Woman followed by large, dark shape in the experimental forest on the campus of SUNY College witnessed in Cortland County, New York

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I was cutting through the College's small managed forest to get to work. It was early evening, but midwinter, so very dark. I was raised in upstate NY, and felt comfortable hiking in familiar woods alone at night, even though female, and I knew the trail well. It cut from the main campus near the track and ended in a small corn or wheat field bordering a quiet avenue about 40-60 acres away. The night was dark. There was no moon, yet my way was faintly lit by starlight, reflected on about 6 inches of old snow. About a third of the way through the woods I became aware of the sound of twigs breaking behind me and to my left about twenty yards or so. At first I thought it was a dog, or fox, because the animal was following me at a steady pace, but keeping really quiet, and off the trail just inside the cover of the trees. This made me uneasy because there had been reports of rabid "coy-dogs" in the area, so I quickened my pace a little, keeping track of the animal, expecting it wou...