according to Kensington Police Chief Scott Cain.
The dad said he was running on instinct and adrenaline when he wrestled the predator to the ground, eventually killing it after a 10-minute tussle.
‘There was no interest in it going away so ultimately I had to make the decision to become the aggressor and jumped on it, attacked it and was able to get it to the ground,’ O’Reilly said.
‘When I was able to get on top of it I put my hand around its snout so it wasn’t able to attack me anymore,’ he recalled.
‘From there… I shoved [its] head into the snow… and then eventually was able to expire it through suffocation,’ he said. ‘Ultimately one hand on its windpipe and one hand on its snout did the trick.’
A series of attacks earlier in the day:
The dad was bitten in the arm and chest and is being treated for rabies as a precaution. The animal didn’t break the toddler’s skin thanks to his heavy-duty snowsuit.
It is believed the coyote was likely rabid.
Earlier on Monday, around 9 a.m., the same beast is believed to have pounced on a moving car on a roadway in Hampton Falls.
About 15 minutes later, it attacked a 62-year-old woman and her three dogs on a porch in Kensington, attempting to get into the house.
Pat Lee was bitten as she fought to keep the wild animal out of her house. She is also being treated for rabies.
New Hampshire Fish and Game has the coyote and is taking it to be tested for rabies.
O’Reilly maintains the experience hasn’t put him and his family from going back out to nature, with the self acclaimed nature lovers said they ‘weren’t put off’.
