A small coyote is pictured at night. A man riding his electric scooter through Stanley Park late Sunday crashed into one of the animals just before midnight, according to police. (Shutterstock / MelaniWright - image credit)
It's dark on the north side of the Stanley Park seawall at night.
Thus, a man riding his electric scooter in the area just before midnight on Sunday likely didn't see it coming before he crashed into a coyote in his path.
The impact — according to police, who highlighted the bizarre encounter on Monday — knocked the man off his scooter. Officers said he fell to the pavement and injured his collarbone.
Then it got worse.
"While he was on the ground, a couple of coyotes began to nip at him — biting at his jacket and his clothing," said Const. Steve Addison.
Addison said the man fended off the animals and flagged down a passerby, who called 911.
B.C. Emergency Health Services confirmed paramedics were called to respond to a "multiple animal situation" on the seawall between Lumbermen's Arch and the Lions Gate Bridge. The man was hospitalized in stable condition, according to an email.
The run-in is at least the 17th incident since December in which a coyote has bitten a human in Stanley Park.
All the biting incidents since Christmas have involved adults walking or running in the park, most often between dusk and dawn. People in the park should not feed coyotes or leave food out for animals, say wildlife officials.
Anyone who has an encounter with an aggressive coyote is asked to call the provincial RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277