11-Year-Old Rescues Toddler From Coyote

New Jersey Boy Saves 22-Month-Old Nephew From Mauling By Wild Animal In Backyard

(AP)  A Middletown 11-year-old is a hero for helping save his toddler nephew from being mauled by a coyote.

Ryan Palludan helped free 22-month-old nephew Liam Sadler from the animal's jaws and then chased the coyote into the woods.

State wildlife officials are saying it could be the first coyote attack on a human in New Jersey.

Playing in the back yard of his Middletown Township home with his 22-month-old nephew over the weekend, Ryan Palludan, 11, first thought the animal that bolted into the yard just before dark was a deer.

But when it grabbed little Liam Sadler, Palludan instinctively sprang into action, yelling and kicking at the attacker which was later determined to be a coyote.

"It ran real fast, and in 10 seconds it was on Liam's back, biting the back of his head and his neck," Palludan said. "My dad and I chased it into the woods, and my sister got Liam inside.

"My dad turned to walk away and it came running back at him. I yelled, 'Dad, it's coming for you!' and he chased it away again. But it didn't go all the way into the woods," Palludan explained. "It was kind of staying on the edge."

The toddler's grandfather, Philip Palludan, who is familiar with coyotes having seen them in the western U.S., said the animal that attacked the toddler was about the size of a German shepherd.

Authorities were still looking for the animal Tuesday.

Township administrator Robert Czech said that while officials do not have independent confirmation, the attack on the toddler and the descriptions of a few other possible sightings may mean coyotes are lurking in nearby neighborhoods. The township is some 40 miles southwest of New York City.

Liam, who lives in Crestview, Florida, is undergoing a series of rabies shots as a precaution. He suffered bites on his head and neck, but is doing fine, relatives said.

Coyotes who venture into populated area have been in the news recently in other places. Last week, one sauntered into a Chicago sandwich restaurant through an open door, and plopped down inside a walk-in cooler filled with soda and juice before animal control officers removed it.

And on Tuesday, a coyote caused a stir in downtown Detroit, running loose for about one hour before being captured by local animal control officers.

[sisterflash]

Middletown is very Surburban maybe now more urban and between Redbank (coastal) and Holmdel. That being said NJ use to be the most densely populated state in the nation. Not sure if it has lost that status.

I think most of the farms in that area that made NJ beautiful and the garden state there might be gone now.

In the late 70s and 80s I never saw or heard a coyote. Fox yes not coyote. I was often out on my horses near the base in Middletown riding or in Holmdel area...never a coyote. Being from out west I know coyote, wolf, lion and bear. I never saw any of these predators in NJ in Momouth County.

Was this a hybrid wolf or really a coyote or possibly a red wolf?
learn the what is going on with the wolves in my town. wolfcrossing.org

[kiddo88]

My backyard includes, mmm: a few coyotes, a small pack of wolves, one big male black bear, a fisher, and every 7 years a mountain lion.

Lets just say we dont go for a hike without a gun.

Now I dont know if Middleton is rural urban or suburban, but when you live near the wilderness you have to be careful.

[cntrygrllst]

Jester 188 just to let you know, I am a professional and you have responded as I figured someone of your degree would, Thankyou for the input my studies will be furthered by you retort..
Have a wonderful day. Oh and by the way I don't live in Kansas or in a trailer, I probably own your apartment.

[lisa196767]

first off I feel for this family to half to go through something like this , i live in florida were we half to watch out for the gators , i have send foxes that don't go near humans at all see the thing that people don't understand is that they are building so much and the animals land is be taken away if we are building every were what happens to the animals they come to our back yards for food water what evr they need it may not be right but they were here first , I see animals getting killed on the roads all the time because they just don't have any were to go any more and really that is not there fault they are just trying to live like us and i truly feel that most animals will not make it into the future and that would be so sad .
thanks Lisa

[sisterflash]

I use to live near Middletown. People need to understand that wild members of the dog family will disperse and get habitual around people. We do need to protect ourselves.

Not sure why this got so much coverage when we have habitual goverment (you paid for these wolves) running around in our yards and if they want to snack on our pets that is their right. Protected by the goverment.

We have had childeren nearly attacked (dog intercepted), boy circled by wolves, man attacked on horseback but no one notices and the stories are covered up. Everyone seams to love the wolves and thinks this behaviour is ok. Please do educate yourself on the truth about wolves and habitual members of the dog family.

See what smokey the bear knew about wolves and coyotes
http://www.wolfcrossing.org/docs/realitybites.pdf

http://www.wolfcrossing.org/

Become aware that this is not a wildlife or protecting wildlife issue this is a saftey issue. Do you want your tax money spent to slaughter horses and threaten childeren?

[gramto7]

duhrer wrote:
Point #5 Coyotes are not dangerous if you know how to live in harmony with nature... which in GA, I don't think is possible

***

I must argue this point with you! I don't know Wity.. am sorry to hear this being is from these beautiful mountains. But it is indeed possible for people in Georgia to live in harmony with nature. Not only do I live in harmony, I even had a wolf for a pet until I had to give her to someone with more land for her to run.. I cried when she left. She was my baby. My grandkids love her as much as I do.

My favorite things to do are to listen to all the birds, watch the deer go through the yard, see the rabbits, and watch the owls and pileated woodpeckers.

[sclaires]

Well, after all the wild animals were here first and now man has taken over their habitat with malls, buildings, concrete, etc. Before the white man started coming here, the Native Americans lived in tune with nature and the animals but that is not the case now. Perhaps we should sit back and look at what we have done wrong that encourages wild animals to come into yards, soft drink coolers, etc.

At least the 11 year old has the sense to realize that something was wrong and was able to rescue his nephew. Maybe a TALL fence will keep future coyotes out of the yard.

[kaiyo4u]

A .22 works fine on a coyote--oh too bad, New Jerseyites--your governor won't let you own one. You have a Constitutional right to own a firearm! Maybe John Corzine can help.
Posted by gkc99 at 08:03 PM : Apr 11, 2007

I like using my 7 mag, it stops them dead in their tracks

[mo005]

Was the kid a black babie, we can just call on jessie and Big Al to go after it.

[gkc99]

A .22 works fine on a coyote--oh too bad, New Jerseyites--your governor won't let you own one. You have a Constitutional right to own a firearm! Maybe John Corzine can help.

[duhrer]

Oh my goodness. The big bad human race is at it again. We do have dominion over the animals, it says so in the Bible. Read it you might learn something.
Posted by retmilspouse at 04:30 PM : Apr 11, 2007

If the shoe fits... the big bad human race should wear it. I don't see other animals blowing each other up, or *** each other over for a bigger cut of the profit.

Depending on which version, which edition (old vs new) and which interpretation (Mary Baker Eddy, Pat Robertson, Branch Davidian), women who wear the clothing of men are an abomination in the eyes of God (old test). Somehow in light of all the inconsistencies which "true-believers" tend to ignore or explain away frivolously, the bible holds no truths that it doesn't contradict somewhere else. A book, written by men, in a dead language, translated into a dying language, edited by a parade of Kings and laypeople, and regurgitated to the masses for consumption with the claim it is the direct word of God. It is reflective of a religion(s) designed to make slaves more compliant by promising a better world after this one... so why should they care about abusing this one? Herein lies the fundamental phallacy of the "big-three".

[gunnerone2]

In the mountains where I live, black bear sightings are not uncommon in town. So are red fox and coyotes. In fact we had four red foxes living in our backyard for a time. They lived here first so we were intruding on their space.
Encounters, like the above story, will continue to happen as these animals lose more land to development. We need to find some way to control and or stop development so this situation doesn't get any worst. I am really tired of seeing beautiful mountain areas torn up so developers can get rich. Once they get their money they leave and we are left with parking lots and shopping centers instead of the green open space we had before. Not to mention more pollution and traffic.

[me4prezz]

I guess I should add on and mention that I have no problem with coyotes at all or other animals. It is just that if something or someone or anything really tries to hurt my kids, I have that mother's instinct to protect and I go into hyperdrive. I have done it before and will again. Mother's will understand what I mean and the mother of that toddler is probably going her nephew a hundred thousand thank-yous and taking him out to Chuck-E-Cheese.

[me4prezz]

Unfortunately, with humans reaching an all time high in population, we are just naturally going to be taking more and more land area. We have to share the earth with animals and we are taking the lions's share. Animals have a remarkable capacity for surviving and adapting and coyotes are no exception.

This little boy had remarkable courage and I am glad that the toddler is doing well. It could have turned much worse. Had it been my kids, I would still have been kicking that coyote to ***. Mother's instinct you see....

[duhrer]

Why do some people feel the need to make fun of people from the south?
Posted by retmilspouse at 04:23 PM : Apr 11, 2007

That's an incredibly naive question. As a recovering Texan, I can tell you... Southerners like to picture themselves as the genteel suthuners from GA, W.VA, Kentucky and others of the refined yesteryear ilk. Instead, more often than not, we are confronted by the boorish, uncultured, provincial, bible-thumping, wife-beater-t-shirt-wearing, bear-swilling, confederate-flag-waving (what's wrong with that?... cluelessness). Too much evidence of lingering blatant racism in the South doesn't help the image. Whenever someone points to the bible (which version of God's word did you say you use?) as proof of anything, people of reason tend to switch off and stereotypes of the aforementioned brutes are reinforced. The huge white building in Pasadena Texas with the 6 foot high letters "KKK" also doesn't help. All the paved roads, colleges and buildings don't change that.

[mainemade]

If that 11 yr old child hadn't been observant, the toddler would have become dinner. Kudo's to him for being such a brave young man and saving his nephew!
No natural predators left, no hunting, no trapping and fewer and fewer places left for the animals of this world and this will happen more.

[soldat44]

a perfect example of why the human animal species is such mess, and is causing such a mess on this planet. They learn their behavior from an old book full of superstitious nonsense written 2,000 years ago.
Posted by DaveGF


Peace be with you.

[kaiyo4u]

Coyotes are making a comeback. They were almost non-existent when I was growing up in rural America. For those you animal rights activists who say we are encroaching on the coyotes turf, you're dead wrong. They are making a very good comeback since fur trading has been made almost non-existent by you. Their numbers are reaching such proportions that they are considered pests in many areas and have no bag limit under some state hunting regulations. They are very opportunistic and are known to love to eat your favorite domestic cat as well as small dogs right from your back porch. They will also kill a calf as the cow is birthing it. A coyote as big as a German Shepard was probably a coy-dog. Which results from some irresponsible pet owner not neutering their pet.
I am a hunter, but I do believe in balance. Since the coyotes do not have any natural predators, lets re-introduce the wolf in all the regions where it once roamed to keep the coyote populations in check. They will also help to keep the ruminant populations in check too. Of course, I am assuming the animal activists would be for this since this would keep those prey from dying lingering deaths from overpopulation by such things as starvation and disease.
But one thing animal activists have to remember is: This land was managed by humans ten thousand years before the Europeans arrived here.

[mountainzen]

Then the coyote was seen returning to the ACME brand drafting table and working on "Plan B..."

[davegf]

retmilspouse....a perfect example of why the human animal species is such mess, and is causing such a mess on this planet. They learn their behavior from an old book full of superstitious nonsense written 2,000 years ago.