RYE BROOK, N.Y. (WPIX)—
Two more coyote attacks on children have occured in a part of the Tri-State that had similar attacks earlier this summer. It has relatives of one of the victims calling for tougher trapping and killing measures, and has residents on edge."The coyote approached from the rear," Rye Brook resident Gary Zuckerman told PIX 11 News about the attack on his 2-year-old granddaughter in front of his house Sunday night.
She was sitting on a log in front of the Hillandale Road home with her father around 8 p.m. when suddenly the animal struck.
"My son saw something out of his eye, and the coyote bit my granddaughter on the arm," said Zuckerman. "[My son] grabbed her by the arm and the coyote grazed him on his back."
Zuckerman said that his son picked up his granddaughter and they ran into Zuckerman's home to escape the coyote that Zuckerman describes as "mangy."
The girl and her father were treated at a nearby hospital and released. The girl, who Zuckerman would not name for privacy reasons, did have to get rabies and tetanus shots.
The same coyote who attacked her and her father may have been the same one who attacked a group of children about an hour earlier. Rye Brook police say that at around 6:50 p.m. Sunday, a coyote aggressively approached the children at a home on Eagles Bluff, one street over from the later incident.
In that case, a 14-year-old who was with the group tried to draw the coyote's attention away from the younger children he was with, according to police.
They are now calling the 14-year-old a hero because of his efforts to protect the other children in the group. Police say the 14-year-old ended up striking the coyote with his fist when it lunged at the rest of the children, which sent the animal fleeing. The teen is in good condition.
Police and animal workers warn people to stay away from coyotes and any other wild animals if at all possible.
The Village of Rye Brook has a three-week trapping campaign underway that is coming to a close, but it may now be extended, as the grandfather of the youngest of the two latest victims hopes.
"[The village has] to review the policies," Gary Zuckerman said. "It used to be that they weren't going after coyotes unless they showed aggressive tendencies, but it looks like things are changing."
On June 30, in the nearby town of Rye, a coyote bit 3-year-old Emily Hodulik in the neck and torso while she was playing in her yard. Also in Rye, in late June, a 6-year-old girl was attacked.
