Coyote Causes Terror in California’s Huntington Beach After Seriously Injuring a Girl; How Dangerous is This Animal Species?

Authorities reported a young girl who was attacked by a coyote at the famous Huntington Beach in California on Thursday evening.

As specified in a The Daily Star report, a media outlet released a video showing the animal "sprinting the child, who's around two or three years old.

Lt. Toby Archer said the girl's mother and another child were having fun on the ocean shore on the said evening when the incident happened.

The horrible footage shows the coyote jumping onto the child which knocked her over and seemingly bit her face.

Found with Non-Life-Threatening Injuries

Police said, there was blood all over the girl's face. The Huntington Beach Police Department responded to reports of a coyote attack on the beach, the pier's northern part.

When the authorities arrived, officers found an injured girl who, they said, was transported to a local hospital with severe but non-life-threatening injuries.

Because the victim is a minor, there's no plan of releasing further details on her. Currently, the HBPD is working in coordination with the California Department of Fish and Game in hunting and euthanizing the coyote involved.

The police department has been conducting increased trapping initiatives throughout the city over the last several weeks.

Hanging Around Children's Playgrounds

The Los Angeles Times reported that police saw two coyotes near and fired at them. Residents in the area said they were not surprised at the attack.

Others said the station coyotes have been spotted hanging around children's playgrounds in the area. One of the locals said it is really not afraid of humans at all.

Furthermore, authorities have increased their initiatives to trap the animals and have cautioned people not to feed them.

Behavior

A PetsPruce report said that coyotes can be accustomed to or habitual to humans, making them brave when they encountered the latter.

Essentially, coyotes can be habitual to humans when they have been fed. They are typically fed in the form of pet food left outside, handouts, and unsecured garbage.

When coyotes rely on these food types, they start approaching humans and may begin exhibiting aggressive behaviors.

When this animal species start to habituate, there may be something to be worried about. Usually, the coyotes may not be a threat to animals like large dogs or humans although they may attack small children and pets.

Are Coyotes Dangerous to Humans?

At times, coyotes may not be concerned with humans although while walking with pets, they may see them as a competition or threat, or be considered as potential prey.

The encounter between a coyote and a human can be very rare. Whether in the suburban or urban landscapes or where coyotes are found in a large number, these animals are seldom seen.

Nonetheless one may catch a glimpse of a coyote as it moves from one place to another looking for prey, typically tiny animals like mice and voles.

Moreover, occurrences of coyote attacks on people are rare. Nevertheless, the coyote attack can be avoided in several ways.

First, it can be avoided by preventing habituation and modifying human behavior. It turns out that in most human attack occurrences, the coyotes were being fed or people can get bitten while attempting to rescue their pets.

Even though such occurrences are rare, they warrant a serious response. With such occurrences, most health centers require testing for rabies.

Report about the coyote attack in Huntington Beach is shown on Fox 11 Los Angeles's YouTube video below:

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