Our Experience at the Yellow River Game Ranch

Before the chaos began

A wild coyote, loose from his enclosure, chased us down and bit my 3-year-old niece in the thumb. This may sound like a new movie or a line from an exciting book - but it really happened to us at the Yellow River Game Ranch this morning.

My niece Cameron spent Tuesday night with us and I thought it would be a great idea to take her to the Game Ranch before she went home Wednesday afternoon. We arrived a few minutes early and chatted up the staff before entering with the excitement of seeing wild animals up close and personal. We didn't anticipate the adventure that we would encounter, however.

After feeding the coyotes and making our way towards another exhibit, we spotted a loose coyote making his way near us. Before we knew it, he was right behind us. He wasn't acting strangely, so we threw a cracker his way. That was a mistake. He bit Cameron's thumb and nearly pulled her down by biting her jacket. With her screaming and crying, I threw down the rest of our crackers (4 full sleeves), picked her up and ran with him chasing after us the entire way. He followed us all the way to the entrance door.

After washing, cleaning and sanitizing the wound, Cameron was offered any toy in the store and a sucker. Her thumb is okay and there was no blood, luckily. She'll be checked out by her doctor in McDonough today. But the surprising fact was that the owners told us that "someone broke in last night and let some of the animals out." How were we ever allowed to enter without the animals being secure?

We were so glad to get in the car and go home. Now I can only hope that Cameron's mom and dad will allow her to come visit Aunt La-La and Uncle Jimbo again.

UPDATE: The coyote was captured and put down by Gwinnett County Animal Control. The CDC is investigating.