A North Carolina man is still recovering after a fight with a wild animal almost cost him his life. Now, James Pulliam is telling the unbelievable true story of how he survived the brutal attack.

It all started on Friday (May 16) when Pulliam was smoking outside of his home in Roxboro, N.C. According to him, everything was normal until he started to feel like something was watching him. “I just felt like he was hunting me or something,” Pulliam told The News and Observer.

Neighbors in the area said they heard and even seen coyotes occasionally but never up close. That is until Pulliam came face to face with one on that faithful Friday evening. The coyote soon launched its attack on the man, and chaos ensued.

“He jumped on me and I caught him in the air, he was biting me, and so when I threw him down and I’m trying to slide out of the way, he just kept coming,” Pulliam said. That’s when he tried to kick the coyote away, but then he tripped and fell. He tried yelling, but no one came to his rescue. It was at that moment that Pulliam said he realized he was in a fight for his life.

With adrenaline kicking in and survival instincts coming forth, Pulliam made a decision. “I had to rip my left hand out of his mouth, and when I got my left hand out, I just choked him all the way till the police got there,” he recalled.

That’s right…Pulliam had the wild animal in a head lock until the cops came, which took approximately 10 minutes. “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.”

Source: How NC Black Man Got Into a Battle With a Coyote and Won