The Fast and the Four-Legged

It's not often that we hear amazing stories of animals surviving after getting caught up in the inner-workings of a car, but today we bring you not one but two stunning tales of critters defying the odds.

The first involves a coyote aptly named Tricky. Daniel East and his sister Tevyn were driving along the Nevada-Utah border when they noticed some coyotes running nearby. At one point they heard a thud and assumed they had accidentally run over one of the animals. Assuming the creature had died, they opted to keep driving. They continued on their journey, driving another several hours to northern California where the siblings were set to start a new life in an artist community.

When they got to their destination about eight to 10 hours later they were stunned to see something furry trapped in the front grill of the car. "The animal flinches and my brother, who is usually cool as a cucumber, starts jumping around," Tevyn told WHIO-TV.

Realizing the animal was alive, they called animal control, who eased the coyote out after taking off the car's bumper. The little guy was taken to a rehabilitation facility where he promptly escaped. "We named him 'Tricky' for a reason," Daniel explained.

Back on the opposite coast, a feline should be renamed Lucky for surviving its wild ride. On Monday, Wilfredo Rodriguez was driving his 2005 Nissan Murano in the Bronx when he heard rattling coming from the engine area. After a quick look around he was shocked to see a cat's bushy tail and right front paw sticking out of the front end of the SUV.

"I said, 'Oh my God, I killed a cat,'" reports NBC New York. (And please click on the link to look at the amazing photo of the trapped kitty.)

But it turned out this cat hadn't gone through all of its nine lives yet. Two NYC Emergency Services Unit detectives were able to free the feline by removing the vehicle's battery and other parts. The lucky feline was then handed over to NYC Animal Care and Control, where a spokesman says it's doing well.

No word on whether the kitty and the coyote will collaborate on a book about their adventures. If they do we would totally buy it.

Photo courtesy of turtlemom4bacon via Flickr.