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.

Description

Coyote attacks on humans are uncommon events and rarely cause serious injuries.[1][2] In such events where a human is targeted, coyotes usually see children as prey as opposed to adults.[3] Coyotes (in general) are losing their fear of humans, which is further worsened by people intentionally or unintentionally feeding them.[4] 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.[4] However, others appear to have initially targeted a person's pet, which provoked sequential counter-attacks.[5] 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.[6]

According to Smithsonian magazine, at least 160 attacks occurred in the United States in the 30 years leading up to March 2006.[7] Most of these attacks occurred in the Los Angeles County, California area.[7] Another data collection specifically focused on that state was also conducted by the University of California, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services.[4] When fully compiled, the list named 89 verified coyote attacks that were recorded in California between May 1978 and November 2003. The criteria included "when one or more coyotes made physical contact with a child or adult or [the coyote] attacked a pet while in close proximity to its owner."[4] Another study published in 2004 documented 35 incidents in which a minor likely would have "serious or fatal injury" if they had not been rescued.[5]

List of attacks with human injuries

Fatal attacks

Two fatal coyote attacks on humans have been confirmed by experts:

  • On August 26, 1981, a coyote grabbed three-year-old Kelly Keen in the driveway of her father's home in Glendale, California, and dragged her across the road. Her father rescued her by chasing the coyote away and rushed her to a medical center, but she died in surgery due to blood loss and a broken neck.[4][8]
  • On October 27, 2009, two eastern coyotes (coywolves) mauled 19-year-old singer-songwriter Taylor Mitchell at Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia, Canada.[9] She was on a hiking break from her concert tour when they stalked and chased her down the Skyline Trail. An air ambulance airlifted her to a medical center, but she died a few hours later from severe injuries and blood loss.[10] A 2022 study by Stan Gehrt, wildlife ecologist at Ohio State University, revealed the coyotes had expanded their diet to include moose rather than their typical diet of smaller animals. It was concluded that the relative unavailability of smaller prey in the area due to the unique ecological characteristics of the Highlands led the coyotes to become accustomed to large targets, leading them to see the young woman as a potential food source.[11][12]

Non-fatal attacks

The following table includes non-fatal attacks on humans which are subject to a list criterion. These events only involve attacks with 2 or more (human) victims, or notable individuals.

DateState or ProvenceCountryVictimsAgeShort summary
January 1997California - San Juan CapistranoUnited StatesUnknownTwo female victims: Ankle bitten twice, pulled to ground.[5]
December 17, 1997Arizona - ScottsdaleUnited StatesChildrenOn December 17, 1997, coyotes bit two children in Scottsdale, Arizona. Neither child had serious injuries.[13]
May 31, 1999[a]California - South Lake TahoeUnited StatesUnknownBoth victims bitten.[5]
October 2001California - San ClementeUnited StatesChildrenIn 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.[5]
April 2006Washington - BellevueUnited StatesChildrenIn April 2006, two coyotes bit two young children in Bellevue, Washington. The coyotes were euthanized afterwards.[14]
April 6, 2010Texas - Port AransasUnited StatesTeensOn 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.[15]
September 2011[b]Colorado - BroomfieldUnited StatesChildrenDuring 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.[16] All four encounters are thought to have involved the same adult male coyote, who was euthanised.[17]
March 2012Arizona - PeoriaUnited StatesAdultsIn March 2012, a coyote bit two women and a man in Peoria, Arizona.[18]
January 14, 2014Ontario - MarkhamCanadaAdultsOn January 20, 2014, in Markham, Ontario, two women were bitten by canids, probably coyotes.[19]
June 23, 2014Ontario - ThornhillCanadaAdultsOn 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.[20][21]
December 25, 2014California - FremontUnited StatesAdult & childOn 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.[22]
January 5, 2015Massachusetts - GrovelandUnited StatesAdultsOn 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.[23]
October 14, 2015California - IrvineUnited StatesAdult & childOn 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.[24]
October 2, 2016New York - WolcottUnited StatesAdultsOn October 2, 2016, a coyote bit two women and a dog in Wolcott, New York.[25]
November 30, 2016New York - OssiningUnited StatesAdultsOn November 30, 2016, two neighborhood residents, and a dog were bitten by a possibly rabid coyote in Ossining, New York.[26][27]
May 19, 2018North Carolina - MocksvilleUnited StatesAdult & childOn May 19, 2018, a man and his seven-year-old daughter in Mocksville, North Carolina were assaulted by a coyote in their backyard.[28]
July 2018Quebec - Ahuntsic-CartiervilleCanadaChildrenIn 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.[29][30]
October 3, 2018[c]Illinois - ElwoodUnited StatesAdultsIn September–October 2018, a coyote in Elwood, Illinois assaulted three adults. They all received rabies treatment. A police officer euthanized the animal.[31]
January 26, 2019Florida - KissimmeeUnited StatesAdultsOn January 26, 2019, a man in Kissimmee, Florida was assaulted by a coyote while walking down a street. While he successfully fended it off, the animal later assaulted the man's wife and their neighbor. All three received rabies treatment.[32]
April 1, 2019Vermont - SalisburyUnited StatesAdultsOn 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.[33]
June 13, 2019New Jersey - FairfieldUnited StatesAdult & childOn 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.[34]
September 1, 2019South Carolina - ColumbiaUnited StatesAdultsOn September 1, 2019, a rabid coyote in Columbia, South Carolina assaulted four people and two domesticated dogs around an apartment complex.[35][36]
November 18, 2019New Jersey - New BrunswickUnited StatesAdultsOn 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.[37]
October 1, 2020Maryland - RockvilleUnited StatesAdults & childOn 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.[38]
March 12, 2021CaliforniaUnited StatesAdults & childrenOn 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.[39] 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.[40][41]
June 21, 2021Alberta - Nolan HillCanadaAdult & childOn June 21, 2021, a forty-one-year-old woman and her five-year-old daughter in Nolan Hill, Alberta were mauled by a coyote.[42]
July 7, 2021British Columbia - Stanley ParkCanadaAdultsOn 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.[43]
August 12, 2022California - Marin HeadlandsUnited StatesAdultOn August 12, 2022, a coyote allegedly mauled Dean Karnazes during a race in Marin Headlands, and he fended it off with a jogging pole.[44]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ This attack occurred in "Spring" which by definition ends on May 31.
  2. ^ The coyote was killed during this time
  3. ^ October 3rd is the given animal kill date

References

  1. ^ National Geographic. Vol. 218, no. 6. National Geographic Society. 2010.
  2. ^ Natural Areas Journal: A Quarterly Publication of the Natural Areas Association. Vol. 14. Natural Areas Association. 1994. p. 281.
  3. ^ Michael R. Conover, Denise O. Conover (2022). Human-Wildlife Interactions: From Conflict to Coexistence. CRC Press. ISBN 9780429685712.
  4. ^ Timm, Robert M.; Baker, Rex O.; Bennett, Joe R.; Coolahan, Craig C. (March 16-20, 2004). "Coyote Attacks: An Increasing Suburban Problem". Archived September 26, 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
  5. ^ Timm, Robert M., University of California, Davis; Baker, Rex O.; Bennett, Joe R.; Coolahan, Craig C. (2004-03-03). "Coyote Attacks: An Increasing Suburban Problem". Hopland Research and Extension Center. pp. 47–49. Archived 2012-05-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-06-25. 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.
  6. ^ Kays, Roland; Curtis, Abigail; Kirchman, Jeremy J. (2010). "Rapid adaptive evolution of northeastern coyotes via hybridization with wolves". Biology Letters. 6 (1): 89–93. Rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0575. PMC 2817252. PMID 19776058. Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2014-07-04.
  7. ^ Dell'Amore, Christine (March 2006). "City Slinkers". Smithsonian. Archived December 20, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  8. ^ Coyote Attacks on Children Archived 2018-11-19 at the Wayback Machine. Varmintal.com. Retrieved on July 9, 2011.
  9. ^ Caldwell, Emily (December 12, 2022). "Reliance on moose as prey led to rare coyote attack on human". Ohio State News. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  10. ^ "Canadian folk singer killed by coyotes, park official says". CNN. Archived 24 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  11. ^ Gehrt, Stanley D.; Muntz, Erich M.; Wilson, Evan C.; Power, Jason W.B.; Newsome, Seth D. (March 27, 2026). "Severe environmental conditions create severe conflicts: A novel ecological pathway to extreme coyote attacks on humans". Journal of Applied Ecology. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.14333
  12. ^ Caldwell, Emily (March 27, 2026). "Reliance on moose as prey led to rare coyote attack on human". Ohio State News. The Ohio State University.
  13. ^ "Coyote Attacks on Toddlers Spark Probe". Associated Press. 17 December 1997. Archived 13 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 April 2017. – via LA Times.
  14. ^ "Coyotes only following their instincts". Archived 13 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  15. ^ 12 August 2010 Port Aransas South Jetty News http://www.portasouthjetty.com/news/2010-08-12/Island_Life/Coyote_control.html Archived 2013-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Assessment of Human-Coyote Conflicts: City and County of Broomfield, Colorado Archived 2013-01-16 at the Wayback Machine Memo and final report. Retrieved on June 5, 2012.
  17. ^ "Report: One coyote responsible for four summer attacks in Broomfield". Broomfield Enterprise. May 10, 2012. Archived March 4, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  18. ^ Reiser, Lindsey. "3 bitten in 24 hours in Peoria coyote attacks". Archived 21 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  19. ^ Cuervo, Ivy (June 24, 2014). "Coyote attacks suspected north of Toronto as 2 women bitten". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived 25 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 July 2016. 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.
  20. ^ Warren, May (23 June 2014). "Coyote-like animals on the loose in Thornhill". The Hamilton Spectator. Metroland News. Archived 15 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 June 2014. 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.
  21. ^ "Coyote attacks suspected north of Toronto as 2 women bitten". CBC. June 24, 2014. Archived 26 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 June 2014. 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.
  22. ^ "Fremont Police Kill Coyote After It Attacked Residents On Christmas Afternoon". CBS SF Bay Area. CBS. December 26, 2014. Archived 29 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  23. ^ Coyote attacks residents in Massachusetts town: police Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters, January 6, 2015
  24. ^ "Irvine Family Injured in Coyote Attack". October 16, 2015. Archived 28 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  25. ^ "Deputies: 2 coyote attacks in Wayne County". Archived 6 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  26. ^ "'Likely Rabid' Coyote On Loose Bites Two Ossining Residents". 30 November 2016. Archived 2 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  27. ^ "NY Police Warns Dog Walkers After Coyote Attacks Woman". December 2016. Archived 14 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  28. ^ "NC man, daughter recovering from coyote attack". 22 May 2018. Archived 24 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  29. ^ "3 children bitten by coyotes in Montreal neighbourhood". 29 July 2018. Archived 2 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  30. ^ Jul 29, The Canadian Press- & Story: 232591, 2018 / 11:27 am. "Kids bitten by coyotes - Canada News". www.castanet.net. Archived 2018-08-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  31. ^ "Police Kill Coyote That Attacked 3 at CenterPoint". 3 October 2018. Archived 4 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  32. ^ "Man kicks aggressive coyote at Kissimmee resort, then coyote attacks woman". 31 January 2019. Archived 1 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  33. ^ "Coyote attacks couple in Salisbury". April 2, 2019. Archived 2019-04-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
  34. ^ "Coyote attacked mother, child in stroller at New Jersey park: Police". Fox News. 14 June 2019. Archived 14 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  35. ^ "Coyote attacks four people and two dogs in Columbia". September 2019. Archived 2019-09-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  36. ^ "Rabid coyote attacks four people and two dogs at South Carolina apartment block". Newsweek. 2 September 2019. Archived 4 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  37. ^ "Coyote killed on Rutgers U. Campus was not rabid, university says". 22 November 2019. Archived 28 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  38. ^ "Rockville: Coyote that attacked 2 women, 1 boy was rabid". 2 October 2020. Archived 6 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  39. ^ Hollyfield, Amy (March 12, 2021). "Coyote linked to 5 separate attacks in Contra Costa County caught, euthanized". ABC 7 News. Archived March 12, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  40. ^ "Wildlife officials investigate biting of 2-year-old boy in Moraga, coyote suspected". 10 July 2020. Archived 15 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  41. ^ News • •, Bay City (July 10, 2020). "Moraga Park Closing Early Due to Coyote Attack on Child". Archived 2020-07-14 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  42. ^ "'This is ridiculous': As coyote attacks mount, city says residents feeding the animals". Archived 2021-06-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  43. ^ "Coyote attack in Stanley Park sends 3 people to hospital". 8 July 2021. Archived 15 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  44. ^ "Ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes left bloodied by Marin Highlands coyote attack". CBS News. August 16, 2022.