Coyote follows US doctor into surgery

A US surgeon in South Carolina has had a hair-raising encounter with a coyote who followed him into his clinic.

Video filmed outside Dr Steven Polletti’s surgery shows the doctor arriving at work on Wednesday morning.

Dr Polletti opens the entrance door and walks in, not noticing the coyote slipping in behind him.

The surgeon said he felt something brush against his heels once he was inside, and the coyote growled at him as they stood facing each other on the stairwell.

"It was pretty startling," he said. "I got the impression it was as freaked-out as I was," Dr Polletti told The Post and Courier.

"I was thinking, 'I don't want him to bite me on the hand because I'm a surgeon.'"

Dr Polletti said he jangled his keys to make some noise and the video shows him running out of the building.

The coyote followed him outside for a short while before getting distracted by a squirrel, he said.

Dr Polletti notified police and animal control said he was told to hire a trapper.