Coyote Awareness in Nashville, TN

June ' 2010

RYE, N.Y. –

Police say a 6-year-old girl was scratched and bitten by a pair of coyotes who charged her as she played with friends in the front yard of her suburban New York City home.

 The girl was treated and released from the hospital. She had bites on her shoulder, thigh and possibly on one ear. Her back had been scratched.

Police in the Westchester County city of Rye, about 30 miles northeast of Manhattan, said Saturday that they were searching for the coyotes.

Police Commissioner William Connors says they believe the animals may be rabid, given that coyotes rarely attack humans.

Connors didn't identify the girl or say where she lived. He says the girl's mother scared off the pair of coyotes.

 The attack happened about 9:15 p.m

June ' 2010

NY girl attacked by coyote in 2nd strike in 4 days

RYE, N.Y. — A coyote has attacked a 3-year-old girl playing in her backyard in suburban New York, the second coyote attack on a child in the same suburb within four days.

Rye Mayor Doug French says the 3-year-old was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after the Tuesday night attack. The girl's house is behind the Rye Nature Center, which is located on a 47-acre wildlife preserve.

The latest attack occurred as Rye Police Commissioner William Connors was addressing a group of residents about the last coyote attack.

On Friday, two coyotes attacked a 6-year-old girl in her front yard. She was treated for scratches and bites at a hospital and released.

The two attacks happened about 1.5 miles apart.

June , 2010

SAN DIEGO, CA

(Spring Valley) – A coyote attacked a 12-year-old girl shortly before 9:30 this evening at 9119 Jamacha Road in Spring Valley, just one block from the Spring Valley Library and La Presa Middle School, Heartland Dispatch and the San Diego Sheriff's office have confirmed.

 “Our report indicates the coyote jumped on her and she fell back and injured her elbow, but was not bitten,” Lt. Washington at the San Diego Sheriff’s department informed East County Magazine.

 In an interview with Channel 10 News, Alyssa Blackman said she was walking in the courtyard her her apartment complex when she heard something behind her. She turned around and the coyote jumped onto her, ripping the front of her shirt, which she showed on camera. "It looked like he was about to bite me so I kicked it in the stomach and it just left," she said.

 Her mother confirmed that she heard the girl "screaming, crying hysterically." The victim said she had seen a coyote in the apartment complex previously, just one day before, and that she was certain the animal that attacked her was a coyote, not a dog.

 Locally, some homeowners have recently cited concerns over aggressive coyote behavior.

 “My nine-year-old daughter was chased a few months ago while riding her horse on the trail,” Cate Sacks, who lives near Lake Jennings, told East County Magazine. “My son is a triathlon kid and so runs and bikes the hills…I worry every day that he might meet a hungry, confused coyote.” Sacks, who runs a dog shelter, said the coyotes in her area are “no longer small, scared animals…They are large, bold predators.”

Sacks blames the problem on an imbalance in nature, adding that she has not seen a mountain lion in her area. California began issuing hunting permits for mountain lions in 1990. Increasing residential development in backcountry areas has also increased contact between humans and coyotes in our region.

 In nearby Jamul and Blossom Valley, there have been a string of particularly aggressive coyote attacks recently on large animals. “My dogs were attacked by coyotes,” which is pretty surprising considering they’re 80-90 pounds each,” Susan Wedge advised neighbors in the Blossom Valley Network, an online community forum on June 12th. While reports of coyotes jumping fences taller than five or six feet are rare, Wedge said the coyotes jumped a six-foot-fence at her home on Broad Oaks by El Capitan Real, and injured her dogs, biting their hind legs. “We’ve had large dogs in our yard for six years without incident,” she said.

 Lori Signs, another Blossom Valley resident, said her Jack Russell terrier was attacked at 8:30 in the morning recently, also on Broad Oaks. “I threw my arms in the air, screamed at the top of my lungs and charged at the coyote, while my dog was viciously fighting the coyote back for his life,” she said. The coyote dropped her dog, which survived. A few weeks earlier, however, Signs said she witnessed a coyote walking down Quail Canyon carrying a small dog dead in its mouth. “Please keep an eye on your dogs,” she warned. “They need your protection. These coyotes have no fear.”

 Parents in areas frequented by coyotes should also keep an eye on children and avoid allowing young children to play unsupervised, even in fenced yards. Adults who walk or jog alone should exercise caution and consider bringing a friend. If you are approached by coyotes, making loud noises and waving your arms may frighten them off, as can throwing objects such as rocks if you are threatened. Carrying a walking stick, cane, air horn or whistle can also serve as a deterrent.