3 coyote attacks reported in Phoenix; 4-year-old among victims bitten

A recent spate of coyote attacks in Phoenix left three people, including a 4-year-old child, with bite injuries and prompted a search for the coyote or coyotes responsible, Arizona wildlife officials said Monday.

Two of the incidents happened Saturday and a third occurred Monday – all in an area just east of I-17 and Happy Valley Road in Phoenix, the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD) said in a news release.

In the first coyote attack, officials said that a 4-year-old child was bitten on the lower leg while walking with family members. Later that same day, a man who was jogging in the same area was bitten. 

On Sunday evening, AGFD officers removed one coyote from the area where the attacks occurred.

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Monday morning, however, a coyote bit a man on a heel just south of Happy Valley Road near I-17, the agency said.

All three bite victims received medical treatment and rabies shots, according to officials, and wildlife officers are continuing to search the area for coyotes.

Notices have been posted in the surrounding neighborhoods to alert residents of the coyote attacks. For now, residents are being advised to be aware of their surroundings and keep wildlife at a distance.

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Wildlife officials warned that coyote attacks on humans “do occur and have the potential to be serious.”

In the past 26 years, the agency said that 28 coyote attacks on people have been reported in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

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Authorities asked the public to report any new coyote sightings around I-17 east to 19th Avenue and Pinnacle Peak Road north to Jomax Road to Arizona Game and Fish Department at 623-236-7201. Officials said to call 911 in an emergency.