May 27, 2025
Pulliam and neighbors say they have seen coyotes in the distance but this time something seemed off.
A Black man from Roxboro, North Carolina, can add superhero to his list of accomplishments after he took matters into his own hands and strangled a coyote, which later tested positive for rabies, ABC 11 reports.
James Pulliam came face to face with the fierce beast May 16 while taking a smoke break by his apartment complex entrance. Pulliam and neighbors say they have seen coyotes in the distance, but this time, something seemed off.
“I felt something watching me…I just felt like he was hunting me or something,” Pulliam said.
And then one came out of the nearby woods and attacked him. The Roxboro resident tried to fend him off, kicking and throwing rocks, but then he fell to the ground, allowing the coyote to move in closer and bite Pulliam a few times.
“He jumped on me and I caught him in the air, he was biting me, and so when I threw him down, I’m trying to slide out of the way, he just kept coming,” he said.
After his screams went unheard, Pulliam physically pulled his hand out of the coyote’s mouth and started to choke him. “I just grabbed [him] by the throat,” he said. “I was on top of him and put my knee in his throat. And I ain’t let go. I had my hand on his throat and my knee on his throat,” the man said, according to WRAL News.
Someone near the incident called the police. Pulliam said when law enforcement arrived, the animal was dead.
Pulliam went to a local hospital to have his injuries taken care of, but will have to go back for a series of shots since the bite later tested positive for rabies. Pulliam doesn’t see himself as a hero, even though he said he didn’t want the animal to attack anyone else. He feels people won’t believe what happened; however, on social media, people are praising him for his bravery.
One user said, “Give this man a medal,” while another said, “Damn, bro, he’s a legend in my book.”
@Therainvvs reminded people that Black people aren’t the ones coyotes want to play with. “That’s wild that Coyote ain’t know black folks don’t play,” the user wrote.
While Pulliam hasn’t been officially diagnosed with rabies, he will be examined. Any person, like Pulliam, who has been exposed to rabies should seek rabies vaccinations immediately. Rabies symptoms include nausea, vomiting, agitation, anxiety, and confusion, similar to the flu. The Mayo Clinic defines rabies as a deadly virus normally spread to people through the saliva of infected animals, with no effective treatment. Coyotes are included in the list of U.S.-based animals, such as foxes, bats, stray dogs, raccoons, and skunks, known to carry.
But Pulliam says it was a simple matter of the animal or him.
“I was afraid, don’t get me wrong, but it’s either me or him,” Pulliam said.
Wildlife experts encourage North Carolina residents to make loud noises and wave their arms to scare rabies-positive or rabies-negative coyotes away if they ever encounter one.
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