Coyote attacks are events where coyotes attack humans. While these attacks are uncommon and rarely cause serious injuries, they have been increasing in frequency, especially in California. Although media reports generally identify the animals as simply "coyotes", some attackers in northeast North America may be hybrids known as coywolves.
Coyote attacks on humans are uncommon events and rarely cause serious injuries, but have been increasing in frequency, especially in California. In the 30 years leading up to March 2006, at least 160 attacks occurred in the United States, mostly in the Los Angeles County area. [1] Data from the United States Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other sources show that while 41 attacks occurred during the 10-year period of 1988–1997, 48 attacks were verified during the 6-year period of 1998 through 2003. The majority of these incidents occurred in Southern California near the wildland-suburban interface. [2]
Coyotes are losing their fear of humans, which is further worsened by people intentionally or unintentionally feeding coyotes. [2] In such situations, some coyotes have begun to act aggressively toward humans—chasing joggers and bicyclists, confronting people walking their dogs, and stalking small children. [2]
Although media reports of such attacks generally identify the animals in question as simply "coyotes", research into the genetics of the eastern coyote indicates those involved in attacks in northeast North America, including Pennsylvania, New York, New England, and Eastern Canada, may have actually been coywolves, hybrids of Canis latrans and wolves. [3]
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Two fatal coyote attacks on humans have been confirmed by experts:
The following table includes non-fatal attacks involving notable individuals or 2+ victims from the same animal or group of animals.
| Date | State or Provence | Country | Victims | Age | Short summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1997 | California - San Juan Capistrano | United States | 2 | Unknown | Two female victims: Ankle bitten twice, pulled to ground. [8] |
| December 17, 1997 | Arizona - Scottsdale | United States | 2 | Children | On December 17, 1997, coyotes bit two children in Scottsdale, Arizona. Neither child had serious injuries. [9] |
| May 31, 1999 [a] | California - South Lake Tahoe | United States | 2 | Unknown | Both victims bitten. [8] |
| October 2001 | California - San Clemente | United States | 2 | Children | In October 2001, in San Clemente, a coyote attacked several children on a schoolyard. An 8-year-old girl was bitten on the back of her neck and scratched. A 7-year-old boy was bitten on his back and arm. [8] |
| April 2006 | Washington - Bellevue | United States | 2 | Children | In April 2006, two coyotes bit two young children in Bellevue, Washington. The coyotes were euthanized afterwards. [10] |
| April 6, 2010 | Texas - Port Aransas | United States | 2 | Teens | On August 6, 2010, in Port Aransas, Texas, two Boys Scouts, 14 and 15 years old, from San Antonio, were bitten by a coyote while sleeping outside their tent on the beach. The boys received preventive rabies shots. [11] |
| September 2011 [b] | Colorado - Broomfield | United States | 3 | Children | During a period of two months, from July to September 2011, three children between the ages of two and six were bitten by a coyote in Broomfield, Colorado. [12] All four encounters are thought to have involved the same adult male coyote, who was euthanised. [13] |
| March 2012 | Arizona - Peoria | United States | 3 | Adults | In March 2012, a coyote bit two women and a man in Peoria, Arizona. [14] |
| January 14, 2014 | Ontario - Markham | Canada | 2 | Adults | On January 20, 2014, in Markham, Ontario, two women were bitten by canids, probably coyotes. [15] |
| June 23, 2014 | Ontario - Thornhill | Canada | 2 | Adults | On June 23, 2014, in a residential area Thornhill, Ontario, two women were attacked by two wild canids (thought to be coyotes, coywolves, coydogs, or lupine feral dogs), biting one of them on the leg and the other on the hip. Both began preventive treatment for rabies. [16] [17] |
| December 25, 2014 | California - Fremont | United States | 2 | Adult & child | On December 25, 2014, in Fremont, California, an unhealthy-looking coyote bit the leg of a man walking his children to his car outside a home. The man and the children escaped into the house. After the attack, a boy was bitten by the coyote about a block away, but saved by his father. Police arrived, shot the coyote, and sent the body to be tested for rabies. [18] |
| January 5, 2015 | Massachusetts - Groveland | United States | 2 | Adults | On January 5, 2015, in Groveland, Massachusetts two men were attacked by a coyote outside their houses. One of them had his four-year-old daughter with him. [19] |
| October 14, 2015 | California - Irvine | United States | 2 | Adult & child | On October 14, 2015, a 31-year-old man and his 3-year-old son were attacked by a coyote while they were in a garden. [20] |
| October 2, 2016 | New York - Wolcott | United States | 2 | Adults | On October 2, 2016, a coyote bit two women and a dog in Wolcott, New York. [21] |
| November 30, 2016 | New York - Ossining | United States | 2 | Adults | On November 30, 2016, two neighborhood residents, and a dog were bitten by a possibly rabid coyote in Ossining, New York. [22] [23] |
| May 19, 2018 | North Carolina - Mocksville | United States | 2 | Adult & child | On May 19, 2018, a man and his seven-year-old daughter in Mocksville, North Carolina were assaulted by a coyote in their backyard. [24] |
| July 2018 | Quebec - Ahuntsic-Cartierville | Canada | 3 | Children | In late July 2018, coyotes in Ahuntsic-Cartierville (a borough within the city of Montreal) mauled a five-year-old boy, a five-year-old girl and a three-year-old girl. [25] [26] |
| October 3, 2018 [c] | Illinois - Elwood | United States | 3 | Adults | In September–October 2018, a coyote in Elwood, Illinois assaulted three adults. They all received rabies treatment. A police officer euthanized the animal. [27] |
| January 26, 2019 | Florida - Kissimmee | United States | 3 | Adults | On January 26, 2019, a man in Kissimmee, Florida was assaulted by a coyote while walking down a street. While he successfully ended it off, the animal later assaulted the man's wife and their neighbor. All three received rabies treatment. [28] |
| April 1, 2019 | Vermont - Salisbury | United States | 2 | Adults | On April 1, 2019, a rabid coyote in Salisbury, Vermont assaulted an elderly couple on their farm. The couple successfully recovered in a Middlebury hospital due to rabies treatment. [29] |
| June 13, 2019 | New Jersey - Fairfield | United States | 2 | Adult & child | On June 13, 2019, a coyote in Fairfield, New Jersey mauled a thirty-four-year-old woman and her four-year-old son in Fairfield's recreational complex. [30] |
| September 1, 2019 | South Carolina - Columbia | United States | 4 | Adults | On September 1, 2019, a rabid coyote in Columbia, South Carolina assaulted four people and two domesticated dogs around an apartment complex. [31] [32] |
| November 18, 2019 | New Jersey - New Brunswick | United States | 2 | Adults | On November 14 and November 18, 2019, an "unusually aggressive" coyote in the Rutgers Ecological Preserve, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey attacked and bit two separate people on two occasions. Rutgers police officers killed it, and it tested negative for rabies. [33] |
| October 1, 2020 | Maryland - Rockville | United States | 3 | Adults & child | On October 1, 2020, two women and a boy in Rockville, Maryland were pursued by a rabid coyote. All three victims were treated for rabies afterwards. [34] |
| March 12, 2021 | California | United States | 5 | Adults & children | On March 12, 2021, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced it had captured and euthanized a coyote that had attacked five people (two of whom were children) in the towns of Moraga and Lafayette since July 2020. [35] One of the children was a 2-year-old boy who was bitten on July 9, 2020 on the leg near Moraga Commons Park's restrooms. [36] [37] |
| June 21, 2021 | Alberta - Nolan Hill | Canada | 2 | Adult & child | On June 21, 2021, a forty-one-year-old woman and her five-year-old daughter in Nolan Hill, Alberta were mauled by a coyote. [38] |
| July 7, 2021 | British Columbia - Stanley Park | Canada | 3 | Adults | On July 7, 2021, a coyote in British Columbia's Stanley Park mauled a man who was practicing yoga. It also mauled a runner and a woman who came to the runner's aid. [39] |
| August 12, 2022 | California - Marin Headlands | United States | 1 | Adult | On August 12, 2022, a coyote allegedly mauled Dean Karnazes during a race in Marin Headlands, and he fended it off with a jogging pole. [40] |
From the information gathered, we now list 89 coyote attacks in California (incidents when one or more coyotes made physical contact with a child or adult, or attacked a pet while in close proximity to its owner) (Table 1). In 56 of these attacks, one or more persons suffered an injury. In 77 additional encounters (not listed), coyotes stalked children, chased individuals, or aggressively threatened adults. In 35 incidents (not all listed), where coyotes stalked or attacked small children, the possibility of serious or fatal injury seems likely if the child had not been rescued.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)York Regional Police and the Ontario SPCA are hunting for two animals believed to be coyotes or feral German shepherds in Markham, just north of Toronto, after two women were injured in attacks Monday. hi-coyote-istock-3col Police are looking for two wild animals they suspect could be coyotes, similar to the one pictured here, after two residents north of Toronto were attacked. (istock) The animals chased several people in the Huntington Park neighbourhood and attacked two women on Monday afternoon.
York Regional Police are still searching for two "coyote-like" animals after they attacked two women and chased several residents into their homes in a Thornhill neighbourhood. "Right now the general belief is that they are coyotes or perhaps a hybrid," says Sergeant Clint Whitney.
Const. Laura Nicole with York Regional Police said they are confident the animals are wild. "These are wild, feral animals, whether they're dogs or coyotes, we don't believe these are domesticated animals whatsoever," she said.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Animal bites and stings | |
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