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Toddler attacked by Coyote, OC Cemetery

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Coyote Bites, Drags 2-Year-Old Girl at Orange County Cemetery

The girl was with her mother when the animal bit her twice and tried to drag her into nearby bushes.

By Willian Avila and Vikki Vargas

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Coyote-Bites-Drags-Toddler-at-OC-Cemetery-216600781.html

|  Tuesday, Jul 23, 2013  |  Updated 10:44 PM PDTVikki Vargas

OC Toddler Attacked by Coyote

View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

 

A two-year-old girl was attacked by a coyote when she and her mother where visiting her grandmother’s grave at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cyprus. State Fish and Wildlife wardens have called the attack a public safety issue. The young girl is recovering at home. Vikki Vargas reports from Long Beach for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on July 23, 2013.

A 2-year-old girl was recovering Tuesday after being bitten and nearly dragged away by a coyote at a Cypress cemetery.

The attack happened while the toddler was on a visit with her family at Forest Lawn Memorial Park at 4471 Lincoln Ave. about 3:15 p.m. July 18, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

The girl was with her mother when the animal bit her twice, as shown in the photo below, and tried to drag her away before her mother intervened.

“The image of her being dragged over headstones, helplessly grabbing the ground – all I knew is, I had to get her. I had to save her. I didn’t want her to be taken into the bushes,” mother Michelle Luper said.

Luper described a tug-of-war between she and the wild animal.

“When I screamed, the coyote let go and started growing at me, so I just grabbed her and tried to put distance between us,” Luper said.

Clarissa was taken to the hospital, where she was treated for rabies. She has two rabies treatments left to undergo.

“If there was not someone there to rescue this girl, the coyote may have succeeded in dragging her off,” said Mark Michilizzi, a Fish and Wildlife warden.

Michilizzi said coyote attacks on people are rare, but they when happen “it’s a serious issue.”

Fish and Wildlife officers killed three coyotes near where the attack took place, hoping to warn any other coyotes roaming the property.

“Even if we’re not getting the right one, they’re very smart animals,” Assistant Chief Dan Sforza, with Fish and Wildlife said.

“Once we’re out there and we’re taking one out of the pack, they aren’t a problem anymore. They’re quick learners.”

It was believed that one of the three coyotes killed was the one that attacked the girl. Michilizzi said the clothes the girl was wearing were collected to see if DNA matches a sample that will be taken from the coyotes.

The coyotes tested negative for rabies.

The cemetery has since put up signs warning about coyotes in the area and set up traps throughout the sprawling 100-acre memorial park. Still, officials say it’s difficult to corral wild animals searching for food and natural habitat.

 

Coyote Cut

Forest Lawn Cemetery Attack

 

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Coyote hunted his baby boy

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Irvine father: ‘Huge’ coyote hunted his baby boy

The animal rushed at the 6’3″ 185-pound dad, but stopped short of attacking him.Article Tab: An Irvine man says a coyote charged him early Friday morning, but stopped short of attacking him.

By THOMAS MARTINEZ / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
IRVINE – An Irvine father says a large, aggressive coyote charged him at full speed at the front door of his townhome before finally backing down just 3 feet away – and he’s convinced the predator was after his 1-year-old son.Nick Falangas found the coyote lingering at his front door, which he had left slightly open, around 1:15 a.m. Friday. The professional photographer was moving gear from his vehicle to his home, and it took several trips. When he returned from his vehicle, he scared it away, but it didn’t go far, he said.

Article Tab: An Irvine man says a coyote charged him early Friday morning, but stopped short of attacking him.

An Irvine man says a coyote charged him early Friday morning, but stopped short of attacking him.

BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER     MORE PHOTOS »

 

 

 Instead, it did something Falangas had never seen before: It turned around, started creeping toward him, and then broke out into a “full-fledged run” right at him. It stopped short of attacking him – but it was snarling and posturing – as was Falangas.

The coyote backed away but did not leave, and was still acting aggressive, so Falangas rushed inside and closed his front door.

The 6-foot-3-inch, 185-pound man says he has often encountered coyotes while shooting photos in fields, and he said they usually are skittish. This one, which he estimated to be about 50 pounds, was different – as if it really wanted something and wasn’t going to give up.

He believes the coyote was after his son because the baby boy had been up crying with the flu, and his bedroom window faces the open field near Jeffrey Road and Smoketree Lane where coyotes are often seen. They have killed several of his neighbors’ pets, but he never thought his son would be in danger.

His wife was asleep in their bedroom, and the family’s loud air-conditioner was running, so she would not likely have heard the coyote approaching the baby’s room, he said.

Coyotes are predatory animals and like to feed on rabbits, domestic cats and even small domestic dogs, said Ryan Drabek, director of the county’s animal services department.

They hunt all year but tend to be much more active and visible in late summer and fall, he said. The county has not conducted a study to determine if coyotes are being more brazen this season compared to previous years, he said.

Irvine Police dispatch confirmed that a report of the incident was called in around 3 a.m. Friday, but animal control officers and the department’s spokeswoman could not be reached for details of what, if any, action was taken.

Contact the writer: tmartinez@ocregister.comor 714-796-7955

See article here:  http://www.ocregister.com/news/coyote-371497-falangas-coyotes.html

coyote attack, Two women bitten by coyotes in Palm Desert

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Palm Desert woman bitten by coyote: Amy Williams, 69, was taking her daily, early morning walk Sunday June 24, 2012 in Sun City Palm Desert when she felt something hit against her leg. The last thing she expected to see when she turned was a coyote.

Palm Desert woman bitten by coyote
coyote
Amy Williams, 69,was taking her daily walk in Sun City Palm Desert when he felt something hit against her leg. The last thing she expected to see was a coyote. She talks about the attck in her home, Monday June 25, 2012. Denise Goolsby, The Desert Sun.

Palm Desert – Two women have been bitten by coyotes in Sun City Palm Desert within the past week and a half, according to Riverside County Animal Services.

In the most recent attack, Amy Williams, 69, was taking her daily walk about 4:30 a.m. Sunday when she felt something hit against the back of her leg.

She turned around and standing behind her, in the dusky dark, was a coyote.

“I slapped my hands and I stepped back, but he didn’t run away,” she said. “He wasn’t afraid of me at all.”

Williams, 69, continued slapping her hands together while stepping away slowly.

“He just stayed there. I started walking away, and when I looked back over my shoulder he was still standing there.”

Her son took Williams to Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, where she was treated and was given a rabies shot. She has to go back to get checked again Wednesday.

White gauze was wrapped around the wound on Williams’ right calf, securing a bandage that had been placed over the wound, which required stitches.

She said the bite didn’t hurt much, but she wondered why she didn’t hear the coyote approach.

“I’m still trying to figure out how he came up behind me,” she said.

She took a cane for protection on her walk this morning.

The other attack happened about 7 p.m. June 14. Another 69-year-old woman was bitten while she was pulling weeds from her flower bed, according to the community association’s website. She threw some rocks to try to frighten the animal, then went inside her home. She drove to urgent care where she was treated and released.

U.S. Department of Agriculture staff trapped a coyote from the June 14 attack. It was later humanely destroyed and transported to a lab, according to John Welsh, spokesman for Riverside County Animal Services.

A California Fish & Game warden shot and killed a coyote within the area where the victim was bitten Sunday.

Both coyotes – a male and a female – tested negative for rabies, said California Department of Fish & Game spokesman Andrew Hughan.

Fish & Game and Riverside County Animal Services officials say it is unusual for coyotes to bite a human.

Hughan said he’s never had a report of a coyote biting a human in his three years with the department.

Welsh said he hasn’t heard of a report in his six years as a county spokesman.

Coyotes tend to try and avoid contact with people.

However, residents near wilderness areas do often cross paths with so-called urban coyotes that seek easy food and water sources, such as what pet owners leave out for their dogs and cats.

Also, small animals are often targeted by urban coyotes.

The lack of winter rains may also see a rise in such sightings, state Fish & Game and Riverside County experts say.

Gwen Ganger and Diane Zaelke live on the golf course at Sun City Palm Desert, not far from Williams’ home.

“The coyotes come across Del Webb (Boulevard) and walk right across the patio and keep going,” Ganger said, pointing just outside a sliding glass door. “They’re bold.”

They’ve seen two, at different times, in the past week.

“They’re not bashful,” Zaelke said. “People don’t seem to bother them a bit.”

Written by  Denise Goolsby
The Desert Sun

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20120625/NEWS08/120625010/Two-women-bitten-by-coyotes-Palm-Desert

Coyotes In The News November 10, 2011

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