Coyote Attacks 5-Year-Old Girl In California Park

A 5-year-old girl was attacked by a coyote in a California park after a pack of coyotes approached a mother and her kids. The attack occurred at 2:20 in the afternoon in a suburban park near Oakland last week.

According to Lt. Gretchen Rose, the mother tried to scare away the pack of five to six coyotes, but her efforts did not work, and one coyote moved in and attacked her daughter. The girl suffered bites and a severe cut, and she was transported to a children’s hospital in Oakland. Since a pack of coyotes was involved, it is not believed that the coyote that bit the girl was rabid. 

“She was bitten on the neck and has a laceration on her back that required sutures,” Lt. Rose, of the East Bay Regional Park District police department, told KPIX.

This recent California attack is not a one-off occurrence. On Nov. 19, 2018, a 3-year-old girl in a southern California park in a residential area was attacked and bitten in the head. The previous month in the same park, a woman was walking several dogs when a coyote attacked and killed one of her pets. A report of southern California coyote attacks from 2012 to 2016 by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife identified 50 instances where people were bitten in the four-year period.

In Georgia, where coyotes are an invasive, non-native species, several Georgia coyote attacks on people and pets have occurred in recent years, including these reported on by GON:

• May 2018: Hiker Attacked By Coyote near Piedmont Refuge
• February 2017: Roswell jogger attacked by rabid coyote.
• June 2014: A Jones County Deputy Sheriff was attacked by a coyote while riding his 4-wheeler.
• April 2014: A small dog was snatched up and carried off by a Morgan County coyote.
• November 2013: A jogger and her dog were attacked in Sugar Hill.
• July 2012: An Oconee County coyote killed a pet Chihuahua.

Nationwide, there have been several coyote attacks on young children the past two years.

Here’s a video of a coyote coming after a 5-year-old girl in a Chicago suburb during the fall of 2019.

And here’s a report about a 5-year-old girl attacked on a playground in Westchester County, New York. The mom, a police officer, wasn’t able to get the coyote off her daughter until another man came to help.

Here’s an account of a grown man attacked by a coyote in his Rutland, Massachusetts backyard as a two to three other coyotes also approached.

In 2014, GON started the Coyote Cull in an effort to do something to encourage sportsmen and wildlife managers to get after coyotes, which have had a significant negative impact on Georgia wildlife. The 7th annual Coyote Cull begins next month. We’ve already confirmed that long-time sponsors Adventure Outdoors, Trinity Custom Homes and Southern Snares & Supply will again offer prizes. And we are still looking for other companies and organizations to help support and grow the 7th annual Coyote Cull in Georgia. If you are interested in offering prizes in exchange for Coyote Cull sponsorship promotion, email [email protected] or call 800.438.4663.